Highly life-like simulation equipment will soon make training more realistic for Portage College paramedicine students.
New equipment will feature simulated blood, gushing from simulated injuries.
Called a "TCCC cut-suit", the military-grade equipment will better prepare students for real-life scenarios, says Donna Feledichuk, the vice-president of Acadmics and Research, and the current interim Dean of Paramedicine at Portage.
During the course of their duties, paramedics frequently work on patients who are bleeding - especially trauma victims. TCCC cut suits, which resemble the upper body, and show muscular anatomy, are worn either on a person or a mannequin, Feledichuk tells Lakeland This Week.
“Right now, students use mannequins, which are great for simulating placing a tube inside of a patient, but mannequins don’t bleed,” Feledichuk said. “When working on one of these cut suits, students actually see human tissue and muscle and experience what it’s like to have blood on their clothing. They truly feel as though they’re working in a high stakes environment.”
Initially utilized by the Canadian military to simulate combat wounds, cut suits have since become an effective training tool for paramedics to prepare them for what they will encounter in the field. College officials expect the suits will be ready for the 2024 – 2025 academic year.
Ambulance upgrades
More simulator upgrades are heading to Portage College. Feledichuk says large ambulance simulator will allow for more student access. The current simulator is a small, single unit outside the college building that doesn't have room for more than two students at a time.
“Only two students are able to use the ambulance at a time, which means the instructor must wait outside,” Feledichuk told Lakeland This Week.
The new simulator, which will eventually take up half of a classroom inside the college, allows students to train for a wide range of real-world medical situations, such as treating trauma cases, performing CPR, and conducting patient assessments. Training in the new simulator will also be done under the real-time supervision of an instructor.
“The (new) simulator allows the instructor to sit in an adjacent room and evaluate the progress of students while giving them feedback,” Feledichuk stated.
The new ambulance simulator will also feature a "driving mode" where students will learn while the simulator is moving the classroom to replicate a fast-moving ambulance.
Feledichuk says the new ambulance simulator, like the cut-suit, will add a significantly more realism to the hands-on, practical learning offered at Portage.
"It's getting the students accustomed to working on patients while in the back of a fast–moving vehicle
The valuable, life-saving learning tools aren’t cheap, with the ambulance simulator coming with a price tag of $140,000, and the cut-suit costing $50,000.
Funds have come though local fundraising initiatives — including the recent Healthier Communities golf tournament — and an expansion grant from the provincial government. The funding has allowed for increased student seats in the Emergency Medical Responder and Primary and Advanced Para-medicine programs.
The increased class sizes and the new equipment is hoped to draw more students into the healthcare field, and area of focus for provincial and federal governments.
Feledichuk says the new additions will add to an already exceptional course offering at Portage.
“Simulation has been proven to be a highly effective learning method because it provides students with a context of instruction they can’t get in the classroom,” Feledichuk stated.
