The University of Brighton teamed up with East Sussex Fire and Rescue (ESFR), and South East Coast Ambulance to host an emergency training day for paramedic students. For the first time, students played an active part and were assessed on their performance as part of their degree.
Paramedic practice students were joined by those on the foundation degree from St George's University, London, to enact real-time emergency response scenarios involving road crashes, falls in confined spaces and inter-agency work between the emergency services. Students from both universities had never met before, so communication and teamwork were crucial, especially as the scenarios become more complex over the course of the day, ending with a major incident involving multiple vehicles.
The exercise, hosted at the ESFR training centre in Maresfield, saw scrap cars taken apart and first year paramedic students acting as mock casualties. Students took part in a range of trauma care scenarios alternating as paramedics and observers, with the exception of the major incident where all students acted as responders, working with the Fire Service who would be on scene at real life situations rescuing trapped casualties. The students treated the casualties while the observers noted responses, response times, decisions and communication strategies which formed the basis of the debrief.
Kevin Barrett, Paramedic Practise BSc(Hons) course leader, said: "Simulation is increasingly finding a central place within clinical education with high specification mannequins and simulation suites now commonplace across universities nationwide including the University of Brighton. The interprofessional element incorporating multi-agency responses to accident and emergency situations is of huge significance and the learning that takes place on this basis is invaluable in the role of paramedics."
The multi-agency training day has proved to be a great success and will now form an integral part of the Paramedic Practice BSc(Hons) course assessment.
