NAEMT, FirstNet®, Built with AT&T, Collaborate on New Mental Health Resilience Officer Course
NAEMT and FirstNet announce their collaboration to develop a new Mental Health Resilience Officer online course to prepare EMS personnel to serve as Mental Health Resilience Officers in their agencies.
“Due to the difficult environments EMS personnel encounter every day, and the impact of both direct and vicarious trauma, our EMS workforce has long faced a disproportionate challenge in maintaining their mental health resilience,” stated NAEMT President Bruce Evans. The COVID-19 public health emergency has intensified stress levels and traumatic impact for our field practitioners, making it even more challenging to maintain and strengthen their resilience. This new course will give EMS agency leaders a tool to help their workforce build back their mental health resilience. It is one component of several that are needed to support our profession.”
The NAEMT Mental Health Resilience Officer course will prepare EMS personnel to serve as their agency’s Mental Health Resilience Officer. In this role, the Officer will engage with peers to develop an understanding of mental health issues and resilience; identify peers who are experiencing mental health stressors and crises; navigate peers in need to the right services for help; and support the development of a culture of mental health resilience and emotional wellness within the agency.
The course will include:
- The role of a Mental Health Resilience Officer
- The impacts of EMS work on mental health and emotional wellbeing
- Mental health resilience at the individual, interpersonal, and agency level
- Beginner skills in empathetically engaging individuals regarding mental health issues
- Key elements of an effective EMS mental health resilience program
- The evolving nature of mental health resilience
- The importance of a data-driven evolutionary process for an EMS Mental Health Resilience program
“Every day, our Paramedics and EMTs run toward the very worst days in someone’s life,” said Lynnée Hopson, assistant vice president, Business Marketing, FirstNet Program at AT&T. “They are witnesses, caregivers and solace providers to those in need. This can take a toll, but with programs like the Mental Health Resilience Officer course, we can make a difference. FirstNet is proud to sponsor efforts that support the wellness of public safety.”
“By developing this course in an online format and making it very affordable, NAEMT will ensure that all agencies can easily access this important education and begin to build their resilience program,” stated Evans.”
The NAEMT Mental Health Resilience Officer course will be available through NAEMT’s publishing partner, the Public Safety Group of Jones and Bartlett Learning, by September 1.