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Coordinating: Communicating During and After an Event

In addition to understanding the overall communications plan that will synchronize the various response partners’ activities, the Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) unit leader or coordinator must clarify his or her particular communication responsibilities.

Responsibilities will vary, depending on the MRC unit’s status in the incident response cycle. Prior to an incident, the MRC unit leader may propose new ideas, advocate for certain policies and procedures, develop relationships, etc. In these cases, adhering to a more formal chain of command may be unnecessary and undesirable.

Be prepared to stand by. The MRC’s most important role may offer the security of backup support. Similar to a safety net, your backup may not always be used.

During an incident, however, it will be essential to adapt one’s communication style and role to fit more effectively into the hierarchical reporting and decisionmaking structures required by most incident response systems.

For the MRC unit coordinator or designee, it will be necessary to:

1. Transfer information between the incident response leader and the MRC unit’s volunteers efficiently and accurately
2. Implement all delegated activities and direct volunteers who report to the MRC unit coordinator or designee as appropriate

Once the MRC volunteers are no longer needed, communications may consist of simply standing by, either to await further activation orders or to allow the other response partners to complete their duties.

The MRC unit, once finished with its activities, may be ready to critique its activities, but it may have to wait until its partners have completed theirs.

When appropriate to conduct a complete after-action review following an incident, it will be important for the MRC unit coordinator to compile:

1. A complete summary of the unit’s volunteers’ activities
2. A report of problems encountered
3. An account of successful practices

Listen closely to others’ reports to learn from their mistakes and successes and to consider the overall picture.

Regardless of the method of communication an MRC unit leader employs, clear and consistent communications practices always improve unit responsiveness and effectiveness.

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Last Updated on 8/18/2006