Newbies, We were all one once.

 I have said in the past that I have worked with the military on helicopters and I still work in EMS. I remember being the new guy...the newbie... the FNG, and I remember how awkward it was. As seasoned employees in our careers need to be the leaders of the new people coming in the door. We need to be an example. 

In a previous post, I talked about when I got to my first Army duty station. I had my awkward run-ins with the First Sergeant, and I also had numerous awkward moments with my fellow soldiers. After I went on my first flight (the one where the other person jettisoned the windows) I was confronted by some crew chiefs on how I could possibly know how to perform some of the tasks needed to assist in the runup of the aircraft. What they were referring to had been shown to me by another crew chief who wanted to teach new people rather than chastise them. When confronted I was able to accurately describe what it was that I was doing. I made it to the flight platoon quickly and performed well due to the help of that one crew chief who took the time to teach. 

At the beginning of my EMS career, I was lucky enough to have seasoned partners who loved to teach. I was a sponge, I was a doer and I was a learner.  I wanted to ride every call that I could and I wanted to improve myself. My partners saw that I wanted to do better and learn so they taught me something every shift. One partner taught me to be able to do my job in less-than-ideal circumstances. He would drive down the worst roads while I was trying to start I.V's. He would add pressure to my calls by saying I never missed when trying. I had another partner who let me perform tasks that were a little above my head, they knew what I could handle and never went past that. They were teachers, they knew that I was a reflection of them. 

I have been a field training officer(FTO)with 3 different services and I have taken that task seriously. As an FTO you are expected to teach the new employees the way that tasks are supposed to be performed, the way that they should drive, and the way they are supposed to represent the service. First, we need to know what our job is inside and out. We need to know the right things to do and when they need to be done. You have to be very proficient in all aspects of your job so that you can perform them without fail. Being an FTO also means that you need to be able to teach people, you have to be able to verbally describe the tasks that need to be done and how to do them.   

Another task that an FTO performs is to evaluate employees who are having a difficult time performing their jobs. To be able to evaluate you have to have an objective mind, you have to be fair, and you have to be extremely proficient in what you are evaluating. You also have to be able to put into writing the faults that you find, or the deficiencies in the employee's skills. Finding fault in someone is not an easy thing to do, you have to take all personal feelings aside. Another key is having the backing of your leadership, you need to have the trust that they will believe in what you are saying and back your recommendations. Without good leadership, without seeing that the work that you are putting in is leading to a better situation for your service or for the employee it is all pointless. Unfortunately, I have seen this time and time again. It has led to me not wanting to have the position of FTO anymore. 

We all need to be better leaders, to be better teachers and in turn be better learners. Be Better!