emergency management/disaster planning

[donedeal]

would you consider it a valuable experience to become a paramedic before continuing my career into something like emergency management and disaster planning? do any of you have any experience in this particular field? I would love some insight. I have completed a B.S. degree in health policy management and have completed my EMT course. I feel that having actual hands on emergency experience will be of great benefit later in my career. I have read articles that criticize the federal emergency management agency because the majority of its members/staff have no prior experience with emergency situations. on the other hand, many of my friends have questioned my desire to become an EMT, typically a job that does not require a college education. thoughts? similar experiences? thanks.

[Ridryder 911]

Are you inquiring as a health administrator or governmental emergency management officer? As administration, I really suggest you have a working knowledge of how the system works, the need of knowing details, I personally believe would be a waste of time and money if you do not plan to administer care or be directly related with treatment..

Emergency and disaster planning for for health care administration really has nothing to do with the treatment regime. The American College of Emergency Physicians has an excellent guide for hospitals and communities to help prepare for disasters. There are related courses as well. I recommend high involvement of EMS & LEO, F.D, when developing any disaster planning for health care facilities. As well as public service utilities and media. These services can make you or brake you.

If you are really considering municipal administration as a Emergency Management Officer (EMO), I highly suggest a degree program or course that is designed as such. I know one of our local universities has one. The EMO curriculum involves political disaster planning and Incident Command System and even the debated CISD. The studies of man-made and natural disaster and pre-planning as well.

I wish you the best of luck.

R/r 911

[Dustdevil]

Agreed. While there is no doubt that time spent as a medic would contribute some valuable insight into the capabilities and limitations of EMS, the benefits would very definitely not be worth the time and money commitment necessary to become a medic and get enough practise to validate that knowledge. I certainly would not recommend it.

Even with 911, the EM field is already starting to stagnate. The job market is drying up. Too many fire chiefs with bachelors degrees out there jumping out of the fire service for nice cushy federally funded jobs. Guys straight out of EM school with BS degrees have a very difficult time finding work. However, there are quite a few different avenues you can take it. There are only a finite number of federal jobs for EM. The feds just pump their money to state and local governments to take care of. Local governments give the jobs to local boys who have already paid their dues as fire or police chiefs. And private industry frequently contracts their emergency planning out to consultants, of which there are way too many.

Now, of course, if you were looking to administrate EMS or Emergency Services (as opposed to Emergency and Disaster Management), then yes, you would want to go to paramedic school and start working on a Masters degree too. But if you aren't looking to make EMS a career, don't waste your time or ours.

[AnatomyChick]

I agree with Rid and Dust... I worked as the Emergency Management Coordinator for our local hospital for a year or so, and except for the fact that I could be a GREAT advocate for the "ambulance crew", my licensure didn't really change or affect the role that I played in EM.