In last month’s featured article, First Responders as Emergency Managers, my colleague Tim Riecker wrote about the difficulties many first responders have in transitioning to emergency management. Tim makes the point that first responders and emergency managers are from different fields that require different skill sets that don’t often overlap. Hence, having a first responder background should not be prerequisite for an emergency management position nor is it an automatic guarantee that the candidate will be a successful emergency manager.
My experience mirrors Tim’s and I’d like to expand on this theme a bit as to why I think emergency managers are unique.
When I first came to emergency management, there was no definition as to who emergency managers were or what we did. Indeed, there was no real definition for emergency management. Instead, emergency management was defined by the tasks it was expected to accomplish, as codified in a list of basic preparedness functions. These included tasks such as the mobilization of resources, public warning, caring for victims, damage assessment, and so forth. Emergency managers were defined by the skills needed to perform these tasks.
However, if we look closely at these tasks, it becomes obvious that emergency managers do not perform these tasks. Instead, they ensure that they are performed. Consider, for example, the establishment of emergency shelters. Most emergency plans have a table of some sort designating primary and supporting agencies for emergency functions such as sheltering. I submit that, with a few extremely rare exceptions, none of those tables have the emergency management office as the lead agency for sheltering. Instead, sheltering is usually performed by a team comprised of experts in the various aspects of sheltering, such as shelter management and congregate care. The same can be said of almost all the tasks considered basic preparedness functions.
If emergency managers don’t perform basic preparedness functions, what is it that we contribute to the communities we serve? To explain this, let’s consider an example from the medical profession. Medical professionals can be roughly divided into two very broad categories: generalists and specialists. A general practitioner requires a very broad range of knowledge that allows them to diagnose a patient’s condition. If the patient’s problem is within the physician’s area of practice, they provide treatment. But since their knowledge base is broad but not necessarily deep in some areas, the general practitioner may recognize the need for a referral to a specialist with a deeper understanding of the patient’s condition.
Here's an example of how this works. A patient discusses concerns about the signs of potential heart disease. The general practitioner examines the patient, runs a few tests, and determines that there may be issues with the patient’s heart. The general practitioner refers the patient to a physician specializing in heart disease who confirms a serious problem and refers the patient to a surgeon who specializes in heart operations. During the operation through recovery, the surgeon is supported by a team of other specialists, such as endocrinologist, anesthesiologists, surgical nurses, etc.
Now apply this same concept to emergency managers. We are expected to have a broad range of knowledge that encompasses emergency theory and practices, disaster legislation, historical examples, available resources, and more. More importantly, we need to be able to see the big picture, to think strategically, and to be able to integrate the work of the many specialists with whom we work. Above all, we must be generalists and not let ourselves be distracted by trying to do the tasks that can be better done by a specialist.
Understanding that we are generalists changes the dynamic. Where the old paradigm focused on the what (the basic preparedness functions), being a generalist focuses us instead on the why, which in turn leads to the how and the who. It also shifts us away from the need for just technical competence to include managerial competence and the perception of adding to public value. This in turn demands we develop the competencies that Tim discussed in his article: the personality and people skills needed to support coordination, constantly seeking additional knowledge and training, going beyond a single focus on response, and administrative competency.
There is research to back up this unique view of emergency management. More importantly, we now have an accepted definition of emergency management that focuses on this more proactive role:
Emergency management is the managerial function charged with creating the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to threats/hazards and cope with disasters.
Note the emphasis on management and on the development of community capacity rather than just on tasks. Being a generalist is more challenging and demanding than being a specialist in many ways. I believe that it is what makes us unique among the many organizations with whom we work.
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