EMD Resource Allocation and Prioritization 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: During a mass casualty incident, what is the dispatcher's primary resource management responsibility?
- Personally directing triage categories with on-scene medics via radio
- Alerting hospitals, coordinating staging of incoming resources, and maintaining communication with the incident commander (Correct answer)
- Limiting units dispatched to prevent scene overcrowding
- Suspending all other incoming calls until the MCI is resolved
Correct answer: Alerting hospitals, coordinating staging of incoming resources, and maintaining communication with the incident commander
The dispatcher serves as the coordination hub — mobilizing resources, notifying receiving facilities, and relaying information to and from the scene.
Question 2: With only one available unit and two simultaneous Priority 1 calls, what should primarily guide assignment?
- The geographic area with historically higher call volume
- The determinant code indicating the most immediately life-threatening condition (Correct answer)
- The caller's emotional state during interrogation
- The crew's stated preference based on prior experience with similar calls
Correct answer: The determinant code indicating the most immediately life-threatening condition
Determinant codes objectively rank call severity, providing an evidence-based standard for prioritizing the single available unit.
Question 3: What is 'call stacking' in EMD resource management?
- Assigning multiple units to a single low-acuity call as a precaution
- Queuing pending calls in severity order when all units are committed, holding them for the next available resource (Correct answer)
- Combining two calls at the same address into a single response record
- A logging technique for organizing calls in chronological order
Correct answer: Queuing pending calls in severity order when all units are committed, holding them for the next available resource
Call stacking allows the dispatch system to queue unmet demand by priority rather than first-in first-out, so the most critical pending call is handled next.
Question 4: During a large MCI, an unrelated cardiac arrest call arrives from across the service area. What is the appropriate dispatcher action?
- Disregard the cardiac arrest until the MCI is fully resolved
- Dispatch any remaining available local units and activate mutual aid to cover both incidents (Correct answer)
- Automatically downgrade the cardiac arrest priority due to the active MCI
- Transfer the cardiac arrest call to a neighboring center without dispatching any resource
Correct answer: Dispatch any remaining available local units and activate mutual aid to cover both incidents
Every life-threatening call must receive a response; mutual aid bridges the gap when local resources are already committed to the MCI.
Question 5: Which resource category should a dispatcher immediately notify when an MCI is declared?
- Only the units already committed to the scene
- Receiving hospitals, off-duty personnel recall, and mutual aid partners (Correct answer)
- Local media for public information management
- Insurance pre-authorization representatives
Correct answer: Receiving hospitals, off-duty personnel recall, and mutual aid partners
MCI declaration triggers a system-wide notification to ensure hospitals prepare surge capacity and additional personnel and units can be mobilized.
Question 6: One ALS and one BLS unit are available when simultaneous calls arrive: a cardiac arrest and a minor laceration. How should resources be allocated?
- Send both units to the cardiac arrest for maximum patient outcome
- Send the ALS unit to the cardiac arrest and the BLS unit to the minor laceration (Correct answer)
- Send the BLS unit to the cardiac arrest since it has fewer advanced interventions to delay
- Stage both units pending additional caller information
Correct answer: Send the ALS unit to the cardiac arrest and the BLS unit to the minor laceration
Cardiac arrest requires ALS-level interventions such as defibrillation and advanced airway management, while a minor laceration is appropriate for BLS.
Question 7: What is the dispatcher's responsibility regarding resource rotation during a prolonged incident?
- Rotate units at appropriate intervals to sustain crew readiness and maintain area coverage (Correct answer)
- Keep all dispatched units committed until the incident commander formally closes the scene
- Recall all non-essential units after exactly 30 minutes regardless of scene status
- Transfer resource management authority to the on-scene supervisor at the 60-minute mark
Correct answer: Rotate units at appropriate intervals to sustain crew readiness and maintain area coverage
Prolonged incidents can deplete crew resources and system-wide coverage, so the dispatcher must proactively cycle units to preserve both.
EMD Resource Allocation and Prioritization 3
During a mass casualty incident, what is the dispatcher's primary resource management responsibility?