The resilient 9-1-1 professional : a comprehensive guide to surviving & thriving together in the 9-1-1 center
Publication Information
Peroskey, Michigan : South of Heaven Press, [2018]
Physical Description
xli, 375 pages : illustrations : 23 cm
Summary
"Let me start off first with a couple questions to my fellow dispatchers. Have you ever looked at your console and said, "I'm done? Or turned to your partner and noticed they were struggling and you didn't know what to do or say to help them? You're not alone. And that's one of the driving forces behind this book. To let all dispatchers and call-takers know you're not alone. There is help--in many forms. As you journey through these pages, you will meet several people who have been touched by the 9-1-1 dispatch profession. Some of these people are, or have been, dispatchers themselves. Some are therapists, scientists, and even medical doctors. There are directors, and those who have served in the military. We are your authors. Our chapters will cover many facets of a world that deals with trauma on a daily basis. We have pooled our knowledge, our experiences, and our genuine concern for the health and wellbeing for all 9-1-1 Professionals to create this guide to help you survive and thrive in the 9-1-1 world. As you walk through these pages, our hope is for you to become physically, mentally and emotionally healthier than when you turned the first page. We hope for a more resilient you. But, this book is not just for dispatchers! To the rest of our readers, I would like to welcome you to the unknown. Each moment of a dispatcher's shift is just that: unknown. With each ring of the telephone there could be a child screaming for help; a mother who has lost her child; an elderly male who woke to find his wife has passed away in her sleep; an irate driver stuck in a traffic jam because a mile ahead someone has been killed in an accident the driver can't see; or it could quite simply be a lonely, elderly woman calling for the time, because she has no one else to call. Let's not forget the calls about the weather, road conditions, queries about when the electricity will come back on, the raccoons out in the daylight, and a myriad of other calls that are answered daily. You are about to experience some of the most heart-wrenching experiences dispatchers are required to handle. You will witness their steps from the depths of darkness into the bright light of resilience as they become stronger, healthier, Extraordinary Care Givers. You will walk alongside therapists who have fought to bring to light the trauma suffered by dispatchers. Hopefully you will begin to wonder compassionately about the dispatch profession. And I assure you, it is a profession. Dispatchers are a proud, yet humble group. But we are suffering. We have always been the nameless, faceless voice on the other side of the receiver, answering your calls and cries for help. Now it is your chance to help us." -- Amazon.
Contents
- Introduction: Why we need this book: Extraordinary care-givers need extraordinary resources (Jim Marshall)
- Section I: What every 9-1-1 pro & stakeholder must know Golden Glue: A 9-1-1 dispatcher's story of resilience (Tracey Laorenza)
- Days and nights in the dispatch center: What I saw as a scientist, experienced as a person, and how it changed me (Phoenix Chi Wang)
- Understanding 9-1-1 stress and nine unique risk factors faced by every dispatcher (Jim Marshall)
- Facing the impacts of 9-1-1 stress: The Reality of PTSD and depression in the comm center )Michelle Lilly, interviewed by Jim Marshall)
- Building the resilient 9-1-1 mindset, Part 1: Your wellbeing depends on your emotional goals (Jim Marshall)
- Building the resilient 9-1-1 mindset, Part 2: The ChoicePoint strategy (Jim Marshall)
- Section II : When 9-1-1 professionals hit the wall : Overcoming stress-related conditions
- The Kevlar couple's journey: The Power to heal and the power of a new emotional code (Jon Myers)
- Recovering from the loss of a 9-1-1 peer's suicide: My path through trauma into resilience ( (Ryan Dedmon)
- Does your console need a reboot? EMDR therapy for healing traumatic stress & self-care ((Sara Gilman and Reannan Kerwood)
- When your give-a-damn is busted: Rebuilding your life after compassion fatigue (Jim Marshall)
- p-1-1 pros: Sleeping for the health of it : Here's what you need to know (Craig Boss)
- Enough fat jokes already! Seven steps toward winning the obesity challenge (Jim Marshall)
- "I'm just sick and tired of being sick and tired. Help me." An EMS doc's personal battle through self-medication and addiction (Marshall Isaacs)
- Where was God in all of this?" Recognizing and traveling through a 9-1-1 crisis of faith to rebuild spiritual resilience (Jim Marshall)
- Section (((: How to survive and thrive together: Key elements of a resilient 9-1-1 center
- The NENA Stress Standard: The "Shall" document with eight solutions that can save 9-1-1lives (Jim Marshall)
- The Power of 9-1-1 peer support: The First line of care and prevention for the for the frontline of dispatch (Jim Marshall)
- Choosing and using your EAP: how employee assistance programs can help 9-1-1 pros (Randy Kurtz and Jim Marshall)
- Section IV: Leadership that grows resilient 9-1-1 professionals
- How to inspire employees to stay and excel: The Power of servant leadership (Lora Reed, interviewed by Jim Marshall)
- The 9-1-1 leader as stress-risk manager : Recognizing your role as the center's SRM (Jim Lanier, inspired by Jim Marshall)
- How a 9-1-1 director engaged his employees to boost morale and his PSAPs major metrics of success (Ivan Whitaker, interviewed by Jim Marshall)
- Eight reflections for 9-1-1 leaders pursuing resilience, from forty years at the helm (John Dejung)
- Leading the next generation 9-1-1 PSAP: Managing the risk of real-time video interactions (Jim Marshall)
- "No one left behind": Safeguarding the mental health of 9-1-1 pros in the aftermath of mass casualties and other high impact events (Jim Marshall)
- Afterword (Jim Marshall)
- Appendices : Chapter 17 appendix
- Chapter 19 appendix.