Mentoring and Coaching Beyond the FTEP?

By Michael Bargeron

For many agencies, field training education programs (FTEPs) have become the gold standard in the orientation and development of clinical practitioners in the field. These programs evaluate a myriad of skills and knowledge that our field personnel must master before being turned loose.

Once our personnel are in the field, we follow up with their performance through QA and QI processes, but we often lose a personal connection to them, leaving them on their own to hone and practice their skills.

How do we bridge that gap and keep pushing toward excellence in our service without losing the focus on the individual? We need strong mentors and coaches!

Whom do we tap for a mentor or coach? At face value, we are looking for our first-line supervisors to fill this role and expect them to develop their personnel. This may be a solution in small services, but as the organization grows in call volume and complexity, this important role loses priority, and members are dealt with only when they rise to the attention of the supervisors.

This can lead to a hostile environment in which supervisors label employees who are struggling, which makes the supervisor less likely to explore the root causes. Instead, they hold corrective action meetings or add negative reviews for the employee.

We must learn from the fire service and lean on our senior members to coach and lead newer team members. Remember, our senior folks know the tips to look for and the pitfalls of making poor judgment calls.

Most of the time, a newer team member is much more likely to admit their inadequacy to a friend than a supervisor for fear of repercussions. We must limit mistakes, but at the same time remember that we all started somewhere, and that our predecessors were patient with us. This is why a supervisor with so much going on is far less likely to have the time to explore and understand the issue at hand, so that senior person is precisely what we need to bridge the gap.  

What is a strong mentor or coach? Simply put, they possess the knowledge and passion to listen and learn. Our senior EMTs and medics who may want to be someone other than supervisors can often offer a wealth of knowledge. They can avoid being judgmental and don't have the scary white shirt or “collar brass” that keeps our folks from asking what they think are silly questions.

Sometimes, being a coach or mentor is nothing more than letting someone vent. It’s also important to note that the coach helps the employees explore and make the right decision by asking questions. Most people I look up to in this field never tell me I should do something a certain way; they ask questions like "Have you thought of it from this perspective?" or "Help me understand your thought process on how to do this."

How do we go about implementation? When selecting a coach or mentor, you must gauge their interest and dedication. Simply saying "you are now Jo's coach" isn't going to be much benefit to either party.

Look at the people who are already doing this without being asked. Find the folks who frequently ask about how the other crews' day was. These people are your diamonds in the rough; with some formal training they can be easily polished into immense assets for your agency.

Once you've identified them you can build the program. This will require coaches and mentors to undergo formal training and allotted time during the shift to work with employees. You may need to assign them to the same truck and move people around to ensure the best outcome.

Develop a documentation process to follow up with the coaches and mentors and ensure that issues are addressed promptly and appropriately. Ensure that this is a non-punitive program.

Last, always follow up. This is not a set-it-and-forget-it program. The structure of your program will take time for management to follow up with. Remember, it’s an investment in our most important resource—our people.

EMS has come far with just culture and FTEP programs, but we still have a way to go. At times, EMS becomes a dog-eat-dog world, and we lose good people because we label them unnecessary.

Supervisors lose sight of the individual in all the metrics we use to gauge success. We often want the right-now result rather than playing the long game. By taking a little extra time and implementing a coaching and mentor program, we can improve service, morale, and retention for our services.  

Michael Bargeron is deputy chief of Hanahan Fire and EMS, Hanahan, SC.