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Wild Card Scenario: Training for the Unexpected

By Allison G. S. Knox
Contributor, In Homeland Security

In emergency medicine, medical, psychiatric and traumatic emergencies tend to fall into the same types of genres: heart attacks, strokes, car accidents – just to name a few.  Of course, the basis for these types of scenarios varies based on the circumstances, which brings forth a critical element that emergency medical technicians, paramedics and anyone else working in emergency medicine need to be well versed in all types of scenarios combined with a mentality that they will adapt to the circumstances as needed.

In emergency management, the basis of this issue is still the same. There is a general genre of issues that can take place, and a general map for how to manage such situations with the idea that adapting as the scenario unfolds is important to keeping the situation under control.   It is therefore, important to continue to train for the most common scenarios so personnel have a general idea of how to handle them.  While the general framework for handling emergencies is certainly in place, it should be noted that due to the nature of emergencies, strange events can happen, too.  These scenarios are called “wild card scenarios” in this article because they’re rare and they’re obscure. From a cost-benefit analysis, it doesn’t make sense to train for these types of scenarios. But, there are a lot of great positive attributes from training for the wild card scenario.

Wild Card Scenario Training Promotes Critical Thinking

In cities, it would be a very rare event to deal with a cow or a horse stuck in the mud – which is often a scenario that plays out for those trained in [link url=”https://amuedge.com/training-specializations-large-animal-tactical-rescue/” title=”Large Animal Technical Rescue”] in rural settings.  However, large animals in distress is actually a very concerning emergency scenario because of the dangers they present to people around them.  Training for this type of scenario in a city setting doesn’t make a lot of sense from the cost-benefit analysis perspective, except for the fact that it generates critical thinking.  For those who work in city scenarios, learning how to rescue a large animal helps them to strategize rescues in a new way that leads to critical thinking and the need for adaptation. It also keeps the minds of emergency personnel contemplating new ways on how to handle difficult entrapment situations.

Wild Card Scenario Training Prepares for the Unexpected

Training for the unexpected refers to the notion that emergency managers and emergency personnel are training for obscure events that rarely happen in terms of what they usually expect for an emergency.  Training for earthquakes in Vermont, for example, may seem to be pointless since earthquakes rarely happen in Vermont. However, just recently an [link url=”https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/12/26/small-quake-recorded-vermont/0KXfOJc5xvbuuRpverh57J/story.html” title=”1.8 earthquake”] was recorded in Vermont, and several years ago, a [link url=”http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/04/20/new.england.tremors/” title=”5.1 earthquake was recorded in Vermont in 2002.”] It would have never been imagined that there would be an earthquake in Washington, DC, but a [link url=”http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/what-caused-dc-earthquake-2011-180959019/” title=”5.8 earthquake struck in 2011.”] Wild card scenarios may have a low probability, but personnel should still prepare for them.

Emergency management is a complex world that requires [link url=”https://amuedge.com/importance-versatility-emergency-management/” title=”versatility”] and the ability to adapt as a scenario unfolds. Wild card scenarios may never happen in a given area, but training for them provide ample opportunity for emergency personnel to further develop critical thinking skills while learning how to handle a strange situation that may not be within their normal emergency genre.

Allison G.S. Knox

Allison G. S. Knox teaches in the fire science and emergency management departments at the University. Focusing on emergency management and emergency medical services policy, she often writes and advocates about these issues. Allison works as an Intermittent Emergency Management Specialist in the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response. She also serves as the At-Large Director of the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians, Chancellor of the Southeast Region on the Board of Trustees with Pi Gamma Mu International Honor Society in Social Sciences, chair of Pi Gamma Mu’s Leadership Development Program and Assistant Editor for the International Journal of Paramedicine. Prior to teaching, Allison worked for a member of Congress in Washington, D.C. and in a Level One trauma center emergency department. She is an emergency medical technician and holds five master’s degrees.

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