ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to define what teamwork looks like in the emergency medical services (EMS) setting in order to describe the anticipated benefits of team training in EMS and particularly in disaster management. It discusses the science of team training to pave a way forward for EMS to adopt, use, and sustain teamwork skills that serve to facilitate disaster response. The chapter identifies the team competencies necessary for superior EMS patient care, management, and regulation during disaster situations. It describes the science of team training to propose a way forward for the promotion, implementation, and sustainment of teamwork in EMS disaster management. Disaster management situations are defined as events that overwhelm the capabilities and resources of the local emergency response system, including events such as devastating tornadoes, mass shootings, and hurricanes, among others. The scarcity of evidence for team training as it impacts EMS performance highlights the need for EMS as an industry to adopt teamwork training initiatives.
