Abstract
This report is filed to illustrate the A competent ambulance volunteer is expected to have certain characteristics that would enable them to overcome difficulties and emergencies. The results of this study indicate that courage, composure, optimistic attitudes and spirit of cooperation are the four most vital characteristics for an ambulance volunteer. Based on our study, we strongly recommend ambulance organizations to provide practical training with self-rescue knowledge, build optimistic attitudes and cultivate spirit of cooperation when training volunteers.

1.0 Introduction
In nowadays society, increased attentions are gathered on public safety emergencies. Amongst one of the most important rescue and evacuation tools, the demand for ambulance is increasing rapidly. However, not everyone is suitable for handling ambulances. This study explores the qualities and characteristics individuals ought to have to become a successful ambulance volunteer, and provides recommendations for ambulance organizations on how to hire the appropriate personnel. All data and findings used in this report are obtained from official websites and academic journals.

2.0 Findings
According to Shylen (2008), the demand for ambulance services is increasing dramatically in Australia, but the number of ambulance volunteers is gradually decreasing, with obvious drop-offs in numbers certain volunteer positions. These positions need a large amount of new employees. The qualities and characteristics the volunteers should have are listed as follows.

2.1 Courage
Due to the dangerous nature of ambulance volunteer duties, courage is one of the most significant characteristics that are required for a volunteer. Despite saving the lives of people suffering for medical reasons, ambulance services also need to excel in public safety emergencies such as natural disasters. There is no room for hesitation and cowardice in these situations, as the best opportunities of saving survivors would slip way in the blink of an eye. Therefore, the courage of volunteers plays a key role in rescue operations. Courage and valor enable volunteers to react instantly to threats without doubts and fear, thus stimulate them to achieve their fullest potential in operations (Millican Pam 2007).
Figure 1. Major natural disasters in Australia
1998 Sydney storm and sinking
2003 NSW and Victorian Alpine fires
2005 SA Lower Eyre Peninsular fires
2006 Cyclone Larry in far North Queensland
2007 Sydney hail storm
2007 Victorian Great Divide fires
2008 South East Queensland floods
2009 Victoria wildfire
2011 Flood in Queensland
Source: Australia government 2012, Natural disasters in Australia

The high frequency of natural disasters in Australia put enormous pressure on our citizens. Figure 1 listed the major natural catastrophes Australians has witnessed since1998. As of 2012, Australia has experienced 9 major natural disasters which each caused serious life and economic loss. Related to these natural disasters were destroyed homes, poor sanitation, broken communication system, and unbearable living and working conditions. The courage of the volunteers would help them overcome pressures and the problems listed above. (Dr CM 2008)

2.2 Composure

A person’s ability of making judgments may be severely defected even lost if they feel panic or afraid. Thus, the ability to keep one’s composure is crucial for ambulance volunteers. In fact, the ability to remain calm has a high correlation with first aid successful rate (Howard Hori 2008). In urgent situations, it is also extremely important for one to keep the influence of emotions on actions to the minimum. It is very possible that the volunteers’ decisions will be influenced by the overwrought emotions when they realize that their family or best friends might also be struggling between life and death (Aiken A 2000). It is almost inevitable for volunteers to lament the fragility of life and feel week and sympathetic. But they would also need to always remember that people’s lives are at stake in emergencies such as natural disasters, and always keep their composure and prevent emotions from taking over.

2.3 Optimistic attitude

In critical moments such as rescue operations, optimistic attitudes often serve as crucial psychological support for victims. On the contrary, pessimistic attitudes are often times psychological destructions. Research has shown that pessimistic emotions of ambulance volunteers can distress patients by triggering negative emotions such as nervousness and anxiety, which would possibly worsen patients’ medical conditions (Fahey C, Walker J, Lennox G 2002). Volunteers’ optimistic attitudes not only bring hope and confidence to the ones that are being saved, but also give themselves faith to believe that even those with incurable disease is worth their effort, and that to make an 100% efforts for a 1% chance. (Howard Hori 2008).

2.4 Co-operation
The importance of teamwork has always been emphasized and also been proved in numerous events of different scale through out the history. Teamwork or rather the spirit of cooperation is a key to success for anyone in any non-individual assignments, including ambulance volunteers in rescue operations. The reason behind it is well organized cooperation would greatly improve rescue efficiency by shortening rescue time of each victim (Esmond J 2005). And in situations like rescue operations when time is the key, shortened rescuing time means more lives being saved. Normally, ambulance service can’t be operated individually and is usually a joint effort that requires active engagement from everyone on the mission. Under emergencies such as a breakout of a natural disaster, collaborative intelligence and experience tend to lead to quicker solutions to whatever problems faced by the ambulance volunteers. Thus, it is highly recommended that ambulance volunteers to be team players and willing to cooperate.

3.0 Conclusion
Based on the findings, one needs to be courageous, composed, optimistic and cooperative in order to become a successful ambulance volunteer. Courage enables volunteers to react fast with little fear so that they would tap their potentials. Composure minimizes the influence of emotions on actions and allows volunteers to make accurate judgments. Optimistic attitudes plant hope in minds of the patients and help them to maintain a positive mood, which might impose positively impact on their body conditions. Cooperative mindsets would increase rescue efficiency since ambulance services are often collaborative efforts. Ambulance volunteers with these four characteristics ought to be able to overcome various difficulties in unexpected situations.

4.0 Recommendations
• Ambulance organizations are recommended to provide self-saving and field survival training to newly recruited volunteers. Through self-saving and field survival trainings, the volunteers would be more familiar with urgent situations such as natural disasters and thus be more prepared when facing such situations. These trainings also eliminate unnecessary panic and fear in volunteers and thus allow them to be fully dedicated to their operations even under unbearable working conditions.

• Ambulance organizations should provide more practical field training where volunteers are able to actually operate, rather than lectures without realistic examples. This is because experience is vital in all rescue operations and the only way to gain experience is to practice and operate. With enough field experience, volunteers would be able to react fast and accurate even when they panic because they can recall from similar situations they went through in practice.

• Ambulance organizations are recommended to help the volunteers to build an optimistic mindset by presenting positive statistics and successful examples in rescue operations. These statistics and examples can be passed to victims as strong psychological supports. At the meanwhile, it would plant the “they can do it, why not us?” mentality in volunteers so that they would make a strong effort even with only a slim chance.

• Ambulance organizations should cultivate volunteers’ spirit of cooperation through team assignments such as sports games. It is an extraordinary challenge for new volunteers to starting to learn and like each other, and it is even harder for them to trust each other with their lives in emergencies. Team assignments in trainings enable volunteers to build trust within each other, to gradually give up their egos as they learn that no one is good at everything, and to realize that two minds are always better than one. Thus, when facing real danger, volunteers would be united as one and naturally perform collaboratively which would greatly improve rescue efficiency.

5.0 References
Aiken A 2000, “Identifying key issues affecting the retention of emergency service volunteers” Australian Journal of Emergency Management, Winter Edition, pp. 23-24

Australia Government 2012, “natural disasters in Australia”, viewed 15 February 2013,

Dr. CM 2008, “ The Volunteer Citizen Health Services and Agency: The Identify Work of Australian and New Zealand Ambulance Volunteers”, Thesis(PhD), viewed 18 February 2013,

Esmond J 2005, Australian Emergency Management Volunteer Forum, strategic Plan, viewed 17 February 2013,

Fahey C, Walker J & Lennox G 2002, “Training Can Be a Recruitment and Retention Tool for Emergency Service Volunteers”, Australian Journal of Emergency Management, vol. 17, no. 3, pp. 3-7

Howard H 2008, “Volunteerism in Emergency Management in Australia: Direction and Developments since the National Volunteer Summit of 2001”, Australian Journal of Emergency Management, vol. 18, no. 4, pp. 31-33

Millican P 2007, “Volunteers: A Vision”, Australian Journal of Emergency Management, vol. 12, Winter Edition, pp. 11-13

Shylen J 2008, “St.John Ambulance Australia”, Science Now, no. 445, p.6