“They shot a movie once in my hometown …”

Admittedly, the opening line from a 1989 Tragically Hip song rolls off the tongue better than, “They created a series of mock-medical emergency scenarios to train the Portage College paramedicine class in my hometown…” but that doesn’t stop people in the rural Alberta community of Colinton from singing the praises of the training exercise that took over their community hall, park and some businesses for a week earlier this summer.

And like a good song, they’re ready to hit replay on the event with the next class of students who begin at the college later this month.

“I feel that on behalf of the community, the facility and grounds are a welcome place for training, and they are happy to hear what might be happening in the future, and how the community can continue to assist,” says Natasha Kapitaniuk, the Athabasca County councillor whose municipal ward includes the Colinton area.

About 120 kilometres north of Edmonton and 70 kilometres west of the Lac La Biche Portage College campus, the 250 residents of Colinton have welcomed the annual training week for the last several years. The week adds about 50 Portage College staff, instructors and students completing a final component of their Advanced Care Paramedic program to the small community. The training also includes an air ambulance flight simulator operated by Alberta Health Services staff and a team of videographers who captured the event for training purposes.

This year’s scenarios included a knife attack with multiple victims, a bar brawl, a creek drowning and a shooting.

Boost in population

Kapitaniuk said the week of training definitely increases the activity in the hamlet.

“Colinton is a little gem of a hamlet in the valley, alongside a creek and a trail network … It was nice to see more people walking on the trails and enjoying the scenery. The Colinton Hotel was happy to host the people for their weekly BBQ night as well,” she said.

The training week was a collaborative effort between Portage College, Athabasca County, the Colinton community and AHS. The week also brings in community volunteers to act in some of the scenarios. This year, Drama students from Athabaca's Edwin Parr High School returned to take part in the event. The councillor sees the partnership as a win-win for local economic development and marketing. She looks forward to more combined projects.

“It’s a great fit for encouraging group education or special scenario training ... collaboration is always a positive thing,” she said. “If there were to be (more) ideas brought to Athabasca County from Portage as a delegation to Council I am sure it would be well received.”

Learning on the go

Although the labs at the college have high-fidelity simulators, the need was identified to consolidate the knowledge and skills acquired throughout the program and test those skills in real to life simulations.

The opportunity for students to learn through hands-on experience, utilizing the latest technology from their classrooms and AHS is invaluable, says Patrick Breckenridge, an instructor with Portage College’s Health and Wellness programs.

 “The goal of our onsite week is to provide valuable, real-time learning opportunities,” he said., adding that a local physician was also part of this year's training. "It is as real time as we can get for students to consolidate their knowledge and skills and evaluate their own practice to be as best prepared as possible."

He too sees the week of on-site training as a win-win for everyone involved.

"Our feedback from students is extremely positive about the field onsite week, and for the community, I think initially it might have been a bit of a shock as they would see Paramedics all over, an ambulance, what appeared to be trauma, but now they're used to it.  Now we get a lot of offers for volunteers and locations. The senior club at the hall seems to enjoy speaking with our students when they come to the hall during the training week."

As the next academic year is set to begin at Portage College, the planning is also underway for the next emergency scenario week.

"We are always adding, changing and trying to improve. It's an ongoing process," said Breckenridge. "We are getting better at what we offer by education and training."

 Kapitaniuk was asked if she had any ideas for the next themes. She deferred to the experts.

“I am confident that Patrick and Portage has great ideas as he takes care of the training setup with lots of forethought,” she said.

The Advanced Care Paramedic program at Portage College is one of several offerings in the Health and Wellness department. Other programs include Primary Care Paramedic, Emergency Medical Responder and Practical Nurse training.

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