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In order to become an official volunteer at Timpanogos Cave National Monument you must complete all of the training and quizzes found on this page. Once you've compelted them send me an email and we'll set up a date and time to complete your official onboarding paperwork.
Operational Leadership
National Park Service (NPS) Operational Leadership empowers employees to be assertive about their safety and the safety of their team. It also encourages them to participate in the decision making and risk management process.
THE SEVEN COMPONENTS OF NPS OPERATIONAL LEADERSHIP
Operational Leadership is the process of coordinating actions among individuals and team members enabling them to interact effectively while performing tasks, jobs, or projects in support of the National Park Service stewardship mission. There are seven critical individual and team skills that have been identified which can be employed to reduce the probability of human error. These skills are:
• Effective Leadership
• Error & Accident Causation
• Mission Analysis
• Managing Stress & Performance
• Situational Awareness
• Decision Making
• Communications & Assertiveness
Effective Leadership: Directing and guiding the activities of other team members, stimulating personnel to work together as a team, and providing feedback to team members regarding their performance. When it comes to the leadership component it's important to know that everyone in this park has the potential and responsibility to act as a leader when it comes to their own safety and the safety of those around them. Don't hesitate to speak up.
Error & Accident Causation: Understanding the root cause of human error and the responsibility each of us has in preventing it.
Mission Analysis: Making long-term contingency plans, and organizing, allocating, and monitoring team resources.
Managing Stress & Performance (Adaptability & Flexibility): Altering a course of action to meet changing demands, maintaining constructive behavior under pressure, and working effectively with other team members.
Situational Awareness: Always knowing what is happening to the team, the work group, and the mission.
Decision Making: Applying logical and sound judgment based on the information available.
Communication & Assertiveness: Clearly and accurately sending and receiving information, instructions, and commands; providing useful feedback while actively participating, stating, and maintaining a position until knowing the facts, not the experience, authority, or personality of another, that your position is not the best.
As you read through that list I hope you were thinking about how they apply to the position that you fill within the park. We expect our volunteers to understand their obligations to park safety and to communicate any unnecessary risk as soon as feasibly possible.
As an employee you have the right - and the obligation - to point out when you see an unsafe act occurring. You can stop any task at any time by saying that it doesn't seem safe and that will prompt a conversation to determine how the task can be done safer.
Our volunteers are our greatest resources. We care about you and hope that you go home every day in (mostly) the same condition that you arrived at the park in (other than perhaps sweaty, dirty, and tired). Please let us know immediately if there is anything we can do to increase your safety.
Radio Use
Every person during every shift is expected to carry and use a National Park Service radio. The volunteer radios are different than the other radios in the park. To turn them on you simply push and hold down the twisty knob at the top. I'll make a video of this and get it uploaded as soon as I can.
Your radio call number is 600-Name. So, if your name is "Fred" when you are using the radio you would identify yourself as 600-Fred.
When you begin hiking at the park turn your radio on, hold down the large button on the side, count to three slowly, then do a radio check in by saying "600 Fred is on the trail". This lets people know we have additional resources on the trail in the event of an emergency.
We wait before we speak because it takes several seconds for the radios to start broadcasting and we don't want you (or anyone) to be cut off.
Here are a few more important radio call numbers:
• 755 - Visitor Center
• 755 - Bravo - The Cave Entrance
• 300's - Interpretation Team
• 301 - ViP Supervisor Annie Brantley
• 400's - Maintenance Team
• 500's - Resource Management Team.
We don't expect you to memorize all of these. We will provide you with a pocket-sized radio call list so that you can easily identify the number of whoever it is you need to talk to.
Using the radio is an important part of your job. Remember to sound professional, speak clearly, and stay calm. Even in an emergency doing these things will help the rest of the park determine what you need and get help to you faster.
We do not describe visitors in any sort of potentially negative way. Please leave comments regarding weight, race, and religion off your radio calls. It's not needed information.
In the event of a medical emergency do not use the patient’s name. It's a HIPPA violation.
How to call on the Radio
Calling on the radio is a lot like calling on the phone. When you call someone on the phone you generally start by asking for who you need, and then saying who you are. Let's say you need to call the Cave Entrance to let them know that there is someone who can't walk down the trail and needs medical assistance. It should go something like this:
You: 755 Bravo, 600 Fred
Ranger: Bravo, go ahead
You: There is a visitor here who needs assistance walking down the mountain, they won't be able to make it on their own. Can you please send help?
Ranger: Will do. Thanks. Bravo Clear.
You: 600 Fred Clear.
As you can see from the conversation above the first piece is you reaching out to who you need to talk to. Once they respond to let you know they're listening then you give the message. At the end of the conversation, you always want to say your number and "clear" to let the park know that's the end of the message.
Rangers will be happy to help you roleplay conversations just like this to help you get the hang of things. The calmer and more professional that we can be on the radio, the better. It's always wise to remember that we use public air waves, and anyone could be listening at any time. We want to leave them with a professional and put-together opinion of our park, the programs, and of course the people who work there such as yourself.
Dealing with A Medical Issue
There is a possibility that at some point in your time at the park, you will find yourself involved in a medical response to help a visitor in need. If this occurs the first thing to remember is that they're expecting you to be the expert. Even if the emergency is above what you can handle, please remain calm and help establish an environment of calm.
If you walk into a true emergency the first thing you should do is assess the patient. Use your first-aid skills to figure out what you need in order to help this person. Try to determine what happened just before the emergency and what condition this person is in.
The next step will be to call the Visitor Center on the radio for help. The radio call might sound something like this:
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You: 755, 600 Fred
Ranger: 755, go ahead
You: Please call 911. I need an AED, a gurney, and oxygen for an older, male visitor who is unconscious on the trail and is not currently breathing. We are at lightening point.
Ranger: Copy. Becca will be gathering things and headed up to you shortly.
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In your radio call message you need to include four important pieces of information:
1. Your name and location
2. Information on patient: Age, gender, chief complaint, presented symptoms
3. Patient condition and trend (poor and improving) (stable and unchanging)
4. What do you need
5. What is patient's ETA to VC if being evacuated
If it's been a particularly busy radio day you might start your message with "Emergency. Emergency. Break for emergency." This will quickly get everyone’s attention and the whole park will start listening.
Calmly communicating that there is an emergency is an important step. You may use other volunteers, rangers, or even visitors to take over talking on the radio if you are busy providing care.
Remember to provide the best care that you can to the level that you have been trained. You can turn a patient over to someone else who has higher medical training than you do - but not to someone who has less or lower medical training. Most of you are just CPR/First aid certified. Do not turn a patient over to someone who doesn't have at least that certification.
Medical Scenario Quiz
Uniforms
Wearing your uniform well is critical to doing your job well. Visitors don't notice the difference between a ranger uniform and a volunteer uniform. They see a person with a uniform, NPS patch, and hat, and they will recognize you as someone who works for the park.
Your uniform consists of the pieces broken down here:
• Your shirt. We provided Khaki, button-up shirts with the ViP patch sewn on the shoulder. Your shirt should start wrinkle free and free of offensive odor. If you find you need additional shirts, please let the ViP manager know.
• Your hat. We provide two different styles of hats and either one is fine. One is a ballcap and a bucket hat to minimize sunburns. Whichever hat is more comfortable for you is just fine.
• Your name bar. Name bars do take time to order but once it has arrived, we expect that you will wear it on your shirt, preferably just above the right pocket. If you prefer the left pocked that's fine - but rangers wear them over the right. Your name bar easily identifies who you are for the visitors.
• Your pants, shoes, and socks. We do not provide these pieces. You are welcome to wear a variety of different things. The goal is to appear professional and as an amazing representative of the NPS. Cargo pants are a common choice in dark browns or darker khaki. Jeans and stretchy pants can be worn. We want you to be comfortable - we just also want you to look the part you play. Please consider when choosing your pants that you may find yourself kneeling occasionally therefore consider choosing pants that will protect your legs. We don't have a strong opinion on what shoes or socks you choose to wear. Just keep it professional.
In addition to your uniform, we ask that everyone carry their radio, first-aid kit, and water.
Uniform Quiz
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