Professionalism: application of the concept of disciplinarity to emergency management

Emergency management in Australia is undergoing a process of professionalisation. Those who undertake roles in emergency management are often seeking to be recognised as a professional. To support this process of professionalisation, research into the human capacities of the Australian emergency manager was undertaken. Emerging from that research was the concept of disciplines. It was found that discipline-based thinking when applied to the work of those within the field of emergency management provided a way to describe and explore differences in tasks and roles undertaken. Emerging from this analysis was the Emergency Management Disciplinary Spectrum. The Emergency Management Disciplinary Spectrum demonstrates how application of the concepts of discipline, multidisciplinarity, interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity can support the previously defined roles of Response Manager, Recovery Manager and Emergency Manager. The Emergency Management Disciplinary Spectrum provides a model from which to explore the development of future emergency management practitioners and professionalisation of emergency management in Australia.