MECCA 9-1-1 telecommunicators go through many hours of rigorous emergency communications-specific training. In addition to over 200 hours of on-the-job training with a communications training officer (CTO), telecommunicators obtain specific training in the following:
- Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO) Public Safety Telecommunicator (PST) Course
- Advanced Emergency Medical Dispatcher (EMD)
- West Virginia Automated Police Network (WEAPON)
- Department of Homeland Security (DHS) National Incident Management System (NIMS)
APCO Public Safety Telecommunicator 1
Through the APCO Institute, the PST1 course blends knowledge and skill-building needed for a basic telecommunicator with the most up-to-date information on the technology and issues surrounding today's public safety communications center.
The course includes "hot" topics such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), and the telecommunicator's role in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's NIMS Incident Command System. There is also an extensive expansion of information previously presented, including TTY/TDD and Telematics training.
Training includes:
The course includes "hot" topics such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), and the telecommunicator's role in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's NIMS Incident Command System. There is also an extensive expansion of information previously presented, including TTY/TDD and Telematics training.
Training includes:
- Introduction to, roles, and responsibilities of a telecommunicator
- Interpersonal Communications
- Telephone Communications Techniques: Call Processing
- Traditional Telephony Technology
- Emerging Telephony Technology
- TTY/TDD Telephony Technology
- Telematics/Automatic Crash Notification (ACN)
- Computer Aided Dispatch
- Radio Communications Techniques & Technology
- Call Classification
- NIMS Incident Command System
- Liability Issues
- Stress management
Advanced Emergency Medical Dispatcher
Through the National Academy of Emergency Dispatch, telecommunicators master the art of emergency medical dispatching. They learn how to handle difficult callers, identify the correct chief complaint of the patient, assign needed resources, effectively communicate between responders and callers, and provide life-saving support until responders arrive. Advanced EMD training is hands-on, with real-life examples and instructors who have spent years in emergency medical services as both dispatchers and responders.
EMD Certification helps telecommunicators to:
EMD Certification helps telecommunicators to:
- Improve the quality of service and caring provided to the caller
- Correctly identify Chief Complaints
- Assign needed resources
- Improve scene safety
- Provide effective Dispatch Life Support (DLS)
- Become familiar with the new "Compressions First" method of CPR
- Provide crucial Pre-Arrival Instructions (PAIs), such as in high-risk childbirth situations (breech, etc.)
- Safely prioritize calls
- Acquire National Certification
WEAPON System
West Virginia Automated Police Network
New telecommunicators go to the West Virginia State Police Academy in Institute, WV, to take a 40 hour course on the WEAPON system. This statewide criminal justice information network is tied into the National Criminal Information Center (NCIC), National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (NLETS), and National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) database, just to name a few. Through nationwide implementation and support, telecommunicators are tasked with performing a background check, Criminal Information Bureau (CIB) inquiry, or Intrastate Identification Index (III) inquiry. All of these tools help law enforcement and other responders by making valuable info readily available. (When an officer "runs" your license plate or driver's license, a telecommunicator is putting this information into the WEAPON system to obtain a "return" with the requested information.)
New telecommunicators go to the West Virginia State Police Academy in Institute, WV, to take a 40 hour course on the WEAPON system. This statewide criminal justice information network is tied into the National Criminal Information Center (NCIC), National Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (NLETS), and National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) database, just to name a few. Through nationwide implementation and support, telecommunicators are tasked with performing a background check, Criminal Information Bureau (CIB) inquiry, or Intrastate Identification Index (III) inquiry. All of these tools help law enforcement and other responders by making valuable info readily available. (When an officer "runs" your license plate or driver's license, a telecommunicator is putting this information into the WEAPON system to obtain a "return" with the requested information.)