Floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, train wrecks and hazardous chemical spills are all examples of public emergencies that endanger life and property. How well a community or organization prepares and deals with these and other disasters affects people's economic viability and their lives.
The ability to perform essential work in a disaster requires skills in emergency operations and management. Professionals in this field are federal, state or local government officials, or are employed by volunteer organizations or the private sector. They work to minimize a disaster's impact on the public through prevention, public education, planning and effective response operations.
It's important for skilled emergency managers to take a holistic approach and a broad view of hazards. They must recognize the multicausality and interdisciplinary nature of disasters. A common theme among scholars and practitioners is that a comprehensive and integrated approach to emergency management is required.
Most emergency managers are put into the position solely for the purpose of writing grants and trying to bring funding to their community or jurisdiction. Several wear more than one hat, and emergency management is merely a small percentage of their overall duties. There is a strong need to professionalize emergency management throughout all levels of government. Although the Federal Emergency Management Agency has independent study courses and offers in-residency training, better, more formalized training curricula is necessary, which academia can help with.
Academia, through its higher learning institutions, can provide well rounded education in which programs effectively address the plethora of possible hazards in any given jurisdiction or location. Future emergency managers must be aware of what can happen, what results are likely and what can be done to deal with the incident. Therefore, emergency management programs must also include in their curriculum each phase of the disaster life cycle and dedicate a specific class to the mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery phases. Among other things, professors teaching emergency management must point out how these four phases overlap so students understand the complex nature of the field.
Another worthy goal of emergency management programs should be to help students understand the diverse factors involved in disasters. In the past, professors typically examined what local, state and federal agencies do in emergency management. Today it's imperative to recognize the vital roles of all government levels, private sector and nonprofits. It's equally important to thoroughly understand the legal issues of emergency management and how they affect the decision-making process.
Educational programs should balance the theoretical education and practical training of emergency management students. Future emergency managers need to learn planning principles and how to write disaster exercises. The major benefit of integrating theory with practical application is that students become more marketable to employers.
By including all hazards, phases, sectors, disciplines, theoretical concepts, practical knowledge, skills and abilities into a comprehensive curriculum, emergency management programs can meet the calls issued by scholars and practitioners for a more holistic approach.
