By Tracey Barron
I want you to write, type, or calendar the following dates—April 10–11, 2017.
These are the dates of the inaugural IAED Emergency Dispatch Research Workshop at NAVIGATOR 2017.
To take advantage of this landmark event requires only a few steps. Register for the workshop, hosted by the IAED and the UCLA Center for Prehospital Care, and travel to New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, to participate.
The workshop offers a unique hands-on opportunity to frame research into the further study of emergency dispatch, whether medical, police, or fire. Participants work in small groups to develop a plausible question and methodology. No prior research experience is required. The sponsors provide everything you need to succeed.
The workshop is scheduled over two days. We will discuss the value of research, how research builds upon the work of others, and qualities that demonstrate good, sound research. Statisticians, the IAED, and UCLA researchers, editors, and programmers will be available at your fingertips, ready to provide step-by-step support to identify research topics, design the projects, gather data, and perform statistical analysis. You will leave well on your way to submitting an abstract to the Academy’s peer-reviewed scientific journal, the Annals of Emergency Dispatch & Response (AEDR), or to any other referred journal of your choice. You could also leave ready to organize a poster presentation for NAVIGATOR 2018.
Those leading the workshop will also help you get over a fear of research. Maybe you think research is an area beyond your ability or better left to the experts. Maybe you fear peer rejection.
All of us have felt that way, and still do occasionally, when conducting research. But we’re here for you. We’ll help you break research proposals into manageable studies and reasonable steps. As a group, you will create a list of what you need to do, and you will formulate your plan of attack for each step. You will participate in an environment with people who can provide the confidence to pursue this project and future research endeavors.
I like research. It’s not work to me. Research is an opportunity to broaden my knowledge and put new evidence into the world. Even familiar topics in protocol and prehospital care interest me because research substantiates the information or points to a necessity to update what we presumed timely and relevant.
I know research is also a way to get an idea to the ears of the public and decision-makers (such as the police chief, fire chief, medical response team, and budget-makers). Despite what you might think, people pay attention to independent and effective sources of information collected through a well-conceived scientific process approach. In other words, when research is conducted and applied properly, it can do a lot of good. We use research to make the world better.
Similarly, high-quality research into emergency dispatch is crucial to the profession and the public. It provides important data to enhance police, fire, and EMS case outcomes; improves the caller’s experience; assists in effective decision-making; and ensures the viability of emergency dispatch protocol. This is vital in our profession, where change is constant and innovations are seemingly introduced every day.
Research moves us forward in understanding and perfecting what we do. We need this understanding of protocol and its relation to public safety to create a viable future. Partnerships forged through research lead to a staggering amount of progress, and we are eager for you to become a part of that.
Register today for the workshop at https://navigator.emergencydispatch.org/.
