Seeking peer support when stressful conditions occur may seem like a natural and common occurrence among emergency dispatchers. Yet we lack complete information about how often it happens, and how helpful it really is. A repeat AEDR author and researcher, Paul Bourgeois, PhD., brings this practice into focus in this journal issue. Using an online survey, Bourgeois questions dispatchers about their utilization of, and attitudes toward peer support teams. His findings and conclusions will help us better
understand the best use of these teams and when to encourage dispatchers to seek help from them.
Emergency dispatchers face high levels of stress, yet little research exists on support mechanisms for their well-being. This study focuses on the utilization and perceived efficacy of peer support programs among this critical workforce.
Dispatcher-Directed Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)—CPR instructions provided over the phone by a certified emergency medical dispatcher (EMD)--is one of the most
important, time-critical, tasks the EMD performs. Immediate initiation of bystander CPR's paramount in the survival of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients. When
handling such a case, EMD actions must be precise and efficient. This only happens when EMDs follow the scripted Medical Priority Dispatch System (MPDS) protocols in
the ProQA™ software consistently and indiscriminately.
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), 57.8 million Americans were estimated to have a mental illness in 2021—a cohort that represents 22.8% of all adults in the U.S. The same report estimates that 14.1 million of them have a condition defined as Severe Mental Illness (SMI), equaling 5.5% of U.S. adults.
Brent Myers, MD, MPH, serves as the Chief Medical Officer for ESO and brings over 30 years of experience in the EMS, Emergency Medicine, and Clinical Informatics
spaces. He has served as an Emergency Department Technician in a rural hospital, a 9-1-1 response EMT, and completed his Residency in Emergency Medicine and an
EMS Fellowship within the UNC School of Medicine System.
