Mental Health Resilience Officer: Online Course with Digital Resource Guideselected product title

Due to the difficult environments EMS personnel encounter every day, and the impact of both direct and vicarious trauma, the EMS workforce has long faced a disproportionate challenge in maintaining their mental health resilience.

This unique NAEMT course was developed to assist EMS agencies in building and supporting the mental health resilience of their personnel, including leadership, EMTs, paramedics, dispatchers, fleet mechanics, and all others whose mental health is impacted in their daily work.

The Mental Health Resilience Officer (MHRO) course prepares EMS personnel to serve as their agency's Mental Health Resilience Officer. In this role the MHRO will engage with peers to develop an understanding of mental health issues and resilience, identify peers who are experiencing mental health stressors and crises, learn de-escalation techniques, navigate peers in need to the right services for help, and support the development of a culture of mental health resilience and emotional wellness within the agency.

The course will explore:

• The role of a Mental Health Resilience Officer
• The impacts of EMS work on mental health and emotional well-being
• How to identify the different elements of the stress continuum and associated behaviors
• Mental health resilience at the individual, interpersonal, and agency level
• Communication strategies to engage colleagues on mental health issues
• Case studies in EMS mental health
• Key elements of an effective agency EMS mental health resilience program
• How to build or strengthen an agency mental health resilience program
• Resources to support the MHRO, including a private digital EMS discussion group monitored by licensed therapists

In addition, the digital student resource guide is included in this package to provide learners with downloadable resources that recap key course content, expand on foundations of building and maintaining resilience, and instruct peers on basic resilience and wellness concepts.  

The online MHRO course allows users to earn 6 hours of CAPCE-approved continuing education. Upon successful completion of the course, NAEMT will issue a certificate of completion. This course is designed for EMS practitioners who meet the following qualifications:

• At a minimum, current state certification or license as an EMT
• At least three years of full-time practice (or equivalent) at the EMT level or above
• Strong interpersonal communication skills with an interest in serving in this position
• Prior experience with critical incident stress debriefing (CISD) and/or motivational interviewing preferred