"Professionals" or "Amateurs"

5/23/2007

Being seen as professionals, or at least as a group of volunteers who provide a professional quality service, has long been a goal of those involved in EmComm.  But, as a whole, this has been an elusive achievement.

Why? When Volunteer Firefighters and EMT's have seemed achieved this, even for volunteers.

Let's look at the definitions of "professional" and "amateur".  Encarta Dictionary defines professional as "showing a high degree of skill or competence" and amateur as "somebody who has only limited skill in, or knowledge of, an activity".

So how do we "show a high degree of skill or competence".  I my opinion, through training.  This is not to say the EmComm volunteers do not train, but there is no common standard that can be looked to by the general public or served agencies.  Admittedly, the training for EMT's and Firefighters varies slightly from state to state, but as a whole there is common excepted or mandated training that these volunteers must meet.  And this is the same for volunteers (non-paid) as it is for the "professionals" (paid) EMT's and Firefights.

As EmComm volunteers, our training standards are all over the board.  From some groups that require absolutely no training of their volunteers to others that have very high training requirements.  Even our single "national" organization, ARES®, has no standards.  And in reality ARES® is a national organization in name only.  The only thing in common among ARES® groups is their name and that and ARRL EC is at the head of it.

So when served agencies look at EmComm groups, what can they use to evaluate whether or not a group can perform the tasks they needed carried out?  It can only be done on a case by case basis, and then only after a relationship has been built and it is demonstrated whether or not the EmComm group has actually been able to "deliver".  This is not a good way of instilling confidence and gaining trust from those we would like to serve.  If we can't instill confidence and trust, how can we expect other to view us as "professionals"?

WE CAN'T!

When you look at other who is considered to be "professionals" and if you take out that they are paid for what they do, what identifies them as professionals? 

THE TRAINING AND EDUCATION THEY HAVE RECEIVED!

And that training and education is standard for every profession or job description. 

Therefore, we see one of the major steps, if not THE major step toward being seen as professionals, is to have a training standard for all EmComm volunteers.

And if we wish to be seen as "professionals" rather than "amateurs, we need to be able to DEMONSTRATE our professionalism is ways similar to how others do.

Certification is a good vehicle to do this. Why?

The federal government has defined "certification" as "the process by which a non-governmental organization grants recognition to an individual who has met predetermined qualifications specified by that organization." Similarly, the National Commission for Certifying Agencies has defined certification as "a process, often voluntary, by which individuals who have demonstrated the level of knowledge and skill required in the profession, occupation, role, or skill are identified to the public and other stake-holders."

Accordingly, there are three hallmarks of "certification" (as functionally defined).

Certification is a:

a)     voluntary process;

b)    by a private organization;

c)     for the purpose of providing, the public, information on those individuals who have successfully completed the certification process, entailing successful completion of educational requirements and demonstrating their ability to perform their skills competently.

Certification then, helps us to be seen as "professionals" by providing the "proof" of the training and education EmComm volunteers have obtained and that this training and education is standardized. Which means that regardless of the part of the county you come from or the group you belong to, if I come to you for assistance you should be able to provide a level and quality of service that I can measure against a known standard?

Without a vehicle, such as a National Certification, it will be hard for EmComm volunteers, as a group, to ever gain the recognition as being a resource that provides a professional level of service.

Chris, NG3F
NRCEV

This is part 1 of a multi part series on why the NRCEV was established to provide a National Certification for EmComm Volunteers, Teams and Organizations.

All statements are the opinions of the author developed through experience in EmComm, Emergency Management and Emergency Medical Services, both as a volunteer and paid.