Dr. Andre V. Jones is an Assistant Executive Director and Head of Profession-EMD for Hamad Medical Corporation Ambulance Service, the national ambulance service in the State of Qatar. He also served as the executive lead for the FIFA (World Cup 2022) Medical Command Center, which is within the National Healthcare Incident Command Center. He earned his B.Sc, M.S., M.P.A., and Ph.D. with concentrations in Emergency Management. His research focuses on improving leadership and retention in emergency dispatch, and he is pursuing another Ph.D. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology.
Michelle Haynes currently serves as the EMD Quality Performance Improvement Coordinator for Weld County Regional Communications Center in Greeley, Colorado. She has worked in communications for almost 19 years. During this time, she has worked in several roles, including dispatcher, Certified Training Officer, EMD-Q, and member of the IAED ED-Q Council of Standards. She is a certified EMD Mentor and uses the skills she’s learned throughout her career to help dispatchers improve. By using her experience and expertise she can give them the tools and education that is vital to their success.
Patrick Clark currently serves as the Regional Transport Allocation Center Captain for Monongalia EMS in Morgantown, West Virginia. His team oversees all non-emergent transports for their two local Health Systems along with other facilities within the area. He has worked in EMS for the last 18 years. During this time, he has worked in several roles, including ground and air services along with Critical Care Transport. Along with EMS, he has also worked as a telecommunicator at a 911 system that served a large metropolitan area.
Dr. Chris Olola is the Director of Biomedical Informatics and Research at the Academics, Research & Communications (ARC) Department of the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch (IAED).
Jerry Overton
President of the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch® (IAED™), member of the Board of Trustees, and chair of IAED’s Institutional Review Board (IRB)...
Studies have cited dispatcher claims of
significant emotional, mental, and
physical stress as a result of their work,
however, there is very little literature that
ranks in order of prevalence or severity
the factors contributing to overall stress
specific to emergency dispatchers. The
aim of this study is to collect data that
will complement other research findings
in this field to inform the development of
new programs designed to address
specific factors contributing to dispatch
stress and build better psychological
health among this group.
The objectives of this study were to
describe the barriers to achieving. ACE
and to identify characteristics that
indicate success with respect to achieving
and maintaining ACE status.
Q1. What drew you into research involving stress? The inspiration for this research stemmed from a question that an EMD, one of the authors of the study, asked me. As she finished her shift, she asked, “Have you ever wonder if we make more mistakes in evaluating emergency calls when we work for longer hours? Because in my opinion…” Starting with that question, we planned and developed the study, involving all the Telecommunication Centers in our region [Liguria]. Q2. Your recommendations...
Relatively few dispatch agencies using the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch protocol systems have achieved Accredited Center of Excellence (ACE) status. Despite ACE being the gold standard for implementation of these systems, no research exists about either barrier to ACE achievement or drivers of ACE success. s: The objectives of this study were to describe the barriers to achieving ACE and to identify characteristics that indicate success with respect to...
There is now substantial research literature on the occupational stress among emergency dispatchers from multiple studies that have cited dispatcher claims of significant emotional, mental, and physical stress as a result of their work. However, there is very little literature that ranks in order of prevalence or severity the factors contributing to overall stress specific to emergency dispatchers. The aim of this study is to collect data that will complement other research findings in this field to inform the development of new programs designed to address specific...
