There is a range of emergency response career pathways available to those who have entered the field. Emergency response teams are made up of various roles, that all contribute to keeping people safe and dealing with crisis situations. Knowing the different roles for emergency response professionals lets you get the appropriate training and qualifications for the role you’re interested in. The three most common roles are emergency response team members, emergency response officers, and medical emergency services officers.
Emergency response team member (ERT)
Emergency response team members play a key support role during emergency response situations. They assist the response team with essential duties in a voluntary capacity. They work with other on-site volunteers to help ensure a safe and effective response to high-risk situations.
Becoming an emergency response team member is a good idea for anyone looking to start their career in emergency response. It gives you an opportunity to get hands-on, practical experience in the field before getting more advanced qualifications.
Necessary qualifications
In order to become an emergency response team member, you should have a HLTAID014 Provide Advanced First Aid and be working towards completing a RII30719 Certificate III in Emergency Response and Rescue.
The HLTAID014 equips you with the skills to perform advanced first aid. This is critical in many emergency response situations.
The RII30719 is directly related to working in emergency response situations. Doing this certificate parallel to your work as an ERT is a good idea.
Primary responsibilities
Emergency response team members a broad range of responsibilities. They are indispensable for making sure emergency response procedures run smoothly.
Some of their responsibilities relate to managing the emergency response equipment. This includes safety inspection, testing and maintenance.
Emergency response team members also need to know about the relevant emergency response procedures. Part of this entails attending the emergency response training sessions whenever necessary.
Communications are another important aspect of working as an ERT. They are required to report relevant workplace hazards and participate in post-incident debriefs.
And of course, responding to emergencies is a critical part of the role. The situations they may be helping with include road crashes, search and rescue missions, fires, and hazardous material spills. They may also be tasked with providing assistance with first aid response or vertical and confined place rescue missions.
Emergency services officer (ESO)
An emergency response officer will be tasked with a broad range of responsibilities involving emergency management, equipment management, and emergency response training. This is a professional role and exists within more of a leadership capacity than an emergency response team member.
This role is ideal for individuals who are passionate about taking a larger role within emergency services. It places a greater focus on supervisory and organisational duties. Becoming an ESO is a good next step for ERTs who wish to manage more complex responsibilities.
Necessary qualifications
To work as an emergency services officer, you need a HLTAID014 Provide Advanced First Aid and a RII30719 Certificate III in Emergency Response and Rescue.
An HLTAID014 provides people with the baseline level of first aid training required in emergency situations. It’s critical in many situations where multiple injuries are present.
RII30719 Certificate III is a qualification specifically designed for this role. It provides many important skills for the different aspects of emergency management.
Primary responsibilities
Emergency services officers have critical responsibilities related to different aspects of emergency response. They operate in a supervisory capacity, but also must know how to do much of the day-to-day tasks necessary for the role.
ESOs are often tasked with organising the servicing and repair of equipment used in search and rescue missions. This is critical to ensuring everything is operational when an emergency occurs.
Their duties also involve inspection and reporting for different work sites, including mines. They conduct audits, inspections, and other related tasks to ensure everything is safe enough to operate.
Emergency services officers play a large role in the training of team members. They are tasked with planning, conducting and then providing reports for training sessions. Along with this, they are responsible for planning meetings, reviewing response procedures and conducting safety interventions.
They are tasked with directly leading emergency response teams in a range of emergency scenarios. These could be vertical and confined space rescues, search and rescue missions, road crashes, first aid response situations, and hazardous material spills. Additionally, they will also lead the response team for fires, natural disasters and other emergencies. They contribute to all aspects of emergency management, including arranging and undertaking patient transport.
After incidents, they also take an active role in incident investigation. Throughout the investigation, they will conduct drug and alcohol testing and after they will lead the post-incident debrief.
Medical emergency services officer (MESO)
Medical emergency services officers are responsible for managing the medical aspects of emergency situations. During emergency response, they are tasked with providing comprehensive health services and injury management.
They also do important work to help prepare for emergency response situations. They are responsible for maintaining and inspecting onsite emergency equipment. Additionally, they help lead skills maintenance training for volunteer emergency response teams.
Medical emergency services officers are also incredibly valuable on work sites. They provide much-needed assistance to medical teams when medical emergencies occur.
This role would best suit someone with a medical background that is looking to work in emergency response and rescue operations. It allows them to combine their healthcare experience with emergency management training. However, an ERT or ESO may also wish to upskill into this role.
Necessary qualifications
The qualifications that you need in order to work as a medical emergency services officer are the HLT41120 Certificate IV in Health Care and the RII30719 Certificate III in Emergency Response and Rescue.
The HLT41120 is critical since MESOs take a lead role in the medical aspect of emergency situations. They provide the tools to handle a range of situations including managing a scene, transporting patients, interpreting medical terminology, and confirming the physical health status of individuals.
They need to have the RII30719 due to the general information they need to know about emergency management.
Primary responsibilities
Medical emergency services officers primarily have duties related to injury management and medical treatment. This includes actually addressing the injuries of the patient, patient transport, filing the appropriate paperwork, and liaising with relevant parties like patients, physiotherapists, doctors and human resources.
Another thing for medical emergency services officers to do is provide medical clearance for employees. This includes new employees and those returning to work who require evaluation.
Much like emergency services officers, equipment management is an important responsibility for MESOs. This encompasses both the servicing and the repair of emergency medical equipment.
They often help to lead training for the team, due to their medical knowledge. They manage it at every step including, planning, conducting training, and reporting.
Many of their tasks involve direct contact with patients and employees. They are responsible for conducting random drug and alcohol testing as well as administering flu vaccinations when necessary.
Mental health is also included within the umbrella of health management. They provide mental health assessments for employees and then provide recommendations based on their assessments.
When it comes to mine site emergencies, they provide supervision in a medical capacity for an array of different hazard situations. Their key area of focus is first aid response. However, they also play a key role in fires, search and rescue, hazardous material spills, vertical and confined space rescue, and road crashes.
How do I know which role suits me best?
The best way to find out which role suits you best is with practical experience. Typically, you want to start off as an emergency services team member. This allows you to gauge how you feel about the different duties involved in emergency response. You may find that you are happy in the role and don’t want to seek more advanced qualifications. Alternatively, you may be drawn to emergency management or the medical aspects of emergency response. In this case, you can upskill to be an ESO or MESO respectively.
Where can I get qualified for emergency services work?
Parabellum offers a range of different courses related to emergency search and rescue. Our comprehensive training provides you with the tools to pursue whichever path interests you in emergency response. Feel free to contact us if you would like to learn more.
