APCO TEST STUDY GUIDE Questions with 100% Correct Answers, Exams of Public Health

Download APCO TEST STUDY GUIDE Questions with 100% Correct Answers and more Exams Public Health in PDF only on Docsity! APCO TEST STUDY GUIDE Questions with 100% Correct Answers  List the combined verbal and nonverbal elements that communicate to the telecommunicator the situation being reported - ✓✓Comfortable tone  Encourages conversation  Demonstrates interest  Signals understanding  Message format  List and describe the six components of the communications cycle - ✓✓The sender: the person who initiates the conversation  Receiver: The target of the conversation. Can be a person or group.  Message: THe idea/purpose of the conversation  Medium: The form in which the message is transferred between the sender and receiver.  Context: The situation in which the exchange takes place, this includes the relationship between the sender and receiver.  Feedback: The response from the receiver to the sender as perceived by the receiver  Define active listening - ✓✓Showing interest and understanding in the conversation through a means of physical and verbal cues  Define open-ended questions and give an example - ✓✓Questions that require a response beyond a "yes" or "no" forcing the receiver to provide more information. Ex: "How did this happen?" [Type here]  Define "in progress" calls. - ✓✓Those with an imminent threat to life or property and require an immediate dispatch  Define "just occurred" calls. - ✓✓There is no immediate threat to life or property  Define "delayed" calls. - ✓✓When the time of occurrence is unknown and the incident requires a report or investigation  Define "abduction/kidnapping" - ✓✓The forcible taking of a person or persons against their will, sometimes with the goal of demanding a ransom or other type of compensation for their return.  Explain what the word telematics refers to - ✓✓The technology and industry involved in delivering location based services to consumer driven vehicles.  Explain the AMBER Alert system and how it works. - ✓✓A nationwide system that is organized under state or regional plans for the purpose of assisting in the recovery of abducted or endangered children. It uses the Emergency Alert System (EAS) to broadcast a description of the missing child and the suspected abductor throughout the affected community and neighbouring areas.  Define paraphrasing and give an example. - ✓✓A short restatement of a previous statement showing understanding. Ex: Sender: "He has a gun!" Receiver: "So you say he has a gun?" [Type here]  Define "larceny". - ✓✓The unauthorized removal or concealment of property.  List what the telecommunicator should try to determine when handling a missing person report. - ✓✓Age, mental and physical condition, the subject's behavior surrounding the disappearance, any use of drugs, and whether the subject took such things as extra clothing, luggage, money, or other personal items.  Define "vandalism". - ✓✓The act of destroying or damaging public or private property maliciously.  Describe the kind of information sent by alarm monitoring companies to PSAPs. - ✓✓Alarm company's event number  Address of the alarm subscriber  Type of alarm, including the triggering method (motion detector, glass breakage, etc.)  Specific location of the triggering device  Detailed information about the premises, including commercial versus residential  Detailed directions  Any hazardous materials stored at the facility or other hazards the responders should know about  Describe the two primary considerations on brush fire calls. - ✓✓Access to the area and availability of water to combat the blaze  Potential exposure problems (anything close to the proximity to the fire that may become involved or which, if involved, may escalate the danger greatly)  List what fire alarms are designed to detect. - ✓✓Heat, light, flame, smoke, or water flow [Type here]  State what the telecommunicator's first responsibility is in a structure fire. - ✓✓To determine the presence of an actual fire, and determine if the caller is threatened.  List the two levels of EMS response and what differentiates them. - ✓✓Basic Life Support: Basic (EMT-B) personnel. EMT-Bs have at least 110 hours of training in patient assessment and treatment of fractures, lacerations, and other minor injuries. They are also CPR trained and are able to provide appropriate care. EMT-Bs provide treatment and transport the sick and injured in cases where more advanced treatments and interventions are not required.  Advanced Life Support: Intermediate (EMT-I) or Paramedic (EMT-P) personnel who have advanced training in the care and treatment of the sick and injured.  Describe an Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) program. - ✓✓A program that helps telecommunicators properly categorize emergency calls for EMS response, and provide medical instructions to the caller prior to response units arriving on scene (pre-arrival instructions). EMD programs use guide cards to assist the telecommunicator in making these response decisions.  Explain " call processing ". - ✓✓Actions that include answering the phone, handling the conversation, and gathering incident info  Explain why it is important to answer the calls promptly. - ✓✓Because the caller has a problem and expects public safety to help solve it. [Type here]  Describe the proper greeting for the emergency line. - ✓✓" 9-1-1, Where is your emergency?"  Describe the proper greeting for the non-emergency line. - ✓✓Answer by saying the PSAP or agency you are.  Describe the call processing techniques for displaying professionalism and courtesy. - ✓✓Speak directly into the phone mouthpiece, use appropriate tone and manner, show interest in the caller, take charge of the conversation, explain hold/pauses, never argue.  Describe how calls should be ended. - ✓✓End the calls positively and politely  Define "pertinent information." - ✓✓The info needed to get response unites to the correct location  List the four W's. - ✓✓Where, What, When, Who, Weapons  Describe the pertinent information that should be gathered under the category of "Where". - ✓✓Where is the exact location, and where inside (if applicable)  Describe the pertinent information that should be gathered under the category of "What". - ✓✓Have a brief description of what was happening at the incident  Describe the pertinent information that should be gathered under the category of "When." - ✓✓Get a time frame for when the incident occurred [Type here]  Describe the principles and concepts of ICS. - ✓✓An ICS should be suitable for any operation, applicable to users throughout the country, readily adaptable to new technologies, and have a scalable organizational structure.  Describe the Command Staff function. - ✓✓Command Staff is responsible for overall management of the incident.  Explain the telecommunicator's role in the Command Staff function. - ✓✓It's the telecommunicator's responsibility to record the information given by Command Staff as it will need to be repeated regularly.  Describe the General Staff function. - ✓✓The General Staff is responsible for the functional aspects of the incident command structure and typically consists of the Operations, Planning, Logistics, and Finance/Administration Sections.  Describe the need for a mass notification system. - ✓✓It may be critical to get life-saving information out to the general public and can save time as well as life and property.  Summarize the attributes of a professional public safety telecommunicator. - ✓✓Someone who represents the organization to other agencies and citizens with a courteous, helpful and business-like attitude in all radio, telephone and personal contact.  Define the duty to serve - ✓✓The duty to serve is the duty of telecommunicators to rise to the occasion in times of increased call volume and those who are at work and ready to work every scheduled day. [Type here]  Explain the telecommunicator's responsibilities regarding confidentiality - ✓✓A telecommunicator's responsibility is to be privy to multiple sources of private, confidential and highly sensitive information, and they must keep such information confidential.  Describe the purpose of a PSAP's quality assurance/ quality improvement programs. - ✓✓The QA/QI is the way in which supervisors record calls and provide feedback on a telecommunicator's performance.  Describe how telecommunicators use guide cards in taking calls. - ✓✓The guide cards provide questions to use obtaining pertinent information  Summarize the suggestions for handling older callers. - ✓✓Slow the rate of speech down, redirect them to answer questions. They may have difficulty hearing you so rephrase. Be patient.  Summarize the suggestions for handling calls involving a person with mental health issues. - ✓✓Listen to the caller and provide reassurance that someone will respond if they need  Summarize the suggestions for handling demanding "social status" calls. - ✓✓Never allow a caller social status to override a decision as to the priority of the call  Summarize the suggestions for handling intoxicated callers - ✓✓Control the call and gather the info about the call and dispatch the help required [Type here]  Describe what ALI stands for - ✓✓Automatic Location Identification  Describe what ANI stands for and what it does - ✓✓Automatic Number Identification  Describe how a Basic 9-1-1 system works - ✓✓All 911 calls must be relayed to a call center, regardless of whether or not the mobile phone user is already a customer of the network being used  Describe how a enhanced 9-1-1 system works - ✓✓Automatically displays the telephone number and physical location of the 911 caller on the emergency operator's screen. Its uses ANI/ALI to locate  Describe the difference between Basic 9-1-1 system enhanced 9-1-1 - ✓✓E911 is a service that automatically displays the telephone number and physical location of the 911 caller on the emergency operator's screen. This is unlike Basic 911 service, where the distressed caller has to tell the operator where he or she is calling from  Explain why wireless calls may be challenging for telecommunicators. - ✓✓It's hard for PSAP to locate the caller because of the use of a portable divice. There is no permanent location associated with the phone so pinning down where they are becomes difficult.  Describe the purpose of an MSAG and the type of information it provides - ✓✓MSAG stands for Master Street Address Guide. What MSAG does is the 9-1-1 calls are selectively routed to the correct PSAP based on the the information that was given through MSAG [Type here]  State the best method a telecommunicator can use to reduce liability exposure. - ✓✓Always follow policies and procedures, do not stray from these at all costs.  Describe Direct Dispatch - ✓✓This is where the call is directly dispatched from the PSAP right after being answered.  Describe Call Transfer - ✓✓This is where the call is transferred to the appropriate PSAP for the call  List the info automatically transmitted to a TCC center by a telematics system. - ✓✓TCC name, TCC operator name, reason for disp, location, time of call, vehicle description, licensplate and VIN, movement data, vehicle owner name, call back number, incident number, crash info and any other important info  Describe the automatic collision notification (ACN) - ✓✓This type of call is received from the vehicle's telemetry equipment, which indicates there has been an airbag deployment. Or another crash indication. This data can cause info on type of crash, rollover or collision etc.  What is a advanced ACN - ✓✓Advanced ACN is can provide more detailed info then the ACN. More info on type of collison and vehicle usually.  Describe the CAD system - ✓✓Computer aided dispatch (CAD) is a system on dispatcher computers that we use to track the info of callers. CAD can show us maps, calls queued, ongoing calls, call cards and much more. [Type here]  List and explain the two types of call-up methods - ✓✓The two types of call-up methods are: "Caller" to "Receiver" and "Receiver" from "Caller". The two types are interchangeable and are primarily used to limit radio traffic and to avoid the need of clarification broadcasts while also immediately alerting the unit you are attempting to call.  Explain the proper length of radio transmissions - ✓✓The proper length of a radio transmission is, at most, 30 seconds. This limit is used to leave time for any clarification from the units as well as to keep the radio clear for any priority alerts.  Explain the proper rate of speech for radio broadcasts - ✓✓Telecommunicators should practice speaking at a slower pace as response units need to be able to comprehend and copy down the information in less-than-perfect conditions.  Phonetic alphabet: - ✓✓Adam boy/Baker Charlie David Edward Frank George Henry Ida John King Lincoln Nora Mary Ocean Paul Queen Robert Sam Tom Union Victor William X-Ray Young Zebra.  Define Echo Procedure - ✓✓Echo procedure is when the dispatcher or unit receiving a message repeats it back on air, so any information that was misheard can be clarified, any missed information can be repeated, and to emphasize important parts of a message. This only needs to be done for critical parts of a message.  Describe the telecommunicator's role in response unit safety - ✓✓The telecommunicators role in response safety is two-fold. Is is the telecommunicator's duty to relay any and all information that can affect the safety of an incident occurring such as [Type here] weapons and hazards as well as be on high alert on the frequencies that they are listening to as a message for help can come at any time and the unit may have only the one opportunity to call for help.  Explain what information should be broadcast for a BOLO (be on the lookout) or ATL (Attempt to Locate) message - ✓✓Any BOLO/ATL broadcast should include the type of incident, how long it has been since it occured (time lapse), the place of occurrence, and any descriptions of people, vehicles, or weapons.  Explain the dispatch procedures that are specific to the fire service and ems - ✓✓The difference between law enforcement and Fire/EMS begins with the descriptions that the responders are looking for, specifically for types of structure, hazards, and any odor coming from the smoke. Location information is paramount to include as well, however, after the initial broadcast, no vital information would be broadcast as the units could be rushing to get protective gear on and any other preparations. After receiving a response from the dispatched units, any supplemental information is relayed, such as any fire suppression systems in the building, any additional hazards, or any threat to citizens. The telecommunicator is also in charge of notifying any other departments of the situation at hand, as it is needed.  Describe the FCC and their role in public safety radio communications - ✓✓The FCC is a government agency responsible for regulating the use of radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable to communicate. The FCC is the organization that regulates the radio transmissions and, if needed, will enforce them with fines and suspensions. [Type here]  List and describe the basic equipment and components of a public safety radio system. - ✓✓The basic equipment consists of a base station, a remote repeater site, and a portable or mobile radio.  Explain the telecommunication's roles in equipment care and maintenance - ✓✓In a PSAP, there is usually a set schedule consisting of regular testing of a radio system. While a telecommunicator may not be directly responsible to maintain the radio system, they are responsible to report any lapse in radio effectiveness.  Describe the types of radio systems typically used in public safety communications - ✓✓The types of radio systems used in public safety consist of the simplex and duplex systems. The simplex system uses one frequency to transmit and receive all broadcasted messages for each channel, while the duplex system has two frequencies per channel, one to receive and one to transmit, to avoid self interference.  Describe what is meant by "radio frequency" and how it relates to public safety communications. - ✓✓Radio frequency is the signal used by each radio system. Radio frequency is used in public safety to denote different channels and different organizations as a whole, so they don't interfere with each other's messages.  Describe radio interoperability and why is it necessary in public safety communications. - ✓✓Radio interoperability is when multiple psaps or agencies communicate with one another using a dedicated frequency. It becomes necessary during large-scale disasters so multiple agencies can communicate. [Type here]  Describe the relationship between a telecommunicator's code of ethics and that of the PSAP. - ✓✓In all we should all have the same goal, to assist the public in an emergency situation.  We as telecommunicators should follow the "code of ethics" for the good of our PSAP.  Respect the chain of command at all times.  Have a clear definition of roles for managers and supervisors.  Explain the purpose of a formal organizational structure. - ✓✓It is important to have rules and policies that leave little discretion for interpretation. Meaning that a formal organizational structure is to have an attainable goal for each employee, follow the chain of command, and know who the managers and supervisors of the PSAP are in order to ensure that all questions and grievances are handled in a professional and timely manner.  List the common elements of basic telecommunications. - ✓✓Information gathering  Radio and telephone communications  Resource allocation  Records management  Functioning under CRTC rules  Handling requests and being responsible to calls from the public  Describe what is involved in fire service communications. - ✓✓Dispatching communications and resource management of fire service units such as:  Response personnel  Fire marshals  Arson investigation units [Type here]  HAZMAT units  Specialty rescue units  And knowing your geographical area  Describe what is involved in medical service communications - ✓✓Dispatching communications and rsource managemnet of:  EMS units  Emergency medical responders (EMR)  Air ambulances (fixed wing and rotor)  Ground ambulances  Coroners  Communicators handling requests for medical assistance require specialized training in:  Caller questioning  Caller management  The provision of medical instructions via the telephone  List and describe the vital services provided by PSAPs. - ✓✓Communication with the public is to provide assistance to those who are in need of help quickly, and without typing up emergency lines the communicator needs to prioritize the calls in order to provide the best service to each caller. In other instances they may be asked to contact people for instances such as arrests or stolen property.  Communication between members of the same agency is the service where communicators pass on messages via radio, telephone, electronic or digital. This is to assign response units, keep supervisors informed, and maintain response uit status/ [Type here]  What is meant by the "reasonable and prudent person" standard? How is this standard used by the courts? - ✓✓This is the difference between civil court and criminal court, civil court whoever has more evidence wins, in criminal court it is the jury's opinion.  Describe why shift work is stressful on the mind and body. - ✓✓It forces your body out of its biological clock.  List the most apparent signs of mental stress. - ✓✓Headaches, sleep disturbances, short temper, job dissatisfaction, low morale, and difficulty concentrating.  List the most apparent signs in physical stress. - ✓✓Soreness in the back, neck, shoulders or joints, indigestion or heartburn, headaches, weight gain, and sleeplessness.  List and describe the most apparent signs of secondary stress. - ✓✓A loss of innocence, cognitive distortion, more aware of what actually goes on in the world.  Describe three strategies for coping with secondary stress. - ✓✓Do self assessments regularly, ask yourself how am i doing, ect...  List and describe tips for reducing stress. - ✓✓Eat good meals before going to work  Make sure you get lots of sleep  Schedule vacations  Alternate between workstations and stand up  Leave work problems at work and home problems at home [Type here]  Accept that one cannot solve every single problem.  Describe three essential success factors in teamwork in the PSAP. - ✓✓Team leadership that clearly identifies the common goal.  All team members must communicate and coordinate efforts.  All team members must know their role.  List three possible sources for interpersonal conflict in a PSAP. - ✓✓Personal clashes, discrimination, or harassment.  State who has ultimate control over your state of mind. - ✓✓You are the only one who has ultimate control over your state of mind.  Explain the purpose of critical incident stress debriefing (CISD). - ✓✓This is a process that helps employees get through highly stressful, traumatic times. The CISD is designed to lessen the overall impact of the event.  Describe why telecommunicators need continuing education. - ✓✓Because there is always something new to learn when it comes to dispatching, and technology can sometimes change rapidly.  Describe three ways telecommunicators can have ongoing professional development. - ✓✓Training, professional affiliations, and community outreach.  Describe what is involved in law enforcement communications. - ✓✓Dispatch communications and resource management of law enforcement units such as: [Type here]  Police personnel  Detective bureaus  Tactical support/hostage rescue teams  Crime scene investigation units  Explosive ordnance disposal units, ect.  Communicators handling requests for law enforcement assistance require specialized training in officer safety, handling reports of crime and handling special situations such as foot or vehicle pursuits  List and describe the informational resources available in a PSAP. - ✓✓The telephone book: things such as area codes, neighborhood listings, and campus maps can be found here  Cross reference or city directory: Can help match a name to a phone number and address or vice versa. Can also show cross streets in connection to buildings and house numbers.  Maps: Some jurisdictions have clearer maps that could include footprints and addresses in rural locations, private roads and dirt paths.  Internet: Contains a large amount of information that can be useful in any situations  Other resources: route books, street maintenance guides, warrants, CAMEO software, weather services, and language lines  Explain the term service area in the context of law enforcement. - ✓✓Operate within certain geographical areas defined by local, regional, provincial or federal limits  The area in which the officer has jurisdiction to arrest.  They could be asked to cross these lines in the event of a contact or emergency.  Explain the term service area in the context of fire service. [Type here]