Excuse me!?!?
Today I got an inbox message from a fan. The things she
wrote about really hurt my heart for her. She works in a PSAP that has
dispatchers separated from call takers. It got me thinking. The more I thought
the more offended I was for her.
I work in a 911 center that requires all employees to do it
all. We answer incoming emergency and non emergency phone lines while manning
our dispatch consoles. There is a small exception to this rule, the busiest law
consoles are not required to answer the phones. We are all cross trained for
Law, Fire and EMS and take our turns rotating thru all of the consoles.
In her note to me she writes how she would like to be able
to wear Mad Dispatcher Gear. She says that if she wore a shirt that had the
word Dispatcher on it to work, the “real dispatchers” would make unfriendly
comments about it. She tells me that she is proud of the job that she does but
is reminded by the dispatchers that she “is just an operator”
WAIT JUST A COTTON PICKIN MINUTE!!!!!!!!!
JUST an Operator!!!!
I think my head might just Explode!
We are NEVER ever JUST an anything!
Every one of us provides a vital part of Emergency
communications. The Call taker that gathers vital information for the
dispatchers/responding units, provides calm and control to her callers on
scene, pre arrival medical instructions & so much more. To the dispatcher
that sends out the Officers, Medics and Firefighters keeping them informed,
safe & so much more.
I know if any of the units I dispatch were to tell me I was
“just a Dispatcher” my head would implode.
I am willing to bet these “real Dispatchers” would blow a
frackin’ gasket if one of their units called them “just a dispatcher” , they
should extend the same courtesy they expect to the people they work with
as well. For shame on them!!
With this in mind, never fear call takers! There will be a
shirt designed just for you. You are a vital link in communications and a
lifeline. Never JUST an anything!!!
5 comments:
Our call takers are just as important as the dispatchers. I rely on CT to get as much info as possible so I can pass it in. Call takers must remain calm in every situation. Just last night a CT took a call from a 12yoa girl who found her father after he hung himself. CT did a phenomenal job staying calm and kept the caller calm too. We do this job TOGETHER!
I have worked in agencies where both were together as one position and not. However if the "just an operator" doesn't get the vital info then the "dispatcher" is not any better. That dispatcher relays all info that operator obtains. We are all a link in the response chain, and we are only as good as our weakest link.
I completely agree with you!!! The task of a call taker is no less important than the dispatcher who sends the calls out. She should be able to wear one of those shirts with pride!
I would say you are a telecommunicator and not a dispatcher. A dispatcher sends taxi's.
Sean
This upset me as well. Emergency services can not function if not as a WHOLE team. Every part of that team is vital and deserves respect and appreciation. This concept I think happens often in terms of dispatchers in general, we are often the forgotten first responder. It saddens me that we can pass on that awful feeling to each other, when we are so acutely aware how awful it feels ourselves.
This also got me thinking...maybe you guys have noticed this to. Have you ever said yourself or heard a co-worker say on the phone to someone 'I'm just a dispatcher'. While I never thought about it directly before, reading your post made me realize ... those words are very powerful. To subconsciously tell ourselves we are 'just' anything kills our confidence and self-worth. Those feelings can translate into other aspects of our lives.
Let us all remember our value, and remind others as well! Thank you for discussing this issue!
Post a Comment