TRAINING FOR FIRST RESPONDER AGENCIES

Prior to exposure of occupational psychological hazards, fire departments and other first responder organizational benefit from educating their members not only about what to anticipate on the job but what interventions and psychological support is available to them. As an organizational leader, if you want to encourage ethical decision making then it is imperative that officers are trained on the code of ethics and given opportunities to problem solve through complex situations prior to facing them in the field. Dr. Wheldon has experience working with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation as a master trainer for topics such as effective communication, deescalation techniques, and suicide prevention/intervention. She helped to develop the curriculum for and has taught at the National Fire Academy's Executive Fire Officer (EFO) program specifically in the area of organizational development.