Misty Worrell and her partner on Cypress Creek EMS responded to a medical call that would result in two fatalities and the EMS crew being exposed to deadly Methyl Bromide. Because there is no cure for Methyl Bromide poisoning, Misty, a mother of five children, was instructed to get her affairs in order as she …
Deadly Methyl Bromide exposure: The Misty Worrell story – Part 2 (Episode 324) Read More »
Misty Worrell and her partner on Cypress Creek EMS responded to a medical call that would result in two fatalities and the EMS crew being exposed to deadly Methyl Bromide. Because there is no cure for Methyl Bromide poisoning, Misty, a mother of five children, was instructed to get her affairs in order as she …
Deadly Methyl Bromide exposure: The Misty Worrell story – Part 1 (Episode 323) Read More »
The mission of the Operational Mindset Foundation is to mentally, physically and emotionally prepare those who choose to place themselves in harm’s way every day for the benefit of others… and give them the opportunity to experience what safe feels like when they return home. Length: 32 minutes Click the YouTube icon to watch the full …
Interview with Jeff Banman from the Operational Mindset Foundation (Episode 322) Read More »
Situational awareness barriers block a worker’s ability to perceive, understand or predict. I have uncovered and researched more than a hundred barriers to awareness. This episode talks about two of the barriers – sensory conflict and mind drift. We also briefly discuss the process for predicting future events. Length: 53 minutes Click the YouTube icon …
Sensory Conflict and Mind Drift – A reading from the Smart Worker’s book (Episode 321) Read More »
Why is it so hard to let go of a decision or an action once we have committed ourselves to it? As I think back on my life, it is easy for me to identify a number of times where my situational awareness eroded and it led to bad decisions. I can attribute a number …
In this episode, you get to sit in on a segment of a situational awareness program where Dr. Gasaway discusses four situational awareness barriers. Length: 33 minutes Click the YouTube icon to watch the full VIDEO __________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding of situational awareness and high-risk decision making to …
Pre-Arrival Lens, Task Fixation, Mission Myopia and Fear (Episode 246) Read More »
The social interaction between coworkers may not be on your mind as you think about situational awareness. But the fact is we are all influenced by our relationships with others. We have an inherent internal desire to be well-liked and respected. We also have a very strong internal drive to avoid embarrassment. These traits of …
Being a subordinate is an inherently essential skill for first responders. Borrowing a line from the movie A Few Good Men “We follow orders or people die.” This is true. However, consistent with the outcome of the movie, sometimes BECAUSE we follow orders people die. An example of this would be when a decision maker …
Nine Dangerous Mindsets – Part 2: The Subordinate Read More »
One of the human factors influencing situational awareness is the mindset of the first responder. Mindset is based on beliefs, biases and self-perception. Mindset may also be influenced by organizational culture and peer pressure. In this series I am going to explore nine potentially dangerous mindsets and share how they can impact emergency scene safety.
Towering Inferno… Backdraft… Ladder 49… Emergency… Adam 12… Dragnet… Rescue Me… Chicago Fire… Hawaii Five O … Love them or hate them, movies and television influence perceptions and create expectations three ways: First, they influence citizen perceptions of emergency service providers and create certain performance expectations. Second, they influence first responders’ perceptions of themselves and …
