IAED EMD Course
Common Misconceptions About EMDs - correct answer 1. Callers are too upset to
provide accurate and useful responses to the EMD
2. Callers would not be able to provide the EMD with required information that is
necessary to effectively dispatch emergency medical resources
3. The medical expertise required for effective emergency medical dispatch is not
important, therefore public safety officials should use non-EMD dispatchers to
dispatch resources
4. All EMS calls will be answered "lights and sirens"
5. The EMD is too busy dispatching to worry about asking all those questions, to
provide instructions or use their protocol cards (EMDPRS)
6. Medical advice (provided over the phone) cannot help patients and could actually
be dangerous
7. Using the EMDPRS increases the amount of time and resources required to
process a call
Attributes/Behaviors of the Successful EMD - correct answer - Helpful and
compassionate
- Handles the emotional stress involved in caller/patient crisis situations and clearly
guides callers in these situations
- Masters the skills, philosophy and knowledge of Emergency Medical Dispatch
- Effectively gathers information from callers, prioritizes that information and
consolidates that information in a useful format
- Assists other EMD personnel in reaching the patient's location
- Determines the nature of the medical emergency without diagnosing the medical
problem or condition
- Assists EMS personnel on the scene as requested by EMS personnel and avoid
making patient care decisions by long distance
- Reacts passively to hostile callers, making no judgements based on the caller's
demeanor or past experience with the caller
- Maintains confidentiality
