Dwight A. Polk

Dwight A. Polk, MSW, NREMT-P is the Paramedic Program Director at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) in Baltimore, MD. Dwight has a Master's Degree in Occupational Social Work and is a Crisis Counselor for the Grassroots Crisis Center and two Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) teams in the Baltimore region.

In addition to being a fulltime educator, he is a volunteer paramedic at the Williamsport Volunteer Fire and EMS Company in Williamsport, MD. He is co-author of two textbooks by Jones & Bartlett - "Prehospital Behavioral Emergencies and Crisis Response" and "Law Enforcement Responder: Principles of Emergency Medicine, Rescue, and Force Protection." Dwight has written for JEMS (Journal of Emergency Medical Services), publishing several articles on mental disorders.

Dwight is a dynamic speaker and has presented lectures at nearly 100 Fire and EMS conferences nationally. He specializes in the psychosocial aspects of working in EMS and law enforcement, and has an interest in behavioral emergencies, wellness issues, and youth and emergency services suicide and other forms of grief events.

In his free time, Dwight enjoys photography and is an avid traveler and cruise ship fan. He has cruised to Alaska, Bermuda,the Caribbean, South & Central America, Scandinavia, and the Mediterranean. He also loves to cook as a hobby and stress relief.