A cadre of professionals: Credentialing emergency managers to meet the disaster challenges of the future

This paper underscores the need for the emergency management field to professionalize further and mentions how this could be accomplished through direct state licensing, Associate Emergency Manager and/or Certified Emergency Manager credentialing, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Independent Study courses, or other state certifications such as the Illinois Professional Emergency Manager credential, in that particular state and as found in other states. This paper identifies the strengths and weaknesses of each approach and then reviews Drabek’s recommendations on how emergency managers may hone their professionalism through the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and abilities. The authors of this work add professional experience and in-person training to this list and discuss the implications of findings for research and practice by identifying several questions that will need to be addressed in the future. The overall recommendation of our article is that more efforts will be required to understand professionalism through research activities and collaboration across all types of emergency management organizations at the local, state, and federal levels—especially if we ever truly expect to enter licensing like professions such as medicine, law, engineering, accountancy, and teaching.

Emergency Manager Perceptions of the Effectiveness and Limitations of Mass Notification Systems: A Mixed Method Study

Disasters can move quickly. Effective communication is a critical resource that can significantly enhance public safety. A mass notification system (MNS) uses text messaging to inform constituents of crisis, provide recommendations, connect to resources, and has the advantage of speed. Limited research has been conducted on the variables that influence the effectiveness, utilization, and perceptions of MNS. The extant study employs a multi-method approach to advance the scholarly knowledge on MNS. All emergency managers in a state were surveyed on issues of MNS enrollment, utilization, and brand. A subgroup of emergency managers were then interviewed to provide depth to the survey findings. Key findings indicate wide variability in MNS usage, little relationship between population size and enrollment, and a high perceived importance of MNS as a communication modality. Policy implications and recommendations are offered.

In What Ways Does Australian Emergency Management Reflect the Criteria of a Profession?

Introduction:The term “profession” to describe the people who carry out emergency management (EM) in Australia continues to gain momentum. Many emergency managers see themselves and are seen by others as professionals, yet little evidence exists to confirm this proposition. Unlike other professions, there is no peak body or overarching organization in Australia to help the diverse group of emergency managers to identify standards of performance and to lobby decision-makers on their behalf.Aim:This study identifies criteria that define a profession and considers how the emergency management sector in Australia reflects them.Methods:A literature review and review of established professions informed criteria of what constitutes a profession. Using these criteria, a survey was conducted to identify the demographic profiles of Australian emergency managers, their perception of the criteria of a profession, and their attitudes towards professionalization of their sector. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a representative sample. Ethics approval was obtained.Results:A set of criteria for an EM context in Australia was created. 859 emergency managers in Australia were surveyed using an online questionnaire. No common profile emerged from the survey in terms of age, gender, background, expertise, skills, or experience. Likewise, no clear career path, no clearly defined standard training, no universal standards of performance, and no statutory certification to qualify an emergency manager as a professional were revealed. Participants variously identified some of the necessary criteria of a profession, but no uniformity emerged.Discussion:This unique study concludes that the sector is not yet in a position to regard emergency management as a profession. Recommendations suggest steps be taken in the short- and long-term to facilitate the establishment of EM as a profession and identifies further research to inform the journey towards professionalizing the emergency management sector.

The Role of the Nurse Disaster Preparedness Coordinator at a Large Suburban Teaching Hospital

Introduction:Mass casualty incidents, whether man-made or natural, are occurring with increasing frequency and severity. Hospitals and health systems across the United States are striving to be more rigorously prepared more such incidents. Following a mass shooting in 2012 and significant growth and expansion of our hospital and health system in the following years, a need was identified for more staff to support preparedness efforts.Aim:To discuss the roles and responsibilities of Nurse Disaster Preparedness Coordinator (NDPC), a dedicated position in the Emergency Department (ED).Methods:The role of Nurse Disaster Preparedness Coordinator was implemented in 2016, is a part-time position in the Emergency Department and reports to the ED Manager while working closely with the ED Director of Emergency Preparedness and the hospital Emergency Manager. The role addresses all areas of the emergency management continuum, from planning and mitigation to response and recovery.Results:The NDPC’s responsibilities fall into the categories of all-hazards preparedness, chemical, biological, radioactive, nuclear and explosive (CBRNE) response, and general nursing practice. All-hazards preparedness includes ED staff training, policy and procedure development, and liaising with hospital emergency manager to coordinate hospital-wide efforts. CBRNE response includes the training and maintenance of a patient decontamination team, a high-risk infectious disease team, and their equipment. General nursing practice addresses research, nursing indicators as they apply to disasters, promoting evidence-based practice, and community outreach.Discussion:A dedicated Nurse Disaster Preparedness Coordinator has allowed transition from intermittent larger exercises to a regular and frequent exercise schedule and better application of full-scale exercises. Overall, the creation of the role has strengthened hospital readiness for mass casualty incidents while alleviating the vast scope of emergency management responsibilities for a large suburban hospital.

Promotion or transition: From fire officer to emergency manager

The field of emergency management has put much focus on disaster response activities. By overly emphasizing response, some people have come to regard fire officers as ideal candidates for promotion into emergency manager positions. To understand this process, we first review the basic definitions of emergency management. Next, drawing upon these definitions, we identify differences between fire officers’ and emergency managers’ tasks. Based on the analysis, we found that the task differences were large enough to distinguish emergency managers as a profession separate and distinct from that of the fire officer. Finally, we conclude with suggestions on how fire officers can enhance or expand their job skills to change effectively their career paths to emergency management.

The essential skill set of a resilient emergency manager

The broadened mission of emergency management has required emergency managers to develop and maintain a diverse and evolving set of skills and competencies. While several scholars and practitioners have offered guidance on the skills, competencies, and education needed to be an effective emergency manager, there are other equally important characteristics of an effective emergency manager that have received relatively less attention in the emergency management literature. This article seeks to provide a more comprehensive list of the characteristics of an effective emergency manager by introducing the notion of the resilient emergency manager. A resilient emergency manager is someone who is able to adapt to changing conditions, make agile decisions, function interoperably, mobilize resources, scale programs, policies, and procedures, develop robust collaborative networks, and build redundant emergency management systems. This article concludes with a discussion on how to build and sustain the essential skill set of a resilient emergency manager.

About Emergency Managers and Their Tools

This paper presents findings emerging from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Innovation Corps (I-Corps) program. The aim of I-Corps is to aid in transitioning academic research into commercialized technology. Through this program, the authors developed and tested hypotheses in search of a sustainable and scalable business model for a potential future company. An element of the rigorous I-Corps curriculum included 133 interviews with emergency manager practitioners from around the country to determine the root of their immediate problems. The unbiased feedback from the industry professionals determined the outcome of our hypotheses, while validating our proposed business model.