Sharon - What a Peyton Place that was! I don't doubt for a minute what you say about the place though because I've seen a lot of stuff myself in the past. Our center is nothing like that really, but I've seen some people act out in those ways - I think it's inevitable sometimes. You will have people who seek out the job because they are cop groupies, and you will have cops that seek out their job because of their ego. Yeesh! Dina

Dina, OH, man - you wouldn't believe that center when I got there. It was in chaos - they'd had no discipline for 3 years... 1/2 of the people came in late most of the time.... they would sit talking on the phone with a friend while a 911 line was ringing... it took them 4 minutes to get an EMS or fire page out (4 minutes from the time that they had ALL the information, what-when-where... that was because the old director had never dispatched and he screwed up the computer system and it took them that long to enter all the information in order to get a page out)... they would read porn at work---OUT LOUD.... one gal showed her bare breasts to a male co-worker ....when another dispatcher ratted on her for the breast incident SHE was the one that got fired, not the hootchy momma... she had given an officer a... ummm... "Bill Clinton" in Safeway parking lot when she was on a ride-along... The first week I was there another officer got fired for having an affair with her (while on duty)-- not the one that got the BJ in the parking lot (oh, and she was engaged to a 3rd officer) and I had the guys wife in my office... oh gesh... and my hootchy momma came into me crying that "everyone thinks I'm a ****" and with a totally straight face I said, "if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, IT'S A DUCK!" (needless to say, I fired her a week later for not answering 911 calls while she was on the phone with her bank) And within about 2 years, I had it all turned around. Sick rate was down. People were happy (as happy as they can be). The computer system was fixed and the dispatch times went from 4 minutes to and average of 15-30 seconds.... I basically got in the middle of a political situation - 2 fire departments fighting over EMS patients.... I pissed off the wrong fire chief and he made it his job to get on the Board and get enough buddies on the Board so that he could fire me. That was a year ago. After months of feeling devastated, I decided to write a WLS book - I am planning that it will be out in the fall. Well, that's probably more than you wanted to know Sharon

Diana - I was just re-reading these posts and wondered if you were back from Mexico yet and how you were doing??? When you are feeling up to it, come back to the dispatcher's forum and give us an update!!! Dina

Nice to see you Kristi! Dina

Pamela, You started about when I did - this year would of been my 17th year.... and, yeah- I've eaten during some crazy calls- sometimes just because I was starving or because I was so TENSE! Good luck on your Paramedic license. I used to live in Greenville, NC (small world, huh) Where are you in relation to Greenville. How big is your center? HOw long have you been Director? I would probably still be doing it, but ran into some "political" problems with 2 EMS agencies fighting over patients.... (and I pissed off the wrong fire chief) It's all over money, which made me so mad, cause for me it was how it affected : #1 the public, #2 my dispatchers anyway - long story I was getting very stressed out, though (because of always being in the middle of the conflicts) and it was probably the best thing that ever happened. It gave me the push to do something that I really love now, I am writing a WLS book (hope to have it out this fall) and I spend fulltime helping members on their journey. Sharon