Ben E. said:
Come on guys!!! What's so stressful about pushing the button and yacking into the microphone every once in awhile?
I kid, I kid! I love my dispatchers (even though some of them suck).
I know it would never happen but if you had a 10-80 that ran into the western side of the state I will make sure you get stop sticked for your potty mouth! :lol: :lol: :lol:
I've been in communications for 4 years now and in that time I've worked for 2 different agencies. In each one of them I say the biggest deciding factor on whether or not someone can do the job and do it well is the ability to multi task. If you can't multi task you may make it but your time is probably numbered. Here is what I have encountered in both jobs and how busy and stressful it can get.
My first job in communications was at Lifecom in Omaha, NE. LifeCom is the largest dispatch center in the US I believe for Airmethods. At the time we handled around 100 helicopters and fixed wing aircraft. The center also had a billing center and transfer center that I won't get into as I have no idea how they work. The Communications side of the room was broken up into 4 sections, Heartland Desks, Southeast Desks, Northeast Desks, and West Bank.
During my 1 year employeed there I worked on the West Bank which handled only Mercy Air in CA/NV and AZ LifeNet. Our shifts were 12 hrs and we had 3 dispatchers on our bank. I was primary for Mercy Air with 1 other dispatcher and we handled 14 helicopters between the 2 of us. AZ LN had 1 and we backed her up when she was busy or stepped out of the room. Our hours were 6p-6a so with the time difference it was 4p-4a there time. So imagine having that many helicopters at those times in Las Vegas, San Diego, Bakersfield during rush our and peak times during the weekends. It was nuts. It wasn't uncommon to have all our helicopters up and AZ to have all theirs up, we were very busy. The other desks had more dispatchers but had maybe 30 or more helicopters on their banks like South East did. On my desk alone, in 1 year I can name close to 7 people that were trained after I got hired that didn't make it by either quitting or getting let go. The number 1 killer for people was multi tasking and stress. It was a tough job and you were always doing multiple things at once. Whether it be incoming flight requests, confirming accepting drs for interhospital xfers, setting up ground transport for hospitals that didn't have helipads or "noise ordinances" after dark(Yes trust me they did in a lot of towns), crew requests or lifting and landing at destinations.
I loved the job, weekends usually flew because it was busy most of your whole shift and by the time you realized it, it would be 2-3am already and you'd maybe got up once to go the bathroom or eat. I had some good partners and a couple really bad ones in just 1 year. If it wasn't my ability to multi task there would be no way I would have been able to move on and stay in this line. It was my first communications job and I just kind of adapted to it and loved it. I would have loved to stay there but I disagreed with the management style and the revolving door policy but the crews were awesome to deal with for the most part and it was a very interesting job. 12 hr shift were good but I had a 50 min drive both ways and when the weather sucked it drug on and not getting much sleep in between shifts really beat me up.
I was lucky enough to apply and get hired w/ the Iowa State Patrol in Dec '07 and 2 weeks from today it'll be 3 years. MY center is a smaller center but we cover a large area with the most interstate. We cover 127 miles of I-29, 97 miles of I-80, and 27 miles of I-680 along with 17 counties so it stacks up. The most we run is 2 dispatchers and on overnights, weekends and sometimes during the day we only run 1 depending on vacations and sick time so it stacks up. You could only have 5-6 troopers out during your shift or like today, I'm alone working day shift I currently have 22 troopers out. Some may be in meetings or at their posts, or out patrolling or on accidents whatever it may be. What I didn't mention is I also handle all the DOT MVE, DCI, DNE, SFM, and DNR traffic. When sh*t hits the fan it's not stopping. I'm considered the "black cloud" around this place it seems like I'm always the one who gets the bad accidents or hot calls but I love it. Switching from air medical dispatching to
law enforcement was a big change for me. I've grown up around it all my life so I knew what I was getting into for the most part...LOL! I've seen a lot and been able to do alot but with any job if you're not on your toes and can multi task and keep up with it you are never going to last. I could be sitting here handling my 4 car accident that is currently working and next thing I know C-911 is ringing with Big Bob Big Rigger Professional Truck Driver yelling at me because he got passed by a small car that shouldn't be going faster then his governed speed, and 2 counties can start calling for calls to assist on their calls, DCI starts calling to run warrants on people, or even a freak snow storm can drop a couple inches of snow on a 50 miles stretch of I-80 and I have more accidents and vehicles in the ditch then I have cars to assist with. Anything can happen and it call and usually does happen all at once.
Thankfully, I adapted very well when I started. Being able to multi task helped me out greatly. It was a learning curve being I'm more fire oriented then LEO but I got the hang of it and stuck with it. I don't mind it being busy, it's all part of the job. Knowing what is more important, what takes priority is always the first step. Safety is always #1, the phone lines with the press can always wait, your cell phone ringing can always wait, watching the The Drs will always been on every day trust me I have to sit and watch it on certain days and they talk about the same stuff everyday that can wait. The radio is first priority keeping your crews safe. Being at the State level you're held a little higher then others because there is so much you can do and have but don't rely on them as a bandaid or in our case(using medical terms) a trauma dressing like certain other lower level agencies do. Keep up with times and adapt to technology changes, things are always moving forward and accepting that will help. Knowing how your equipment operates and what to do if something fails because if it fails it will when you're in the middle of something major or during a busy time.
I've only been in communications for 4 years and I'm only 24. I know I'm young and 3 years ago to get hired with ISP was huge but they saw something in me and I'm glad they did. It's made me a better person. I might not have all the expierence that some do but I think I've seen my fair share and worked some pretty major things. Obivously, the Interstates is our main focus, winter storms are a nightmare here. We have the worst drivers when it comes every year and it's not uncommon to stack hundreds of cars up in the ditch or medians. I've seen bad accidents, putting out broadcasts on vehicles multiple times a shift for careless driving or the few that actually are intoxicated and get pulled over. My partner and I put multiple broadcasts out on a vehicle we took reports on a couple months ago, little did we know shortly after our last broadcast would he cross the center line in head to head road construction and take out and kill 4 motorcycle riders on I-29. Take a request for officers from a small county that had an officer down from a shooting that turned into an active shooter and 3 hour stand off, which turned into a multi agency response with close to 75-100 officers responding to aid.
I guess with what I know now and have learned in 4 years is that you're never going to be perfect. If you do something really good and mess 1 thing up your going to hear about it. You'll never be good enough to some in the public sector, you're never going to get press releases up fast enough for the press and so on. Always keep an open mind and don't dwell on something if it's bothering you. Work your shift and go on, leave it at the door. If you can't multi task work on it the best you can and do your best. Speak clearly and if you can't hear someone or miss someone traffic just ask them to repeat it. If someone talks waaayyy too fast on the radio and fast enough the call recorder won't pick it up tell them to slow down. Keep your cool under pressure and don't lose it.....(Don't tell Billy Bob Big Rigger Professional Truck Driver that he is an idiot and you don't want to talk to him and anymore of his partners during your shift, Don't hang up on the press or tell them to wait until another news agency has it on their website, Don't tell someone to learn how to change a tire or ask them if their vehicle did not have the optional gas gauge installed, Don't tell the lower level agency if applicable that they are able to handle their own stuff even though you know they can and will not....etc etc etc). Learn new technology and adapt to it. It will help you out greatly! Learn your equipment and if something fails learn how to fix it or call the person that can because if it does fail, it will when you are extremely busy or in the worst possible time. Did I mention Multi task and prioritize yet?
Lastly, if all else fails.....Make sure you have a supply of candy bars and Cherry Pepsi, maybe a can of Camel Frost just in case too...