Role of Emergency Manager and Management - Essay Example

? Emergency Management: An Essay on Perspectives of the Health sciences and medicine of the May 12, Emergency Management: An Essay on Perspectives Emergency Management as a whole focuses on numerous issues from response to recovery, it highlights areas of mitigation and there is a constant review of plans and responses to suit almost every incident. Not many are looking into the “perspective of staff” attending these incidents. As an Emergency Manager one of the most vital resources you will need at any incident are people tasked to fulfil a myriad of roles. What would happen if a limit amount of human resources attended scenes of this magnitude, could set plans be followed? Could a response even occur? As a student of Emergency Management these types of questions need to be asked before disaster strikes. What types of incidents may see a reduced number of responders arriving to assist?  1. What concerns did the author address within the article?  2. Do you think these are valid concerns to yourself and others expected to perform such a role?  3. How would you as an Emergency Manager tasked with emergency response address some of these concerns? Introduction The numbers of personnel as well as their level of training and experience are two key elements that can ensure the success or failure of an emergency response operation. Large scale incidents such as disasters, manmade or natural, especially require that the size of emergency response team be adequate to fulfil the myriad of tasks that are required. Any deficiency on this part can severely hamper the quality of emergency response that is necessary in the event of a disaster leading to medical, social, legal and moral impairments. Therefore, it would be useful for the emergency manager to have an insight into the factors that could prevent the paramedic staff who are critical and indispensable members of the crew, from fully engaging in to the rescue operations. Authors Smith, Morgans, Qureshi, Archer, and Burkle Jr (2009) addressed the factor of risk perception by the paramedics and how it could influence their willingness to work during disasters in their study. The concerns attended to by the authors, their validity and the means to address these concerns will be discussed in this essay. Concerns addressed in the article When plans and training modules are formulated for the members of emergency response teams to prepare them for critical situations, it is assumed and taken for granted that personnel who are deputed for such situations will always be willing to work in such situations. However, Smith et al (2009) identified many studies in which various researchers have identified the factors that may affect the way and the extent to which paramedics decide to participate in critical care situations during disasters. Some of these identified issues were safety of themselves and their families, availability of protective gear and safe transportation, financial and counselling support, and perception of inadequate training. The authors then recruited 58 Victoria paramedics who were interviewed regarding three disaster scenarios of different magnitudes either in groups or individually. Audio transcripts of theses interview were further analysed for key risks perceived by the paramedics and the primary concerns expressed by them when asked to participate in the response. Perception of key risks was found to be shaped by the magnitude and the type of disaster and included risks of injury and threat to health and lives of self and family. Conventional non-health related disasters were perceived primarily with risks of injury to self and colleagues, whereas risk perception associated with non-conventional health related disasters such as chemical, biological and radiological disasters included risks of exposure and infection to family. Concerns that were raised by the paramedics, embraced themes of health and safety, education and training, communication and information essential for making risk assessment, reliability and mistrust of the employer supplying this information, ability to access childcare and eldercare, and communicate with family members while on response duty. ‘Visibility’ and finite duration of the threat as in conventional disasters such as fires, earthquakes and accidents, as opposed to ‘non-visibility’ and uncertain duration of a biological agent infection also impacted upon the risk perception and consequently, the willingness of paramedics to work during these disasters. However, also coexisting with these concerns were the innate feelings of responsibility and duty that come as a part of paramedic’s job profile. Perception of risks by the paramedics: are the fears justified? As far as perception of risks by paramedics in disaster situations is concerned, these fears are to some extent justified. First responders and emergency rescue teams are at an increased risk of fatal and non fatal injuries at the sites of disaster (Reichard, Marsh & Moore, 2011). Additionally, there is a risk of exposure of their families by acting as a portal for infectious agents, for example, swine flu epidemics or anthrax bioterrorism attacks. All these concerns are very valid and realistic. When perceived threat has significant implications for emergency planners even in the general population, it is obvious to conclude that the threat perception would be high in the subgroup involved in management of these situations (Stevens et al, 2011). Authors Tebruegge et al (2010) cautioned emergency health care planners to anticipate a certain degree of absenteeism during infectious outbreaks disasters based on their survey conducted amongst healthcare workers during swine flu pandemic of 2009 in Australia. They also proposed further research in to methods which can help retain the workers during such crisis situations. Nevertheless, if an efficient and effective emergency health management is not carried out, the people and communities will no longer be safe. The toll on lives and injuries will be overwhelming in manmade and natural disasters in the absence of emergency response teams. It is the responsibility and key element of the job profile of the emergency health care team to assess the hazard, mitigate the risks and perform risk management. On the other hand, it is the responsibility of the state to make certain that the paramedics and other emergency response team staff is put to minimum risk, their risk perceptions understood and their concerns addressed. Role of emergency manager By default, emergency response teams work in scenarios where confusion, chaos and challenges are rampant. This is even more prevalent in disaster situations where lives and health of victims as well as their helpers are very much threatened. Herein, to avoid losing the direction and establishing an order for efficient emergency operations, it is important that the leader of the emergency response team is good at establishing team work and has excellent organisational and human resource management skills. Human resource management is a crucial and indispensable skill for the leader of an emergency response team. In order to utilise the potential of the crew members to the maximum, an understanding of the finer nuances behind their motivation and perspective towards the incidence is warranted. Ensuring occupational health safety of its team members is an important human resource responsibility of those holding the leadership roles. Risk reduction and post risk strategies should be formulated after analysis and evaluation of perceived risk factors. For example, one of the ways to address the concern of inadequate training by the leader of the emergency response team would be to establish evidence based protocols, recurring running-through of these protocols and instilling confidence in the crew members of their abilities in dealing with these situations. Repeated simulation and training of the emergency response team for conventional and non-conventional disasters will prepare them for what is to be expected and how to deal with it. Frequent practice in donning of the protective equipment and gear, training in containment and personal safety measures, tips and rules to follow in biological, chemical and radiological hazards rehearsals and use of communication equipment in disasters will allay the fears, frustration and anxiety that is associated with the unknown. The team leader should be such that the team is neatly and meticulously organised even in events of pandemonium and every responder is assigned to a task best suited to their experience, physical condition and mental judgement. Anticipation and mitigation of a disaster, generation of a rapid response followed by balanced action and loss management should all be part of these programmes (Balicer et al, 2010). Such drills and protocols supervised under the headship of the emergency team leader will ensure that at least the paramedics will not be reluctant to generate a response because of lack of self-confidence. It helps a lot if mock emergency scenarios are conducted in actual sites where the equipment that is really used in the field is available. Also, motivation by the team leader and adoption of evidence based protocols will assure the crew responders that their efforts are rational, not futile and will actually facilitate to make the outcomes better in terms of mortality and morbidity. Holding workshops for emergency response personnel as well as planners is a good idea to make them realise the gaps that exist in their preparedness for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosives (CBRNE) events and keep them abreast of the recommendations (Wilkinson et al, 2010). Paramedic CBRNE training decreased the level of reluctance in paramedics to work in such situations and also added to their confidence (Stevens et al, 2010). So far as the risk of occupational hazards is concerned, they definitely come integrated with this job. However, the need is to educate first responders regarding the risks that they could be facing. Their training modules and drills should inculcate safety measures so that they can protect themselves and their colleagues as best as possible from violence and assault, traffic accidents, falls and fires, and microbial and chemical exposure (Markenson, DiMaggio & Redlener, 2005).. The concepts like ‘scene safety’, gloves and ‘universal precautions’ should be integrated in their manuals. When it comes to actual disasters, accurate information is most important. To gain maximum output from the team, it is imperative that the information supplied to the crew is accurate, up-to-date and above all, honest in its assessment of the situation. Although uncertainty and unpredictability are to be expected in the evolution of disaster, it is rewarding for the leader of the team to keep himself abreast of the developments that are occurring. These can then be passed on to the personnel in the most honest way possible so that the leader retains the trust of the response team. ‘Risk management’ skills of the emergency team leader contribute to gathering of this information. Using good communication skills and carefully chosen words, a leader should be able to impact upon the willingness of its workers to respond to a situation, even if the message or information conveyed itself is negative and dangerous. When this information helps the paramedics to accurately make the risk assessment of the situation and accordingly take actions for safety of themselves and their loved ones, they are more likely to work even in threatening scenarios. By creating an environment of trust from being communicative and forthright, a leader ensures that the followers will not be wary of the situations, will perceive risks differently and be consistent and reliable in their behaviours. Perception of danger to their colleagues and family members is heightened in cases of non-conventional disasters. If the personnel are guaranteed that best possible measures would be taken to protect them and their family members by providing them with the utmost quality of protective equipment and hardware, vaccinations and post exposure treatment, the likelihood of maximum participation in the emergency response is increased. This can be guaranteed only with setting examples in similar cases so that paramedics and other emergency responders are aware that they have adequate insurance, financial and medical backing and compensation in case of an unfortunate event. Protection from and support for litigation should also be provided, if likely. Another issue that was of concern to paramedics which could negatively impact upon their response to a disaster situation was that of personal needs such as transportation, care of children and elderly, and inability to communicate to their families and ascertain their safety. A leader should not neglect the personal needs of the subordinates and these issues should be resolved to as large an extent as possible. Previous exposures to such disasters and psychological issues related to trauma witnessed during those disasters may also hamper the working of a paramedic. Misra et al. reported (2009) an increased incidence of post traumatic stress disorder in personnel of London Ambulance Service who were working at the disaster scene in 2005 bombings. These psychological barriers generated in the aftermath of disasters merit coping strategies and handling by experts. These barriers, if left unaddressed and untreated, may lead to reluctance of the involved personnel in future disaster scenes leading to loss of experienced faculty and members (Lemyre et al, 2005). Conclusion It is a fact that resources are rarely surplus, or for that matter, enough to practically cover the situations in day to day life. Same things apply to human resources too. It is therefore important for the leader of a team to understand the behaviours and perspectives of the staff so that their potential can be fully tapped. Leadership qualities of preparedness, trust, communication, empathy, team building and motivation ensures that risk perceptions of emergency response team members do not affect their ability to generate an effective and targeted response during disaster management. Human resource management should be a part of continuum of paramedic education. Nonetheless, some measure of non-attendance should be anticipated by those with leadership roles and the plans should be formulated accordingly. It is recommended to be prepared in advance. References Balicer, R. D., Barnett, D. J., Thompson, C. B., Hsu, E. B., Catlett, C. L., Watson, C. M., et al. (2010). Characterizing hospital workers' willingness to report to duty in an influenza pandemic through threat- and efficacy-based assessment. BMC Public Health, 10, 436. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-10-436. Lemyre, L., Corneil, W., & Clement, J., Craig, L., Boutette, P., & Tyshenko, M., et al. (2005). A psychosocial risk assessment and management framework to enhance response to CBRN terrorism threats and attacks. Biosecurity and Bioterrorism, 3(4), 316-330. Markenson, D., DiMaggio, C., & Redlener, I. (2005). Preparing health professions students for terrorism, disaster, and public health emergencies: core competencies, Academic Medicine , 80(6), 517-526 . 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