CE 1002, Health and Safety Officer Course Syllabus Course Description This course is an in-depth study of the basic concepts of occupational health and safety as it relates to emergency service organizations. Course Textbook Angle, J. S. (2016). Occupational safety and health in the emergency services (4th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Course Learning Outcomes Upon completion of this course, students should be able to: 1. Summarize the history of health and safety programs. 2. Identify occupational health and safety programs for the emergency services. 3. Analyze federal regulations that impact health and safety programs. 4. Interpret the standards that impact occupational health and safety. 5. Identify the concepts of risk management. 6. Examine the components of an effective response safety plan. 7. Describe the considerations for safety while training. 8. Outline the relationship of incident management as it relates to health and safety. 9. Validate the need for and the process used for post-incident analysis. 10. Define the components of a wellness/fitness plan. Credits Upon completion of this course, students will earn 9.0 continuing education units (CEUs). Course Structure 1. Study Guide: Each unit contains a Study Guide that provides students with the learning outcomes, unit lesson, required reading assignments, and supplemental resources. 2. Learning Outcomes: Each unit contains Learning Outcomes that specify the measurable skills and knowledge students should gain upon completion of the unit. 3. Unit Lesson: Each unit contains a Unit Lesson, which discusses lesson material. 4. Reading Assignments: Each unit contains Reading Assignments from one or more chapters from the textbook and/or outside resources. 5. Suggested Reading: Suggested Readings are listed in each unit s study guide. Students are encouraged to read the resources listed if the opportunity arises, but they will not be tested on their knowledge of the Suggested Readings. 6. Unit Assignments: Students are required to submit for grading Unit Assignments in Units I-VIII. Specific information and instructions regarding these assignments are provided below. Grading rubrics are included with each assignment. Specific information about accessing these rubrics is provided below. CE 1002, Health and Safety Officer 1
7. Ask the Professor: This communication forum provides you with an opportunity to ask your professor general or course content related questions. 8. Student Break Room: This communication forum allows for casual conversation with your classmates. CSU Online Library The CSU Online Library is available to support your courses and programs. The online library includes databases, journals, e-books, and research guides. These resources are always accessible and can be reached through the library webpage. To access the library, log into the mycsu Student Portal, and click on CSU Online Library. You can also access the CSU Online Library from the My Library button on the course menu for each course in Blackboard. The CSU Online Library offers several reference services. E-mail (library@columbiasouthern.edu) and telephone (1.877.268.8046) assistance is available Monday Thursday from 8 am to 5 pm and Friday from 8 am to 3 pm. The library s chat reference service, Ask a Librarian, is available 24/7; look for the chat box on the online library page. Librarians can help you develop your research plan or assist you in finding relevant, appropriate, and timely information. Reference requests can include customized keyword search strategies, links to articles, database help, and other services. Unit Assignments Unit I PowerPoint Presentation Having a solid foundation is a crucial concept that can be applied to many things. Understanding the history (foundation) of occupational safety and health could play an important role in your current or future position or field. For this PowerPoint presentation, you will need to address the following areas: Summarize the history of health and safety programs. Identify occupational health and safety programs for emergency services. Identify the importance that these services and programs have in today s workplace. Your presentation should be at least eight slides in length, but it should be no more than 10 slides in length. Make certain to include a title slide and a reference slide; the title slide and reference slide are not included in the slide count. Unit II Case Study Risk Identification and Reduction For this assignment, you will need to review the following report: Donoughe, K., Whitestone, J., & Gabler, H. C. (2012, October). Analysis of firetruck crashes and associated firefighter injuries in the United States. Annals of Advances in Automotive Medicine, 56, 69-76. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc3503424/ Upon reading the report above, address the following areas: Identify the risks, both within the report and potential ones you see. Using concepts of risk management, develop strategies to reduce these risks. Identify federal regulations that relate to this report. Explain an approach to better implement these regulations to promote safety and health. Analyze federal regulations that impacted, or could help impact, this situation from the occupational health and safety aspect. CE 1002, Health and Safety Officer 2
Your paper should be a minimum of two pages in length, but the paper should be no more than three pages in length. Make certain to include a title page and a reference page; the title and reference pages will not count toward meeting the minimum page requirement. All sources, including the textbook, must be cited according to APA guidelines. Unit III Case Study Preventing Injuries During Training Access the National Near Miss website (http://www.nationalnearmiss.org/), and click on the Fire Near Miss image. Next, choose the tab at the top entitled Browse Reports. When the page loads, choose Training Activity under categories on the left. Scroll down through the articles to find Training in High Temps/High Humidity (published on 7/16/2015). Based upon the information you have learned in this unit s readings, create a two-page safety plan that details how you would conduct drills in high temperatures and high humidity. Critical talking points will include identifying any risk factors that could create a safety hazard, parameters for conducting and cancelling training, and medical rehabilitation procedures. (Note: There is not a set form or guideline to creating your safety plan. Departments across the nation do them differently according to personal preference, thus feel free to do the same, as long as the requirements for the assignment are met.) A title page and reference page must be included, but the title and reference pages will not count toward meeting the minimum page requirement. Additionally, you will be required to reference a minimum of three sources to justify your position; you cannot simply provide your opinion in essay format. All sources, including the textbook, must be cited according to APA guidelines. Unit IV Essay Emergency Services Debate For this assignment, you will need to review the following report: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. (2002, July 25). Supermarket fire claims the life of one career fire fighter and critically injures another career fire fighter Arizona. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/fire/reports/face200113.html Imagine that the incident discussed in the report has recently taken place. As this controversial incident hits the news, a panel of local emergency services will be debating on whether or not all best practices (actions) were implemented to save the victim. Your supervisor has chosen you to represent the department and to debate for the side which is arguing that all best practices (actions) of incident management were not implemented. To do this, you will need to identify how the responding fire department s incident management and/or incident management programs were ineffective. To be successful in the debate, you will need to establish a direct correlation between incident management and health and safety. For this debate, you will need to have a one-page essay prepared, which will clearly state your department s position on the incident. In order for your argument to be viewed as credible, you must include a minimum of two sources to support your position within the debate. Your argument should not be heavily opinion-based. All sources, including the textbook, must be cited according to APA guidelines. Unit V PowerPoint Presentation Congratulations! You are the newly appointed health and safety officer for the Orange Beach Fire Protection District. This position was created after the number of injuries and accidents within the workplace increased significantly. CE 1002, Health and Safety Officer 3
The city council and board of directors have asked for you to be present at a special meeting in order for you to justify why this position is important to the organization. You have been informed that you will be presenting an overview of your position to the city council and board of directors, and you will address the following areas: 1. Identify workplace occupational health and safety. 2. Identify the laws, rules, and regulations that govern occupational health and safety in the workplace. 3. Explain the importance of conducting and processing a post-incident analysis. 4. Explain why the organization should institute a wellness fitness plan. Define what components you would include in the plan, and explain why. For your presentation, you will develop a PowerPoint presentation that gives a brief overview as to the importance of your role within the organization and answers each of the four talking points listed above. For each of the four talking points, no more than two slides shall be used; however, your PowerPoint must be at least five slides in length, not counting the title and reference slides. As such, your slides must be clear, concise, and convey the importance of your position and that of occupational health and safety in the workplace. For each talking point, you will provide a minimum of one paragraph (3-5 sentences), and this information should be provided in the notes section in PowerPoint. The purpose of this written documentation is to provide the elected leaders with more detailed information than will be delivered on the PowerPoint slide overviews. You must follow APA guidelines as it pertains to citations and references. Unit VI Homework Roles and Responsibilities You have received word that after a recent call, which resulted in the death of several civilians, some of the crew who responded to that call came back to the station and had some alcoholic beverages while on duty. It was reported to you, the department s health and safety officer, that the drinking was utilized as a coping mechanism to deal with what was seen on that call. In your role as the health and safety officer, you have researched your department's rules and regulations regarding drinking on duty, only to find out that your organization does not have any formal policies that address this subject. You bring this information forward through the chain of command and are then directed by the fire chief to create recommendations for instituting policies and procedures that speak directly to not allowing the consumption of alcoholic beverages while on duty. As part of your direction, and using the concepts of risk management, you have also been tasked with developing a training program to introduce this new policy to the members of the organization. As such, you will have to research why this behavior is harmful to the individuals and the organization alike. In addition to creating this policy, you have been tasked with making recommendations on how to handle any reported instances of firefighters drinking on duty as there usually is a cause and effect that leads to people drinking on duty. You will have to research methods to address the drinking and, at the same time, provide assistance to the employee or employees involved. You will present your findings in memorandum format to the fire chief. Your presentation should be clear and concise; however, it should address all of the aspects of which you have been tasked to complete. A minimum of one page is required for this assignment, being sure that all of the talking points are thoroughly addressed to the fire chief. You will be expected to follow APA guidelines for all citations and references. CE 1002, Health and Safety Officer 4
Unit VII Scholarly Activity Suicide Prevention Several weeks have passed since you did your research on job-related alcohol abuse. Since this time, your organization has continued to respond to difficult and stressful emergencies. As a result, you have been informed that one member, in particular, has been despondent, easily angered, and has been using an abnormal amount of sick time. In the emergency services, there is great emphasis on maintaining a high level of readiness through training, awareness, and physical fitness. However, little is done to ensure the mental health of the personnel within your organization. As such, you have been directed to research job-related suicides in the emergency services and suicide prevention in the workplace. As part of your direction, you have also been tasked with developing a training program for suicide prevention. In addition to creating this program, you have been tasked with making recommendations on how to handle any reported instances where a firefighter may be at an increased risk for suicide and, at the same time, detail ways to provide assistance to the employee or employees involved. Your program should also contain a post-incident process, which involves a critical incident stress debriefing (CISD). Explain how this part of the plan fulfills the need for those who will seek assistance or are helped in preventing suicide. You will present your findings and recommendations in memorandum format to the fire chief. A minimum of two pages is required for this assignment; make certain that your information is clear and concise, and ensure that all of the talking points above are thoroughly addressed. You will be expected to follow APA guidelines for all citations and references. Unit VIII Speech Throughout this course, you have covered a wide array of topics. In each unit, you researched a problem, offered an overview of the problem, and provided suggestions on how to address the problem. Now, it is time to put all of the pieces of the puzzle together. For your last assignment, you will create a video presentation that speaks to the reasoning behind creating an effective occupational health and safety program. Your presentation should be no less than five minutes in duration, but your presentation should not exceed eight minutes. You must be deliberate, clear, and concise in your talking points. In your presentation, you will provide information that supports the importance of having procedures and policies that address the following areas: incident training; active scene management; post-incident review; wellness programs that promote mental and physical readiness; and the overall aim and goal of an occupational health and safety program. Once you have completed your recording, upload the recording to YouTube or any other video-sharing website. (For instructions on uploading to YouTube, please click here.) Then, copy and paste the link for your video recording into a blank Word document; you will then submit the Word document in Blackboard. Questions should be directed to your professor prior to beginning the assignment. APA Guidelines The application of the APA writing style shall be practical, functional, and appropriate to each academic level, with the primary purpose being the documentation (citation) of sources. CSU requires that students use APA style for certain papers and projects. Students should always carefully read and follow assignment directions and review the associated CE 1002, Health and Safety Officer 5
grading rubric when available. Students can find CSU s Citation Guide by clicking here. This document includes examples and sample papers and provides information on how to contact the CSU Success Center. Grading Rubrics This course utilizes analytic grading rubrics as tools for your professor in assigning grades for all learning activities. Each rubric serves as a guide that communicates the expectations of the learning activity and describes the criteria for each level of achievement. In addition, a rubric is a reference tool that lists evaluation criteria and can help you organize your efforts to meet the requirements of that learning activity. It is imperative for you to familiarize yourself with these rubrics because these are the primary tools your professor uses for assessing learning activities. Rubric categories include: (1) Assessment (Written Response) and (2) Assignment. However, it is possible that not all of the listed rubric types will be used in a single course (e.g., some courses may not have Assessments). The Assessment (Written Response) rubric can be found embedded in a link within the directions for each Unit Assessment. However, these rubrics will only be used when written-response questions appear within the Assessment. Each Assignment type (e.g., article critique, case study, research paper) will have its own rubric. The Assignment rubrics are built into Blackboard, allowing students to review them prior to beginning the Assignment and again once the Assignment has been scored. This rubric can be accessed via the Assignment link located within the unit where it is to be submitted. Students may also access the rubric through the course menu by selecting Tools and then My Grades. Again, it is vitally important for you to become familiar with these rubrics because their application to your Assessments and Assignments is the method by which your instructor assigns all grades. Communication Forums These are non-graded discussion forums that allow you to communicate with your professor and other students. Participation in these discussion forums is encouraged, but not required. You can access these forums with the buttons in the Course Menu. Instructions for subscribing/unsubscribing to these forums are provided below. Once you have completed Unit VIII, you MUST unsubscribe from the forum; otherwise, you will continue to receive e-mail updates from the forum. You will not be able to unsubscribe after your course end date. Click here for instructions on how to subscribe/unsubscribe and post to the Communication Forums. Ask the Professor This communication forum provides you with an opportunity to ask your professor general or course content questions. Questions may focus on Blackboard locations of online course components, textbook or course content elaboration, additional guidance on assessment requirements, or general advice from other students. Questions that are specific in nature, such as inquiries regarding assessment/assignment grades or personal accommodation requests, are NOT to be posted on this forum. If you have questions, comments, or concerns of a nonpublic nature, please feel free to email your professor. Responses to your post will be addressed or emailed by the professor within 48 hours. Before posting, please ensure that you have read all relevant course documentation, including the syllabus, assessment/assignment instructions, faculty feedback, and other important information. Student Break Room This communication forum allows for casual conversation with your classmates. Communication on this forum should always maintain a standard of appropriateness and respect for your fellow classmates. This forum should NOT be used to share assessment answers. CE 1002, Health and Safety Officer 6
Grading Case Studies (2 @ 13%) = 26% Unit I PowerPoint Presentation = 13% Unit IV Essay = 12% Unit V PowerPoint Presentation = 11% Unit VI Homework = 11% Unit VII Scholarly Activity = 13% Unit VIII Speech = 14% Total = 100% Course Schedule/Checklist (PLEASE PRINT) The following pages contain a printable Course Schedule to assist you through this course. By following this schedule, you will be assured that you will complete the course within the time allotted. CE 1002, Health and Safety Officer 7
CE 1002, Health and Safety Officer Course Schedule By following this schedule, you will be assured that you will complete the course within the time allotted. Please keep this schedule for reference as you progress through your course. Unit I Introduction to Occupational Health & Safety Unit Study Guide Chapter 1: Introduction to Emergency Services Occupational Safety and Health Chapter 13: Special Topics in Emergency Services Occupational Safety and Health Additional Reading Assignment(s): See Study Guide Suggested Reading: See Study Guide PowerPoint Presentation Unit II Risk Management Unit Study Guide Chapter 2: Review of Safety-Related Regulations and Standards Chapter 3: Risk Management Additional Reading Assignment(s): See Study Guide Suggested Reading: See Study Guide Case Study Unit III Pre-Incident Management Unit Study Guide Chapter 4: Safety Program Development and Management Chapter 5: Preincident Safety Additional Reading Assignment(s): See Study Guide Suggested Reading: See Study Guide Case Study CE 1002, Health and Safety Officer 8
CE 1002, Health and Safety Officer Course Schedule Unit IV Managing the Incident Unit Study Guide Chapter 6: Safety at the Fire Emergency Chapter 7: Safety at the Medical or Rescue Emergency Chapter 8: Safety at Specialized Incidents Additional Reading Assignment(s): See Study Guide Suggested Reading: See Study Guide Essay Unit V Post-Incident Management Unit Study Guide Chapter 9: Postincident Safety Management Additional Reading Assignment(s): See Study Guide Suggested Reading: See Study Guide PowerPoint Presentation Unit VI Roles & Responsibilities Unit Study Guide Chapter 10: Personnel Roles and Responsibilities Additional Reading Assignment(s): See Study Guide Suggested Reading: See Study Guide Homework Unit VII Program Evaluation Unit Study Guide Chapter 11: Safety Program Evaluation Additional Reading Assignment(s): See Study Guide Suggested Reading: See Study Guide Scholarly Activity CE 1002, Health and Safety Officer 9
CE 1002, Health and Safety Officer Course Schedule Unit VIII Information Management Unit Study Guide Chapter 12: Information Management Additional Reading Assignment(s): See Study Guide Suggested Reading: See Study Guide Speech CE 1002, Health and Safety Officer 10