| Dave Larton |
Training Is Not Just
For Trainees
| Training Tactics is a guest column covering dispatcher training issues. |
| A former paramedic, Dave Larton is a certified Wildland Incident Dispatcher and Trainer. He is Vice President of the California Fire Chiefs Association, Communications Section, Northern Division, representing over 80 emergency dispatch centers in Northern and Central California. A full-time dispatcher with the City of Gilroy, California, Dave is a member of the department's Swiftwater Rescue and Hostage Negotiation teams, and is also on the training staff of the Governor's Office of Emergency Services, Telecommunications Branch. |
This article can be found on
page 56 of the Mar/Apr 1997
issue of 9-1-1 Magazine.
I happened to have been part of a conversation the other day concerning a dispatcher trainee who was in the middle of a three week dispatch academy. The trainee had come into the Center on the way to class, her brain chock full of telephone procedures, CAD commands and civil liability issues. A veteran dispatcher remarked, "well, when she gets back, we'll have to train her all over again. She'll have to be de-programmed."
The explanation given was this: my colleague did not seem to feel that the dispatch academy was providing a view of the "real world." With a view of "hey, I've worked here for x-number of years and I haven't been sued yet and I'll just continue to do what I've always done," the veteran walked away.
I know that we've all seen or heard media events involving dispatchers or the 9-1-1 system when somebody said or did something wrong. Maybe somebody died. Maybe somebody was sued. Thankfully, those calls are few and far between. Most of us serve our entire careers without having "The Call" that will put our jobs on the line for what we did or didn't do. Having said that, we do know that those events do happen. How many of you have watched one of those events on the news and muttered, "thank God that wasn't me...?"
No matter where the training may take place, it is absolutely critical that we listen to our trainees as much as we instruct them. While these folks may very well be the newest members of our organization, they are also the same ones who are bringing back the newest information. If, as a trainer, you haven't been to a dispatcher update class in a while, it's possible that your trainee may have newer information than you may have. It's important that you both learn together from any handouts, pamphlets, procedure manuals or handbooks they may bring back from class. Use them to review the policies and procedures that already exist in your own Center, and suggest to your supervisor any potential positive changes that can be implemented based on another department's past experience.
The 9-1-1 system continues to change almost daily, and technology is moving so rapidly it is difficult for most training officers to keep up. Just as physicians must constantly improve their skills by taking refresher courses, subscribing to medical publications, and attending conferences, it is imperative that trainers take every opportunity to immerse themselves in the field of emergency services to see what is going on beyond the doors of the dispatch center. Several means exist that can help keep the veteran dispatcher "in the know."
Several national organizations exist for dispatchers, such as APCO and NENA. Subscribe to dispatcher-related journals. Attend conferences. Network with dispatchers outside of your own communications center. While you may find that the problems in your own Center are not unique to you, you may also find that other agencies have also made progress in solving some of those same issues.
On the Internet, handbooks, training guides and manuals are becoming readily available. Dispatcher chat groups are becoming increasingly popular on the Net, and links can literally take you to dozens of dispatcher related Internet sites at the click of a mouse.
Many departments make use of several trainers working together as a training team, who regularly meet to discuss common training issues and answers. As different as we all are, a team of trainers can frequently perform some valuable problem-solving on training issues, and can avoid potential training pitfalls.
Have you recently given some of your time at a dispatcher academy, either as an instructor, proctor, or tutor? Things are moving so fast in our field that the "work my shift and go home" ethic just doesn't teach you enough. If you're standing still, you're rapidly falling behind. There are only so many bank alarms, so many structure fires, so many pursuits. After a time, and this varies with the individual, dispatchers can easily fall into the "been there, done that, got the t-shirt" way of thinking. This is a trap. Just as police officers have the Ten Deadly Errors that frequently contribute to their own demise, dispatchers too can list Complacency as a potential Dispatcher Deadly Error of their own.
If, as a dispatcher, you allow yourself to become complacent, to not "take that extra step," two events may likely happen: you will get really bored with your job; and you may become prone to making one of those errors that will get your PSAP dishonorable mention on the six o'clock news. It's vital that you become involved (and stay involved) with the rapidly changing world of public safety dispatching going on right outside your own front door. Continued professional training can create a new adage: you really can teach an old dog new tricks.
