These are the reasons why specific training deals with some of the more distressing aspects of the job. Typically, there is a lot of support after a gruelling call, but this isn't always the case, so it is essential for a dispatcher to be aware of their own mental health.
Problem-solving is a requirement for a job as a dispatcher. You will often be required to solve complicated puzzles because callers are unsure how much information is necessary or don't know how to relay it in a crisis. Dispatchers must read between the lines or ask precise questions to get the answers needed to dispatch the correct agency. Being a dispatcher is not just contingent on how accurate and quickly you type though this is something you are tested on.
You also will need to pass a series of tests before you are offered a dispatcher job. These tests vary from state to state and country to country, but they will test your abilities as a operator.
A popular test used by many services is called the CritiCall Dispatch Test. This test comprises many modules that can be modified by the city or community service doing the hiring. The most commonly used modules are data entry, decision making, map reading, and memorization.
The test will assess your strengths and determine your fitness for the position. More Communications and Interoperability News. More Product Listings. More Product news. More Communications and Interoperability Videos. Make FireRescue1 your homepage. Reducing firefighter cancer risk: How emotionally attached are you? The future of turnout gear is about to be decided. More than 1, courses and videos, including more than hours of approved EMS credit!
Controlling the flow path: How to handle door control with limited staffing. Electric vehicles and storage systems: Critical challenges facing the fire service. Can firefighters pick and choose which community events to attend? Topics Communications and Interoperability. Email Print Comment. Great opportunities. A huge public safety family and so much more. There is a picture that our society mentally paints of what a dispatcher does… I was no exception.
Phones ring, trucks go, help arrives, people are saved, and fires are extinguished. This is what happens right? There is so much more. Did you know there are 18 towns we service? Do you know how many police, fire and EMS personnel that includes? Did you know when we have an issue in one town; it may include 3 more towns? And that the fire tones need to go out on all the frequencies if there is shared equipment on the call??
My head spun, my brain felt like it would explode and I cried… and cried… and cried. By week 3 I wanted to puke every time I thought about answering the phone.
How was I supposed to keep hundreds of deputies and patrolman straight? How was I supposed to keep up with the veterans firing info to me over the radio as I panicked?
What was I thinking? In the blink of an eye, the classroom time was over. Keep in mind; you walk into a good size room with 7 to 9 people at any given time. Am I going to make red lights or blue lights go today? Which anxiety or fear will be at the keyboard disguised as a body for 12 hours? My first day sitting at a fire desk… what a mess! Phones ringing, radios talking, phones ringing, tests to take, phones ringing, lists to study, phones ringing, calls to enter, phones still ringing… PHEW!
Only 11 hours to go! I can do this…. We trudge through the day. She just so happens to be my supervisor as well! For the purposes of this narrative, we will call her Wonder Woman. Please do not misunderstand any of my previous comments. We are truly blessed to have the training we do in order to prepare for dispatch; however, there is no training that will keep you from throwing up or peeing your pants. Sorry guys, maybe we can work that into the next session.
Those may be harder then calls. You get the idea. These all seem so trivial at first. So, you have the tool and you provide a number…. Moving on in the day just got a little easier. But I have yet to even scratch the surface of this job.
In general, you are simply learning to function in controlled chaos. Specifically, you are learning one important skill at a time without realizing it. Days begin and end as I progress. In between, I learn, I struggle and I come back. What I come back to is always the same. My teammates working their magic to keep the public safe, the officers safe and above all keep things in control.
It is like a chorus that belts out a tune with the smallest of effort. Can I be part of this someday? Actually multi-task and be successful? Someday, perhaps. What that means is: I learn how to transfer that public safety call to the correct department, but never before making sure they do not have an emergency.
This may be printed on my headstone when I pass. I have learned that getting that location — and how — may not be as simple as you may think.
The computer is smart, but only if you utilize your tools. Eventually, the tasks I struggled with start to flow and I learn to blend those into the next.
The cycle is never ending. Ask any dispatcher you have the opportunity to speak with. If you are not learning something new, it may be time to retire. Phones start to become easier, not easy, just easier. No rest for the wicked though… time to throw in the radios and see how crazy they can really make you!
Radios are truly a beast of another world, maybe similar to Alien, Tremor or even nasty creatures from Men in Black.
But, this too must be overcome. Many of the officers and deputies are truly veterans, stuck in 10 code land from which there is no return. What does that even mean?
As it turns out, there are some pretty important codes on that list… who knew! But boy I realized quickly that I better take note and pay attention. As I mentioned before, in case you forgot, the radio talks a lot and you need to know what it is saying at all times.
It is the Criminal Justice Academy which we attend for 4 different classes. These take place in between our field training depending on when the classes are offered and where there is room. If you are lucky, you are able to get the first 3 classes out of the way early into training. If not, some of it will seem boring or redundant. I was lucky and able to get into all but one class early on. The academy is only about an hour away, but in the winter, staying up there is advisable.
Class starts at 8 a. The first week was quite an experience. I stayed at the academy for ETC school which lasts a week. Myself and the 2 other trainees went in with excitement! Advantage to the other 2 girls, they had been there previously, I had not. The week actually flew by. Class was excellent and we did not attend so late in training that we were bored. If you have never been to the academy, there is rumor that it is haunted. Doubtful, but I went on a ghost hunt anyway. What I heard and observed was nothing.
What I heard once I played back the video we had could cause a tinge of doubt in your mind. You can be the judge if you get a chance to roam the abandoned 4th floor.
There will be two more classes at the academy before we finish training. EMD and NG They are not as long but require as much effort if not more. The absolute worst aspect of the training was waiting to get that coveted letter stating you passed!
It takes forever!! OK, so maybe it only takes 4 weeks or so, but it seems like forever! Once they arrive, it is pure relief… I am semi official.
The last class will not be taken until after I have been signed off from training and will be the final gold star. In my mind, week 4 through 13 should have been easier… should have been.
They were hard, they were trying and they were pretty intense. Training started with the basics. This staffing shortage happens because dispatchers fail to be recognized as first responders, which equates to inadequacies in wages, working environments, training and high-risk benefits. Taking calls requires significant training and competencies such as situational assessment skills and sound judgment, strong public and internal relations, teamwork and advanced multitasking skills.
The telecommunicator is often responsible for dispatching police, fire and medical first responders and acts as their communication partner while on shift. This added level of responsibility and specialized training required for tactical-communication dispatch, monitoring and response create another layer of complexity to the position.
Significant shortages of available, well-trained and experienced personnel can tip the scales of competency and place the agency and its employees at higher risk for liability when providing critical services to citizens and field responders.
Dispatchers deal with intense, life-and-death situations. Dispatchers know they save lives every day in ways that go far beyond just taking a phone call, as a switchboard or telephone operator, and logging it into a complex software-tracking system.
For dispatchers working in the industry, the potential for reclassification is the first step in ensuring qualified people are on the front lines of an emergency.
0コメント