Medical dispatcher vs emergency communications officer

The differences between medical dispatchers and emergency communications officers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an emergency communications officer has an average salary of $39,422, which is higher than the $32,673 average annual salary of a medical dispatcher.

The top three skills for a medical dispatcher include data entry, CAD and patients. The most important skills for an emergency communications officer are patrol, computer aided dispatch, and emergency situations.

Medical dispatcher vs emergency communications officer overview

	Medical Dispatcher	Emergency Communications Officer
Yearly salary	$32,673	$39,422
Hourly rate	$15.71	$18.95
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	48,418	93,158
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 30%	Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Average age	39	39
Years of experience	-	-

Medical dispatcher vs emergency communications officer salary

Medical dispatchers and emergency communications officers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Medical Dispatcher	Emergency Communications Officer
Average salary	$32,673	$39,422
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $43,000	Between $28,000 And $53,000
Highest paying City	-	Bloomington, IL
Highest paying state	-	Oregon
Best paying company	-	City of Austin
Best paying industry	-	Government

Differences between medical dispatcher and emergency communications officer education

There are a few differences between a medical dispatcher and an emergency communications officer in terms of educational background:

	Medical Dispatcher	Emergency Communications Officer
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 30%	Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Most common major	Business	Criminal Justice
Most common college	-	-

Medical dispatcher vs emergency communications officer demographics

Here are the differences between medical dispatchers' and emergency communications officers' demographics:

	Medical Dispatcher	Emergency Communications Officer
Average age	39	39
Gender ratio	Male, 27.1% Female, 72.9%	Male, 43.1% Female, 56.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.1% Unknown, 6.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.1% Asian, 0.9% White, 72.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 9.1% Unknown, 6.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.1% Asian, 0.9% White, 72.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	17%	17%

Differences between medical dispatcher and emergency communications officer duties and responsibilities

Medical dispatcher example responsibilities.

Manage customer service satisfaction by providing update eta and location of drivers.
Coordinate ambulances and helicopters to and from the hospital.
Dispatch multiple ambulances all throughout Houston and its surrounding areas.
Transport patients and clients utilizing company vehicles.
Master at delivering superior customer care and assist with elderly patients.
Discuss cable television equipment operation with customers over telephone to explain equipment usage and to troubleshoot equipment problems.

Emergency communications officer example responsibilities.

Dispatch all patrol units to calls for service.
Monitor Fire/EMS calls of adjacent jurisdictions.
Maintain composure and compassion while handling emergency and non-emergency calls from a diverse community
Retrieve sensitive information such as, DMV files and background histories.
Insert foley catheter or straight cath a patient as directed.
Receive training regarding updates and changes of policies, procedure and regulations to CJIS.

Medical dispatcher vs emergency communications officer skills

Common medical dispatcher skills

Data Entry, 15%
CAD, 12%
Patients, 10%
EMD, 9%
Non-Emergency Calls, 9%
BLS, 7%

Common emergency communications officer skills

Patrol, 20%
Computer Aided Dispatch, 10%
Emergency Situations, 7%
CPR, 6%
CAD, 6%
EMS, 6%

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Medical Dispatcher vs Emergency Communications Officer

Updated January 8, 2025

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