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In episode 86 of the podcast, Rob interviewed Tobias Watson of Constant Associates. The discussion was circled around simulation exercises and the importance of not letting your guard down due to the ongoing pandemic situation. Tobias discussed shorter exercises and non-notice drills that have been beneficial in his career. He also talks about larger scale exercises and how they can be a burden and drain if they are done too often. Here are the questions Rob presented to Tobais:
- When planning exercises, why is it important to get buy-in from leadership before embarking on the exercise program journey?
- I know you have a good amount of healthcare sector experience. Can you speak about what your experience was/is still like within the sector as it relates to exercising?
- What are your thoughts on no-notice exercises?
- What’s the longest exercises you’ve been involved in from start to finish in terms of planning to the post exercise activities.
- What’s the one piece of advice you would give for someone who’s been given the responsibility of planning exercises but has no experience?
- What does the future hold for the preparedness exercise world?
About Tobias Watson
Tobias Watson is an Exercise Planner with Constant Associates and has a passion for making preparedness exercises practical and applicable. He has over 10 years of professional experience encompassing emergency management, firefighting, and emergency medical services. Using his knowledge of field response, he is better able to understand the needs of those in the first responder/receiver capacity and the differences between paper plans and frontline needs.
Mr. Watson graduated from Union College in Nebraska with a Bachelor of Science in International Rescue and Relief. His highlights from college include five weeks of survival and rescue training in the Colorado wilderness, and a Capstone semester in Nicaragua studying and applying skills in survival, austere medicine, global health, and firefighting.
Mr. Watson has served in multiple roles for emergency management providing training for emergency response, guidance for COVID-19, and program management and strategic development of healthcare emergency preparedness. His previous role was the Emergency Preparedness Coordinator for a two-campus hospital with a Level II Trauma Center in Lincoln, NE where he grew the program and led strategic changes to lay a future of success.