JSlimmon
04-23-2009, 06:42 PM
I'm hoping that other prehospital simulation users will share what they are doing with their simulation so that we can all see new/different ideas and trade some secrets back and forth.
I'll start by telling a little bit about simulation with Calgary EMS of Alberta Health Services:
Calgary EMS is an all ALS service with approximately 450 EMT's and Paramedics. We serve a city of one million people (with only 1 pediatric and 3 adult hospitals), doing around 110,000 responses / year.
2 years ago, we purchased 2 ECS and 1 pedECS simulators to start a simulation program. We have 2 simulation rooms set up in our training centre and we converted an old ambulance into a Mobile Simulation Training Unit where we take the simulators out to the crews in the field and they perform the simulation in the back of the ambulance.
We use our simulation rooms for new recruit training and testing, staff ALS certification, and specific training for crews as desired/needed. We have also done training for some of our specialty teams including a sarin gas exposure for our CBRNE medics who had to perform in full protective gear.
The mobile unit is used for training of specific topics during the year. With our call volume and number of employees, we have found that it takes about 3 months to get everyone trained on one topic. So far, we have done simulations involving RSI, pediatric trauma, and STEMI. Feedback from the crews has been overwhelming positive with the only complaint being the relative infrequency of simulation training. We are nearing completion of a second mobile unit equipped with iStan and METIVision which should help get everyone trained more quickly.
We did one day of simulation where we partnered up with the Alberta Children's Hospital and started the simulation in our ambulance before moving into the trauma room where the doctors, nurses, and other staff continued treating the patient. Everyone found this an exciting time as the emergency room staff was not told that it was a simulation prior to us rolling through the doors doing CPR. We have plans to do more simulations with the Alberta Children's Hospital and hope to involve our adult facilities too.
Our future is exciting as we have recently transitioned from a municipal ambulance service to a provincial model. Our zone of responsibility has increased from our service to include 9 rural services spread over a very large area. We are hoping to involve training staff from these services in the delivery of mobile simulation training to their EMT's and Paramedics.
A video of our Mobile Simulation Training Unit in action is available on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4PihUpjeKw
I would be happy to answer any questions anyone has about how we are doing things and hope that others will share their experiences as well.
I'll start by telling a little bit about simulation with Calgary EMS of Alberta Health Services:
Calgary EMS is an all ALS service with approximately 450 EMT's and Paramedics. We serve a city of one million people (with only 1 pediatric and 3 adult hospitals), doing around 110,000 responses / year.
2 years ago, we purchased 2 ECS and 1 pedECS simulators to start a simulation program. We have 2 simulation rooms set up in our training centre and we converted an old ambulance into a Mobile Simulation Training Unit where we take the simulators out to the crews in the field and they perform the simulation in the back of the ambulance.
We use our simulation rooms for new recruit training and testing, staff ALS certification, and specific training for crews as desired/needed. We have also done training for some of our specialty teams including a sarin gas exposure for our CBRNE medics who had to perform in full protective gear.
The mobile unit is used for training of specific topics during the year. With our call volume and number of employees, we have found that it takes about 3 months to get everyone trained on one topic. So far, we have done simulations involving RSI, pediatric trauma, and STEMI. Feedback from the crews has been overwhelming positive with the only complaint being the relative infrequency of simulation training. We are nearing completion of a second mobile unit equipped with iStan and METIVision which should help get everyone trained more quickly.
We did one day of simulation where we partnered up with the Alberta Children's Hospital and started the simulation in our ambulance before moving into the trauma room where the doctors, nurses, and other staff continued treating the patient. Everyone found this an exciting time as the emergency room staff was not told that it was a simulation prior to us rolling through the doors doing CPR. We have plans to do more simulations with the Alberta Children's Hospital and hope to involve our adult facilities too.
Our future is exciting as we have recently transitioned from a municipal ambulance service to a provincial model. Our zone of responsibility has increased from our service to include 9 rural services spread over a very large area. We are hoping to involve training staff from these services in the delivery of mobile simulation training to their EMT's and Paramedics.
A video of our Mobile Simulation Training Unit in action is available on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4PihUpjeKw
I would be happy to answer any questions anyone has about how we are doing things and hope that others will share their experiences as well.