On Saturday, April 6, students of the Paramedic program of Conestoga College and members of the Baden Fire Department -- assisted by professional paramedics from Kitchener-Waterloo and Cambridge -- will work together and learn from each other at an event featuring a wide range of emergency situations, testing the application of practical skills in realistic simulations.
The program and department are co-sponsoring this event at and adjacent to the Baden Fire Hall, from 8 a.m. - 1 p.m. The public may attend to watch these current and future emergency professionals hone and evaluate their skills in accident scenarios.
According to Wendy Spiegelberg of the Paramedic program faculty, “The event is organized to assist our paramedic students in learning to handle a variety of emergencies where both firefighters and paramedics have to work together at a scene. The Baden Fire Department puts a great deal of time into this event, as do the paramedic professionals who come out to critique our students’ performance.”
The first simulation begins at approximately 8:30. The scenarios could include the following situations: vehicular accidents (single or multiple), farm equipment/machinery mishaps, a fire scene and/or a serious, multi-casualty accident (including environmental crises).
Paramedic professionals from various services volunteer their time to assess the performance of the students and address key rescue issues related to patient care procedures.
Approximately 30 students will participate. Conestoga’s two- year Paramedic program deals with knowledge and skills associated with pre-hospital emergency medical care, including the transport of accident/illness victims, and proper use of specialized equipment and techniques to help control life-threatening situations. The program is offered at the Doon campus in Kitchener and last year attracted nearly 1,000 applications for admission.
CONTACT: Wendy Spiegelberg, 519-748-5220, ext. 3430 (Voice mail 8175)
<wspiegelberg@conestogac.on.ca>