Working on Thanksgiving: 4 tips for 9-1-1 Telecommunicators

As the holiday weekend approaches, keep these 4 tips from NENA Instructor Lisa Fulton in mind while preparing for your shift.

• Rest up. you know it’s going to be crazy busy, so come to work prepared for a busy shift.
• Research the festivities planned in your area. When is the parade? What is the route? Times? Anything that brings a crowd of people together will bring issues and increased call volume. Are extra responder resources being assigned to these events? Know what’s going on in your jurisdiction so that you can be proactive and not just reactive to potential problems.
• Get the Thanksgiving Day paper! Dissect all the ads. Make a list of the BIG sales, the store locations, and hours. Try to forecast the crowds and where and when they will hit the different sales. When the calls come in, you don’t want to get caught off guard or lose time playing catch up. Shoppers are not going to know the address of the stores!
• Don’t gorge on heavy foods at work. This is for your own health and stress management. We all enjoy the big feasts, but the after-effects are detrimental to Telecommunicators at work. We can’t afford to get sleepy. Have healthy options or limit your intake to small portions throughout the shift.

What’s your tip for any 9-1-1 telecommunicators working this weekend?