# Whats an EMS supervisor?



## Giobobo1 (Nov 17, 2013)

I see them driving around in their SUV but what exactly is their purpose?


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## Wheel (Nov 17, 2013)

It mostly depends on how the system is set up. In my system, supervisors on the road respond to high acuity calls as an extra set of hands/to assist in scene management. They also spend time doing administrative tasks, making sure all necessary tasks are completed on their shift. They restock narcs and make sure crews Have the functioning equipment and supplies they need to operate. They do a lot of the behind the scene work to allow us to do what we do.


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## ExpatMedic0 (Nov 17, 2013)

Giobobo1 said:


> I see them driving around in their SUV but what exactly is their purpose?



I have been in systems where guys have asked that question their entire career without ever finding an answer ;-)
It really depends on the system I think.


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## TransportJockey (Nov 17, 2013)

I wish I was a fly car supervisor lol. Would be easier than trying to control an SSM system when I'm in the back with a patient 
But in all reality it depends on the system. Some places they restock crews, deal with complaints, respond as extra hands to bad calls, do backboard runs and get equipment from hospitals, etc... It also depends what level supervisor they are they could be going to committee meetings and board meetings.


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## DesertMedic66 (Nov 17, 2013)

Our supervisors generally just go to meetings and go to our outlying stations to make sure they are all set up and everything is good with them. 

They are able to respond to calls if they want. Any scene at all where 3 or more ambulances are requested automatically gets a code 3 response from our supervisor. 

They will handle general complaints or issues that arise. If needed they may do a lift assist. 

If an ambulance is involved in any kind of MVA a supervisor will go out to document and get statements/pictures. 

Any high profile call will normally get a supervisor response. We had some DEA agents go down from heat stroke as they were clearing a weed farm in the mountains. We had 2-3 ambulances there. We also sent our supervisor, operations supervisor, and operations manager to the call.


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## ExpatMedic0 (Nov 17, 2013)

Its funny because in 10 years of being involved with EMS, I have always wondered what exactly the white shirt, fly car, field supervisor does. He/she remains shrouded in mystery at most agencies I work at. Its pretty rare I see one on a scene doing anything, which makes me wonder why he is the "field" supervisor and not just flying a desk like an office jockey.


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## DesertMedic66 (Nov 17, 2013)

ExpatMedic0 said:


> Its funny because in 10 years of being involved with EMS, I have always wondered what exactly the white shirt, fly car, field supervisor does. He/she remains shrouded in mystery at most agencies I work at. Its pretty rare I see one on a scene doing anything, which makes me wonder why he is the "field" supervisor and not just flying a desk like an office jockey.



Our field supervisors are on an ambulance and run normal calls (they have white shirts). They generally work night shifts. 

We have associate supervisors who are on normal units (they do not wear white shirts). They will fill in as a duty supervisor (behind the desk) if needed. 

We have the duty supervisors (only wear white shirts) who stay mostly behind the desk but will respond to the issues I listed in my other post. 

We have an operations supervisor who is in charge of all the supervisors and crews who is a white shirt and rarely responds to calls. 

Then we have the ops manager. The boss. 

It's very confusing but somehow it works for us.


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## TransportJockey (Nov 17, 2013)

DesertEMT66 said:


> Our field supervisors are on an ambulance and run normal calls (they have white shirts). They generally work night shifts.
> 
> We have associate supervisors who are on normal units (they do not wear white shirts). They will fill in as a duty supervisor (behind the desk) if needed.
> 
> ...



I'm an associate supervisor who is essentially a field supervisor. I foresee us moving to a setup like yours when we expand further into the city.


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## EpiEMS (Nov 17, 2013)

How much experience, typically, would it require to become a fly car-riding supervisor?


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## DesertMedic66 (Nov 17, 2013)

TransportJockey said:


> I'm an associate supervisor who is essentially a field supervisor. I foresee us moving to a setup like yours when we expand further into the city.



The associate supervisor position is fairly new for us. We have had them for about 6 months now.


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## TransportJockey (Nov 17, 2013)

DesertEMT66 said:


> The associate supervisor position is fairly new for us. We have had them for about 6 months now.



We went from just an ops supe, to an ops supe plus the three of us Associate supes. Ops sup is M-F 0700-1800 or so. The AS's work a modified 24 kelly in the 911 op


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## ExpatMedic0 (Nov 17, 2013)

I did 1 year of fly car as a medic, getting ready to go back to it soon. That is a pretty cool (but tiring) job. However, The systems I have worked in use a different supervisor method than ones you have mentioned above. I think that is pretty cool though, room for promotion opportunities.


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## DesertMedic66 (Nov 17, 2013)

TransportJockey said:


> We went from just an ops supe, to an ops supe plus the three of us Associate supes. Ops sup is M-F 0700-1800 or so. The AS's work a modified 24 kelly in the 911 op



Our associate sups work 12 hour shifts during the night. 3 days one week and 4 days the next week (same as our normal crews). Duty sups work 24s (I think it's a modified Kelly but I'm not sure). It's common for our sups to work several days at a time. Ops sup is just paperwork pretty much. He works M-F 0700-1700 but he normally stays longer. He pretty much has the run of the place (that's what working 40+ years at the same company will get you haha).


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## mycrofft (Nov 17, 2013)

IS it like the fire SUV?


[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSiwoKCiy-s[/YOUTUBE]


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## ExpatMedic0 (Nov 17, 2013)

mycrofft said:


> IS it like the fire SUV?
> 
> 
> [YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSiwoKCiy-s[/YOUTUBE]



HAHAHA! Dude.... It is just like that! Last time I worked a fly car if I got there before the ambulance, especially for a trauma case, there came a point when people where thinking what that comedian is saying. Now mind you I was not even a supervisor... The supervisor EMS SUV.... that even confuses me sometimes.


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## NObama (Nov 17, 2013)

haha my thoughts exactly...a supervisor is a really smart EMT/Medic who has found a way to get paid for not working 



ExpatMedic0 said:


> I have been in systems where guys have asked that question their entire career without ever finding an answer ;-)
> It really depends on the system I think.


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## Tigger (Nov 17, 2013)

At my new place we have one supervisor on duty for the whole county. He runs the "interesting calls," does restock if there isn't a wheelchair unit available to do it instead, and helps ensure proper deployment. They have a pretty limited role at major incidents as fire's medical lieutenants do that. 

At my part time place the captain alternates taking calls with the duty medic. The duty EMT runs all the calls. For a second call whoever is at the station will take an ambulance alone and start care. If transport is needed they'll wait for our substation crew or get an FF to drive. They handle day to day administrative stuff as well, and there is one assigned to training, one to equipment, and one to personnel, though there's tons of overlap.


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## MMiz (Nov 17, 2013)

When I worked for a private service, the supervisor had both a supervisor-only Tahoe SUV and a Type III ambulance.  Days were usually spent in the Tahoe, nights were spent in the ambulance in case we needed an extra unit.

Supervisors generally made rounds to check posts, responded to 911 calls, and were constantly on the phone answering questions from on-duty crews.  They were responsible for employee evaluations and reviews, and filling in gaps when crews didn't show up.  They also did all of the administrative work associated with getting crews on the roads.

It's not too surprising that medics that thrived on the road responding to 911 calls often would go back to the road after a few months or years as a supervisor.


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## chaz90 (Nov 17, 2013)

We have two supervisors on duty 24/7 (one for each of our East and West divisions). Because two medics are legally required to respond to every ALS call, they'll often back-up single medics responding if they're close enough. They'll also back fill empty districts. They respond as an extra resource to larger scale incidents as necessary. Mostly they provide day to day management tasks, organization of system coverage as calls go out, performance evaluations, and other administrative tasks. Most of them make rounds to every station in their district every shift or two to check in and deliver random supplies too.

They carry all of the same ALS equipment we do in addition to extra MCI and rehab gear. They drive Suburbans instead of our Squad bodies, but that distinction seems set to disappear as we begin to transition to Suburbans in the coming months.


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## mycrofft (Nov 18, 2013)

Used to sneak up on workers snoozing or writing to EMTLIFE on company time.


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## unleashedfury (Nov 20, 2013)

Our old setup. 

1 Ops Manager who overseed operations daily, 

2 Ops Supervisor, did scheduling, QA and various administrative tasks

4 "platoon leaders" where each platoon had a leader who was your first line of admin. handled day to day operations when the next level was unavailable or unneccassary, assisted with backing up crews as needed and rode a 911 truck. 

The Bean Counters decided that this model was too expensive and put up a volunteer board with volunteer office positions, where no one is around when you need them, and getting things accomplished is similar trying to pull teeth on a lion. And were barely treading water.


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## NBFFD2433 (Nov 22, 2013)

Wheel said:


> It mostly depends on how the system is set up. In my system, supervisors on the road respond to high acuity calls as an extra set of hands/to assist in scene management. They also spend time doing administrative tasks, making sure all necessary tasks are completed on their shift. They restock narcs and make sure crews Have the functioning equipment and supplies they need to operate. They do a lot of the behind the scene work to allow us to do what we do.



This


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## dixie_flatline (Nov 25, 2013)

Our EMS Captains (Medical Duty Officers) have a number of duties.  


They respond to any arrest or large call (MCI, house fire, trap job).  They direct EMS operations on large incidents and in the event a second medic is needed for transport, a firefighter takes their car and the MDO upgrades the ambulance so that a medic doesn't have to get pulled from another transport unit.

They are RSI-trained.  In our jurisdiction, only the MDOs and MD state troopers can RSI (we don't even carry the drugs on the ambo).  They don't often get to do this, of course, since the helo is often at the scene by the time the MDO gets dispatched for RSI.

They also carry other equipment that isn't on the ambulance - the Lucas automated CPR device, cold fluids for hypothermic protocols, extra narcs, and a bunch of replacement intubation equipment.

They are Infection Control officers, so if there is a provider exposure, the MDO has to be notified and go to the hospital, write a report, follow-up with care, etc.

They validate usage logs for narcs, make sure all the Lifepaks are operating correctly, and all other tools have been properly calibrated (glucometers, pulse ox, etc).

We joke about them but Batallion Chiefs have aides and the MDOs are by themselves.  They do run around a fair bit.  Oh, in the fall they also travel to the stations and give everyone flu shots.


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## unleashedfury (Nov 25, 2013)

dixie_flatline said:


> Our EMS Captains (Medical Duty Officers) have a number of duties.
> 
> 
> They respond to any arrest or large call (MCI, house fire, trap job).  They direct EMS operations on large incidents and in the event a second medic is needed for transport, a firefighter takes their car and the MDO upgrades the ambulance so that a medic doesn't have to get pulled from another transport unit.
> ...



are these guys tactical paramedics? I really hope so I never heard of the MD state troopers being able to intubate.


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## dixie_flatline (Nov 25, 2013)

unleashedfury said:


> are these guys tactical paramedics? I really hope so I never heard of the MD state troopers being able to intubate.



Sorry, to clarify, I meant the state troopers who are the medics on the Trooper helos - aeromedical services in maryland are a branch of the state police.  

All the paramedics on the 911 HEMS in maryland are sworn state troopers (with guns and badges).  We do occasionally get cross-covered by birds from other jurisdictions (the park police's eagle's nest in Anacostia is particularly squirrely), but bulk of RSIs that I've seen are trooper medics.


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## medictinysc (Nov 25, 2013)

*The question with no answer*



Giobobo1 said:


> I see them driving around in their SUV but what exactly is their purpose?



Grasshopper,  it is not for us to wonder what the magical supervisor does.  It is our responsibility to answer their phone calls and harassing text message to hurry up and clear to handle another hospital dump:rofl:


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## DrParasite (Nov 28, 2013)

Giobobo1 said:


> I see them driving around in their SUV but what exactly is their purpose?


is this a serious questions?  Would you ask what the purpose of a FD's Battalion or District chief was?  or a Patrol Sgt or Lt?

a supervisor supervises their crews, handles admin stuff, and responds to oversee the EMS branch during major events.   most big systems have one or two per shift.  They enforce the rules of the management, and ensure smooth operations during their shift.


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## medictinysc (Jan 4, 2014)

medictinysc said:


> Grasshopper,  it is not for us to wonder what the magical supervisor does.  It is our responsibility to answer their phone calls and harassing text message to hurry up and clear to handle another hospital dump:rofl:




In all fairness a good EMS supervisor will lead and inspire you to be the best you can be at your job. He/She will let you know unwaveringly where the standards are, where your performance is,  and give you the tools to improve. The good supervisor will be the person you can call in the middle of your crap storm and say I NEED HELP and they will help policies be danged. The good EMS supervisor you won't see in the SUV unless of course you look down the road from your chest pain call that sounded like you might need an extra set of hands on it.  The good EMS supervisor will not hesitate to remember where they came from and remember how tough it was being a street medic. The awesome ones will fight you to run a call be the first onscene of everything from granny fell downs to daddy won't wake ups   That's what a GOOD EMS supervisor is


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## medictinysc (Jan 4, 2014)

medictinysc said:


> In all fairness a good EMS supervisor will lead and inspire you to be the best you can be at your job. He/She will let you know unwaveringly where the standards are, where your performance is,  and give you the tools to improve. The good supervisor will be the person you can call in the middle of your crap storm and say I NEED HELP and they will help policies be danged. The good EMS supervisor you won't see in the SUV unless of course you look down the road from your chest pain call that sounded like you might need an extra set of hands on it.  The good EMS supervisor will not hesitate to remember where they came from and remember how tough it was being a street medic. The awesome ones will fight you to run a call be the first onscene of everything from granny fell downs to daddy won't wake ups   That's what a GOOD EMS supervisor is




Dedicated to my Captain Joey Mitchell


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