What makes a good ems supervisor

Under the current ambulance service compensation system, the tasks delivered by an EMS Supervision does not create billable work. The Street Boss makes the next biggest impact on revenues by identifying and reducing situations where caregivers are stuck in a non-revenue situation and unable to respond to ambulance transport assignments.

Using revenue as a measurement, the Super Paramedic makes no impact, unless your system is so under-resourced that the EMS Supervisor is spending a good part of the day responding as an ALS first responder to avoid financial penalties or a breach-of-contract termination.

To help me develop those articles, please take 3 minutes to complete a 5 question survey. Jamie N. Deis, Keegan M. Smith, Michael D. Warren, et al. Backer H. Prehospital Emergency Care. Journal of Emergency Medical Services. When Jan came to our leadership academy three years ago, she was enthused, motivated and feisty.

She had just become a field supervisor and passionately wanted to learn and do good things. She was fun to be around and full of energy and hope. When we talked about employee engagement and the unique challenges of leading EMS people, she got it. Jan was one of those supervisors any employer would be proud to have. I ran into Jan recently at an EMS gathering in her state and found her burnt out, unmotivated and planning a return to street work. Sadly, her story is not unusual.

Field supervisors perform one of the most important jobs in EMS, but they often do so without executive leaders understanding and valuing the role. Instead, many organizations ruin field supervisors. The secret sauce of great EMS workplaces is engagement — employees who are excited, enthused, committed, loyal and willing to do more than required. Field supervisors are the kingpins of engagement.

They are closest to field staff, and the prime relationship builders with field staff. You are now a leader, and what you say about someone helps decide if they keep their motivation to excel, or give up and become a burnout, in the longer term. Set a good example. Encouraging those who are motivated, and those who are not, to be the best they can be and keep their passion is what makes for great providers.

Sometimes people may not realize that help exists. Help them find it. Advocate for your people when they do things well, communicate with your superiors when there are things which should change, and bring changes back to your field crews in a way they can understand when they do come down as policy. EMS is no exception. We have our share of great leaders and poor leaders.

If you are aspiring to a leadership position or if you are currently in a leadership role in your organization, good leadership can be learned. He is a primary instructor for South Metro's EMT program and a lifelong student of emergency medicine.

Reach him through his blog at steve theemtspot. You must enable JavaScript in your browser to view and post comments. More EMS1 Articles. More Leadership News. You've been successfully signed up for the Paramedic Chief.

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