Public Safety Training Center

Description

From Clinician to Commander: An Introduction to Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Incident Command is aimed to teach EMS professionals proper techniques and implementation of incident command. Incident Command Systems (ICS) are most commonly practiced in fire departments. As a result of this, there are not many EMS-specific ICS classes offered and Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs)/paramedics are left to interpret the gray area of how to correlate the two together. The simple implementation of incident command at emergency scenes can dictate how the rest of the incident will go. As EMTs/paramedics, we are taught to be clinicians, not commanders. This presentation is aimed to close that gap, so EMS professionals can be aware of when and, more importantly, how to properly command an emergency incident.

Objectives

Identify Challenges

Define ICS

Explain Why We Do it

Correlate PGH EMS and ICS

Show Different Outlooks

Identify When to Establish Command

Identify Different Types of Command

Explain Different Interactions On Scene

Analyze Radio Reports

Exercise Initial Management

Know Resources Available

Explain MCI Response

Describe Triage Group Supervisor/Responsibilities

Describe Treatment Group Supervisor/Responsibilities

Describe Transport Group Supervisor/Responsibilities

Describe Staging Area Manager/Responsibilities

Explain Usage of Tactical Worksheets/ICS Forms

Show Examples

Show Visual Exercises

Participate in Classroom Scenarios

Purpose

This course is designed to provide EMS professionals with the education to run an emergency incident as an incident commander. The presentation adheres to the NIMS guidelines, but in a street-smart manner. The strategies and tactics of incident command vary with the type of calls that we respond to. EMS is often forgotten in most cases. The purpose of this course is to close the gap with incident command as related to the EMS field.

Target Audience

Anyone who responds to emergency incidents where ICS can be utilized. A "clinician" can quickly become a "commander" of a high-risk, low-frequency incident where ICS can be exercised.