911 Dispatching, Day 6. The past couple of shifts on my new job have left me feeling like I had hit a starters plateau...meaning I didn't feel like I was learning as much as quickly as I would have liked. My head has felt pretty cloudy and I'm not sure if it's because I'm trying to cram so much into it or because I'm tired from lack of sleep. Anyway, when I pulled into a parking space at work today I said a prayer asking Heavenly Father to help me learn a lot at work today. Status check on that prayer....answered.
Whenever my boss, Steve, is there he will take the time to give me instruction. He and Janet pretty much spent the whole day with me. Since I'm still new to the Madison Valley, Steve started out the day by drawing me a map of the county and teaching me the basics of where certain highways, landmarks, and towns are. He taught me about where our transmitting towers are and where the radio signal reaches through them. He could only take me saying I didn't know where so many places were before he took me on a personal tour of the immediate surrounding area. All of his instruction really helped orient me to the county.
The next thing that Steve and Janet helped me with was going through simulated 911 calls. Steve called the line acting out different situations and it was up to me to ask the right questions and extract the right information (where, what, who). My first simulated call was concerning a fire. He was yelling out a bunch of different info and before I could get everything I needed he hung up. DANG IT!! The next one was a medical emergency and once again, he hung up before I could a name and call back number. Each time I would go through a simulation I would find myself embarrassed of the mistakes I would make. It was hard to do them knowing I would make mistakes but also nice knowing that I could correct some of the mistakes before they would happen on a real call. They impersonated a few different people until Janet was the frantic caller. She was calling about her baby who had stopped breathing. I was able to get everything I needed in order to get an ambulance dispatched. Finally a remotely successful call. Janet even told me after the fact that the way I handled the call MADE her want to give me the information I was asking for. Steve and Janet have been very kind and encouraging toward my training in spite of my mistakes. In fact, all of the other employees have been just as encouraging.
I appreciate all of the help and support within my new job. I saw Heavenly Fathers hand in my training today and He went above and beyond my expectations. I feel like Heavenly Father is really helping to learn many things more quickly then I thought possible. I have such a long way to go but I don't feel like I'm really lagging, which is good.
I have also had some awesome support from friends and family. When I got home late last night Jaret informed me that the kids were bathed and cereal was on the table ready for them in the morning. It was such a relief knowing I would have to get them ready and out the door again in the morning.
Whenever I see my friends from Sugar High they seem excited to see me and give me hugs. It makes me feel loved and means a lot to me. Other friends go out of their way to ask how things are going. I'm pretty lucky.
Whenever my boss, Steve, is there he will take the time to give me instruction. He and Janet pretty much spent the whole day with me. Since I'm still new to the Madison Valley, Steve started out the day by drawing me a map of the county and teaching me the basics of where certain highways, landmarks, and towns are. He taught me about where our transmitting towers are and where the radio signal reaches through them. He could only take me saying I didn't know where so many places were before he took me on a personal tour of the immediate surrounding area. All of his instruction really helped orient me to the county.
The next thing that Steve and Janet helped me with was going through simulated 911 calls. Steve called the line acting out different situations and it was up to me to ask the right questions and extract the right information (where, what, who). My first simulated call was concerning a fire. He was yelling out a bunch of different info and before I could get everything I needed he hung up. DANG IT!! The next one was a medical emergency and once again, he hung up before I could a name and call back number. Each time I would go through a simulation I would find myself embarrassed of the mistakes I would make. It was hard to do them knowing I would make mistakes but also nice knowing that I could correct some of the mistakes before they would happen on a real call. They impersonated a few different people until Janet was the frantic caller. She was calling about her baby who had stopped breathing. I was able to get everything I needed in order to get an ambulance dispatched. Finally a remotely successful call. Janet even told me after the fact that the way I handled the call MADE her want to give me the information I was asking for. Steve and Janet have been very kind and encouraging toward my training in spite of my mistakes. In fact, all of the other employees have been just as encouraging.
I appreciate all of the help and support within my new job. I saw Heavenly Fathers hand in my training today and He went above and beyond my expectations. I feel like Heavenly Father is really helping to learn many things more quickly then I thought possible. I have such a long way to go but I don't feel like I'm really lagging, which is good.
I have also had some awesome support from friends and family. When I got home late last night Jaret informed me that the kids were bathed and cereal was on the table ready for them in the morning. It was such a relief knowing I would have to get them ready and out the door again in the morning.
Whenever I see my friends from Sugar High they seem excited to see me and give me hugs. It makes me feel loved and means a lot to me. Other friends go out of their way to ask how things are going. I'm pretty lucky.
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