This repository contains the digital poster and supporting materials presented at the NCEMSF Conference 2026 Academic Poster Session, hosted by the Journal of Collegiate EMS (JCEMS) and NCEMSF.
- Evan Passalacqua, EMT (Berkeley Medical Reserve Corps; UC Berkeley Dept. of Statistics)
- Ivan Zhang, EMT (Berkeley Medical Reserve Corps; UC Berkeley Dept. of Statistics)
- Sophia Levin, BS, EMT (Berkeley Medical Reserve Corps)
- Deren Bog, EMT (Berkeley Medical Reserve Corps)
Background: Collegiate EMS agencies staff event dispatch with EMTs who lack formal dispatch training and rely on improvised tools to manage call traffic and unit assignment. The impact of these conditions on dispatcher performance is poorly understood.
Objectives: To evaluate dispatch performance, error rates, usability, and cognitive load among novice collegiate EMS dispatchers using three systems.
Methods: EMT-B volunteers without prior dispatch experience (n=12) completed dispatch simulations using three dispatch tools: a Google Sheets template, BrutalCAD, and CrowdCAD. Dispatch latency and errors were derived from annotated audio and system logs. Usability and cognitive load were assessed using self-report instruments.
Results: Tools showed no difference in call or equipment dispatch latency (p≥0.19) or error rates (p=1.00). Usability and cognitive load differed significantly, with higher usability and lower perceived workload reported for CrowdCAD compared to the other tools (p≤0.017 usability, p≤0.008 cognitive load).
Conclusion: Among novice collegiate EMS dispatchers in simulated event standby, dispatch speed and accuracy were similar across tools, while cognitive burden and usability varied substantially. These findings suggest dispatcher performance in collegiate EMS is constrained more by human factors than by tool capabilities alone, underscoring the importance of usability and dispatcher preparation.
/assets: Contains the SVG version of the poster for web viewing./pdf: Contains the high-resolution PDF for printing./figures: Individual charts and data visualizations used in the study.
Analysis code and raw data are currently withheld pending full manuscript publication.