AMU Emergency Management Health & Fitness Opinion Public Safety Resource

Policy Dilemmas of Resource Management

For those in entry level positions in emergency management, it can be difficult to see the whole picture when it comes to managing a situation. Because these positions are essentially cogs in the system, it can be difficult for workers to see all of the necessary components of managing an emergency the way someone in a supervisory role would contemplate the entire scenario.

Managing resources effectively is an important piece of emergency management in general. If one is able to manage resources, potentially fewer issues will arise in the future.

Emergency Medical Services (EMS) instructors typically do a great job in teaching Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) to conserve their resources. However, somewhere in the shuffle, EMTs can lose sight of the overall picture as it relates to managing one emergency, or all of the 911 resources there are serving the same area in a regular work day. This is why it is important for an EMT to contemplate the larger picture when answering 911 calls, as it can help manage situations that have not yet happened. It can help to get ahead of the game.

However, there are a few policy issues that can intersect, making resource management difficult at best for EMS. Effective resource management and the Duty to Act can present numerous obstacles when it comes to effective patient care.

Managing Resources

Answering 911 calls for EMTs is time consuming. EMTs need to respond quickly moving a patient to the hospital if the patient is suffering from a medical, traumatic or psychiatric emergency. EMTs also need to be able to effectively lift the patient into the back of the ambulance, and document everything they did for a patient for their medical chart.

From the moment they get the call to the moment they’re put back into service at the hospital could take an hour…  it can be very time consuming. So, if another EMT happens to have a call taken for them, (i.e. another EMT or paramedic arrives on scene first and takes the patient to the hospital), they’re often very happy that someone else will be taking care of the patient. They no longer need to worry about all of that paperwork or heavy lifting.

Certainly, a paramedic can handle all sorts of calls, but this versatility brings forth an important issue. Once a paramedic takes a patient, they’re out of service for the next big emergency. For example, if specific paramedic takes a basic life support call and but he/she is trained in advanced life support, then the overall resources are not being handled appropriately. For paramedics, this can be a very frustrating scenario.

The Duty to Act

The [link url=”https://www.ems1.com/ems-products/consulting-management-and-legal-services/articles/2401824-Duty-to-act-assess-treat-and-transport-A-legal-refresher-for-EMS-providers/” title=”Duty to Act”] requires that an EMT or paramedic respond to a 911 call. The act also requires that an EMT pass along patient care to someone of equal or higher training – and conversely, a paramedic cannot relinquish care back to an EMT.

Thus, it could be negligent for a paramedic to relinquish care to an EMT – even if it made sense to free up the paramedic for potential advanced life support patients. 

Thus, this issue presents a conundrum in resource management. It can be very difficult to effectively manage resources, when there are important policies such as the Duty to Act already in place.

Ultimately, all resources need to be carefully weighed during any emergency. It is important to be at least one step ahead of the game when it comes to managing resources. But, every once in a while, policies intertwine suddenly creating complicated issues that one simply cannot avoid. Resource management can be one of these issues in emergency medical services, especially where patient care is involved. For EMS, each agency may be different and may be able to create their own policies that help manage potential situations like this.

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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