Guelph First Response Team?

[MedDream]

Hey Guys,

 

I realize this post may be for only a few people, but I have some questions about the First Response Team at Guelph, or any other schools that have something like this. Basically the first response team is a group of students that do emergency first aid for anyone on campus, on nights during the week and for 24 hours on Saturdays and Sundays.

 

In the application form I have seen that it requires a commitment of 4-5 shifts per month, but it doesn't say how long the shifts are. I'm basically wondering what sort of time commitment this involves, and hoping to get anyone's input on how they liked the volunteer program and stuff. I am really interested in joining, I just need to figure out whether I have a realistic amount of time to commit to the team. Thanks!

[rmorelan]

Hey Guys,

 

I realize this post may be for only a few people, but I have some questions about the First Response Team at Guelph, or any other schools that have something like this. Basically the first response team is a group of students that do emergency first aid for anyone on campus, on nights during the week and for 24 hours on Saturdays and Sundays.

 

In the application form I have seen that it requires a commitment of 4-5 shifts per month, but it doesn't say how long the shifts are. I'm basically wondering what sort of time commitment this involves, and hoping to get anyone's input on how they liked the volunteer program and stuff. I am really interested in joining, I just need to figure out whether I have a realistic amount of time to commit to the team. Thanks!

 

I had a friend who did that at Guelph - the shifts were longer than you think but really you spent most of the time studying and only sent out on call. It is not likely are running around treating people for 8 hours

[Tango Charlie]

In my experience, pretending like you're the equal of paramedics with your 30 hours of training, and passing off bogus medical facts ("venous blood is actually BLUE until it gets exposed to oxygen!") as pearls of wisdom, is the primary focus of an emergency first aid group.

 

But seriously, it's not very active, there's lot's of drunks and not much else, and it's overall more of a break than anything. You'll probably do more studying there than otherwise, so it might actually be an asset academically.

[MedDream]

You'll probably do more studying there than otherwise, so it might actually be an asset academically.

 

Hmm... I never thought of this one haha. Thanks guys for the input

[nosuperman]

Shifts are usually 6-8 hours and in my experience unless you're running weekend shifts you'll only get 1 call per shift. Its actually a pretty good deal because you'll rack up hundreds of ours of volunteering with minimal work.

 

I did this during university (though not with Guelph) and it was an invaluable experience. We had the option to gain hundreds of hours of training, go to medical conferences, get certified in and practice almost everything a paramedic can do (IV's, SR drugs, Backboarding and extricating, 12-leads etc) and by the time I did interviews I had some decent experiences to talk about.

 

Though it was mostly alcohol-related calls, I have been first on the scene to treat stabbings, a gunshot wound, suicide attempts, heart attacks, diabetic emergencies, anaphylaxis, strokes, and got to experience both saving and losing patients.

 

With respect to being paramedic wannabes, a good chunk of our team were actual certified paramedics and nurses. They handled most of our training (except for our drugs which had to be taught by doctors).

 

Guelph is part of NCEMSF (I believe they won the ALS competition this past year?) so you'd get to go to medical conferences in the US and learn and compete against squads from across North America... and they whole thing is put on by hospitals, usually major trauma centers, so having their faculty teach you is pretty cool as well.

 

All in all I guess its what you make of it but I certainly had fun doing it and it made for some amazing experiences. Having competed against and beaten US med students and EMT's in skills competitions, I know at least some of what I've learned will help me later in life as well.

[Tango Charlie]

get certified in and practice almost everything a paramedic can do (IV's, SR drugs, Backboarding and extricating, 12-leads etc)

 

Could you elaborate on this? I've never heard of a first aid anything being taught how to start and maintain IVs, being given drugs, being taught rhythm interpretation on 12-leads, and overall just being signed-off by a physician to perform controlled acts.

[nosuperman]

Could you elaborate on this? I've never heard of a first aid anything being taught how to start and maintain IVs, being given drugs, being taught rhythm interpretation on 12-leads, and overall just being signed-off by a physician to perform controlled acts.

 

Well the SR drug course was/is usually run by the paramedics on the team and signed off by our medical director. As far as I know (though I have more experience with US squads via NCEMSF) everyone needs a medical director otherwise you're basically just giving first aid. Ours usually showed up at the end to ask/answer questions. We worked with our doc for a long a time (10+ yrs) and he trusted us (again a decent chunk of our staff were Nurses and Paramedics themselves) but SR = Symptom Relief (ASA, Nitro, Glucagon, SC Epi, DPH and then a few things for the nebulizer) so nothing really too intensive... but good practice for giving people needles when you're nervous and their friends are screaming and you can barely hear BP/Breathing Sounds because of the music from a bar/party.

 

Though our squad did the training in-house, I believe teams like Guelph have in the past opened a few of them up for like firefighters and other select non-healthcare workers to attend... so it isn't unheard of. Also you can just buy a medical director if you can afford it.

 

We did do the ACLS course (in-house ACLS instructors, only for advanced team members though) which lets you 'assist' with everything in a full code and you get to practice IV's on the dummies/each othe but I can't comment on the IV start certification because I never ended up getting it. That being said the only times I've ever saw it used (or received, on occasion) was for alcohol intoxication.

 

The 12-lead course was offered as part of our continuing education program. All you really need is a monitor and someone willing to teach it so I don't think it's too much of a stretch? We also had modules on breathing sounds, different body systems, little workshops on vitals/pulse oximetry/extrications... completely optional but necessary for promotion and a decent chunk of the membership are able to work them into their schedules. The modules usually consisted of some lecture time, some online learning and then some practicals and scenarios. Practice-wise it only lets you use the cardiac monitor and the King LT's but if you're geeked about medicine as most of us were its more just for the love of the game

 

Our counterparts in the states get more responsibilities, and ambulance transport in many cases, with equal or less training so as the community grows I'm sure these things will become more common practice. Last I heard, Ryerson was budgeting for an ambulance.

 

Edit: I should note I've graduated and moved on, hence my experience being written in past-tense

[MedDream]

WOW! Thank you so much for that nosuperman! I'm not sure if we get that intense, but I know the Guelph team is a division of St John Ambulance and there are medical conferences to go to. And yes, they did do a demonstration... 2 years ago I think, and the Guelph Fire Department was there to make it more realistic (did a mock car crash). I think I will try to do this, as I did get that feeling of jealously whenever I saw that red uniform last year

 

Seems like an opportunity not to miss out on

[nosuperman]

WOW! Thank you so much for that nosuperman! I'm not sure if we get that intense, but I know the Guelph team is a division of St John Ambulance and there are medical conferences to go to. And yes, they did do a demonstration... 2 years ago I think, and the Guelph Fire Department was there to make it more realistic (did a mock car crash). I think I will try to do this, as I did get that feeling of jealously whenever I saw that red uniform last year

 

Seems like an opportunity not to miss out on

 

At the bare minimum you'll be able to get SR Drugs and First Responder Training. If they don't have continuing education at Guelph, they should, and maybe you could help out with that once (if?) you're on the team. The mock MCI's are pretty fun and teach you a lot about communication and triage, even if you aren't the one dropping airways and placing chest tubes. The medical conferences are the best, I still go as an alumni.

 

Like I mentioned, I'm pretty sure Guelph has some ALS Medics (the Paramedics that get cardiac drugs, narcotics and all that jazz) on the team so those guys would potentially be amazing resources if they stuck around and helped out with training.

 

If you do decide to apply, one thing you don't want to do is show up for an interview (I assume Guelph does interviews) looking like you're using it just to get into med school. This happens alot. Also, liability is a huge concern when you get into some of these trainings, so don't come across as being trigger happy to get the more advanced stuff. Not to say that you'd do this, just more of a heads up.

[Thunderclouds]

Guelph does not have ALS medics on the team.

They're members are certified as St Johns Ambulance Advanced Medical First Responder. They carry oxygen, AED, and epi.

 

Shifts can be 2-3 per month, with opportunities to do 1+ per week, but usually not required.

 

The team responds to waaaaaaaaaay more than just drunks. There have been an incredible range of calls to various traumas, medical emergencies, scenes with multiple casualties, and life-threatening emergencies.

 

The training you receive on the team and the experience are invaluable. It is hands-on practice in patient care, critical decision making, and problem solving. There is also a lot of opportunity for leadership, and developing skills in teaching and mentoring.

 

It is also a very tight-knit team, and a great network of students, who will inevitably help you with studying, course selection, research and job advice, etc.

 

It can be incredibly time consuming and stressful, but for anyone who genuinely wants to be involved in patient care, I was definitely recommend trying out. Next tryouts won't be until September 2011 though!

[Thunderclouds]

Other fun fact about the team...

 

Members of the team within the last couple years have gone on to pursue: medical school, accelerated nursing, paramedicine, respiratory therapy, chiropractics, and not surprisingly a wide range of MSc programs like neuroscience, public health, physiology, global health etc.

 

It is great to see them pursuing a wide range of careers in health care, and they are great contacts/resources/role models for younger members of the team.

[nosuperman]

Guelph does not have ALS medics on the team.

 

My bad it was Carlton - they were the ones who won the ALS competition. They were the only two teams who wore red to the competition and they were both from Canada... and there was a lot of drinking that weekend

 

Guelph does try to run SR drug courses though, they tentatively booked one last year, though they haven't had enough members sign up for them the last two years.