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    Improving Emergency and Disaster Personnel:
    Improving Emergency and Disaster Personnel:
    Improving Emergency and Disaster Personnel:
    Ebook133 pages1 hour

    Improving Emergency and Disaster Personnel:

    By Mark Miller

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    About this ebook

    This research will emphasize the vital importance of selecting and training emergency personnel to an “elite” level. Elite emergency personnel will be required to mitigate increasingly complex future natural and man-made disasters (including terrorism). Some inadequacies currently plague the United States emergency management community. Insufficiencies, such as, improper education, the lack of international disaster-related experience, the growing selection of stress-prone individuals and employees who are out of shape both mentally and physically. Answering the following questions will help the examination of this paper be successful. Starting at an early age, is it possible to reproduce emergency response professionals (ERP), to the rank of elite status; a rank that signifies one’s ability to mitigate even the worst of disaster situations without falling victim to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)? If so, what kind of early teaching, what type of selection method, what category of training, and what method of response curriculum would concord a product such as an elite status ERP? This research will incorporate information from the finest minds in disaster management, psychology, and triage; it will also include professional information from the military, philosophy, religion, and global health. The conclusions from this research may surprise how vulnerable the disaster community is. The data will show how a blood and saliva test, proper eating and sleeping, and abstaining from all types of addiction, along with believing in a Supreme Being will alter how the emergency and disaster community selects, trains, maintains and responds to a horrific death and destructive type of disaster. The purpose of this research is to show two problems. The first identifier shows what is wrong with today’s emergency response employee, and the second explains their improvement using a 15 step process. The proof found in these ideas will ultimately change the face of emergency and disaster management.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMark Miller
    Release dateDec 25, 2015
    ISBN9781311825759
    Improving Emergency and Disaster Personnel:
    Author

    Mark Miller

    Mark Miller (BA, Evangel University) is executive pastor at NewSong Church in Cleveland, Ohio, and he consults for other churches on reaching postmoderns, creativity, and leadership. He is the founder of The Jesus Journey, an experiential storytelling retreat that makes the story of the Bible accessible to postmoderns. He is married to Stacey and has two daughters.

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      Book preview

      Improving Emergency and Disaster Personnel: - Mark Miller

      Improving Emergency and Disaster Personnel:

      How to identify, hire and train a new breed of elite Emergency and Disaster Personnel to mitigate tomorrow’s watershed of extreme disaster challenges

      (New Guidelines for producing an Elite Emergency Response Professional)

      By

      Mark W. Miller MA, MS, MPH, BA, AS

      December 2015

      Abstract

      This research will emphasize the vital importance of selecting and training emergency personnel to an elite level. Elite emergency personnel will be required to mitigate increasingly complex future natural and man-made disasters (including terrorism). Some inadequacies currently plague the United States emergency management community. Insufficiencies, such as, improper education, the lack of international disaster-related experience, the growing selection of stress-prone individuals and employees who are out of shape both mentally and physically. Answering the following questions will help the examination of this paper be successful. Starting at an early age, is it possible to reproduce emergency response professionals (ERP), to the rank of elite status; a rank that signifies one’s ability to mitigate even the worst of disaster situations without falling victim to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)? If so, what kind of early teaching, what type of selection method, what category of training, and what method of response curriculum would concord a product such as an elite status ERP? This research will incorporate information from the finest minds in disaster management, psychology, and triage; it will also include professional information from the military, philosophy, religion, and global health. The conclusions from this research may surprise how vulnerable the disaster community is. The data will show how a blood and saliva test, proper eating and sleeping, and abstaining from all types of addiction, along with believing in a Supreme Being will alter how the emergency and disaster community selects, trains, maintains and responds to a horrific death and destructive type of disaster. The purpose of this research is to show two problems. The first identifier shows what is wrong with today’s emergency response employee, and the second explains their improvement using a 15 step process. The proof found in these ideas will ultimately change the face of emergency and disaster management.

      Dedication

      This written research is dedicated to all those hundreds of thousands of victims who died in two tsunamis; the earthquake and tsunami in Haiti (2010), and the tsunami in Taiwan (2004). It is further dedicated to two of my closest friends, Doctor Marshall Willis (MD), and Karin Willis (RN), who gave their entire adult life in the service of helping humanity. These two individuals are considered an older brother and sister. In fact, they were my mentor’s, an emotionally stabilizing friend who were always there when I needed them.

      Acknowledgements

      I want to acknowledge the love and devotion of my beloved sweetheart, my eternal companion Kathleen, who has given tirelessly over the past three and a half years so that I may be successful at finishing my degree and ultimately this work. Moreover, finally, I confess that this entire research, and more importantly, my entire life is due to my Father in Heaven, my spiritual friend who inspired me to go on and work for two more degrees so that I may help those who suffer immensely in disaster.

      The United States emergency management communities are psychologically unprepared to deal with the loss of lives and property from catastrophic disasters. A multitude of lost lives as well a price of death and destruction affecting the international first response community. Countless first responders lament to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Bostock, Matusko, Emp, Paterson & Bryant, 2013). The global disaster response community for decades has tried to prevent such mental injury. In fact, the U.S., since the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, are only beginning to understand the cost of sending emotionally unprepared personnel to disaster front lines. However, research explains that there are a few first response professionals who return from extraordinary situations psychologically unharmed. In fact, there are those who will work their entire life becoming agog in mitigating catastrophic events without receiving a single long-lasting emotional scar (Paek, Hilyard, Freimuth, Barge, & Mindlin, 2010).

      This research will identify how suitable emergency response professional (ERP) candidates can use a battery of comprehensive tests. Positively established blood work, mental characteristics, philosophies, religion, culture, environment and their beliefs in equality will improve the future molding and developing of emergency response professionals. Obtaining an individual’s positive mental characteristics will help fortify them as future successful employees. In return, they will eagerly learn as rookie minded observers. During such time, ERP will be table-top disaster educated. An education centered on their beginning psychologically evaluated abilities. Disasters and PTSD are on the rise (Steinberg, 1996), making it essential to hire, train and maintain a lifelong elite class of mentally fit first responders. Using this research correctly will psychologically and physically prepare emergency first response employees. It will also equip these same individuals for all types of disaster. It will ready them for the disasters of tomorrow. If the emergency management community follows this researched advice; it will emotionally and physically prepare ERP to withstand the adverse effects associated with horrific types of calamity.

      Literature Review/Theoretical Perspective

      Expert first response personnel will make a significant improvement when it comes to saving lives and property. Professionals such as this will realize failure is not an option in today’s highly volatile unforgiving world of disaster. In today’s world, firefighters, police, military, medical or other national/international first responder’s are prime examples of people who give 100 percent effort in saving lives. Today’s first responder works twenty-four hours a day in the hope of making a difference. It is not uncommon to see first responders working hip-deep in blood and guts. In fact, one could find these first response veterans aspiring to save even one life. Nevertheless, each and every day they often strive at the emotional expense of poorly kept energy reserves to pull people and property from the disaster, but at what cost? Are they physically and emotional viable? Is the nation’s first response community emotionally prepared for what may be coming? It does not take a psychology degree to know that every year thousands of ERP fall victim to all sorts of mental disturbances. A demand for an emotionally improved employee, a post-traumatic disorder found in first response begs for a healthier way; a significantly needed improvement; a demand, directed towards hiring and educating officials to improve the selection methods of future first response personnel. Disaster mitigation demands intellectual excellence; therefore, what constitutes an adequate emergency first response individual and what are the best practices to select, employ and train them? To achieve this level of competence, they must be physically and psychologically prepared to mitigate tomorrow’s extreme disaster challenges.

      Federal, state and local commanders ‘must’ realize what is happening to employees who are psychologically ill-equipped to deploy. Commanders do not adequately recognize the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) psychological symptoms, if they were, there would be fewer employees who are physically and emotionally damaged. Either way, in disaster response, it remains vital to correct emotional and psychological impairments. Employee mental breakdown occurs regularly. Psychological degradation is especially true when deployed personnel go to devastating catastrophes (Lazarus, Jimerson, & Brock, 2003). Emotionally accumulated baggage and the damage from life-long careers may force workers to fall victim quickly; others may show potential signs of suicidal tendencies where they become a public danger later in life. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), diagnosed in first response personnel, is growing out of control (Reagan, 2015). The high cost of losing even one person during or post-disaster is life altering, regardless if it is a disaster victim or a first responder. Poorly kept reputations will reflect upon supervisors and those ultimately in charge. Therefore,

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