Durham College Paramedic students place first at 2010 National Paramedic Competition

Paramedic students Adam Sellors, left, and Andrew Bright, right, celebrate with Kevin Griffin, centre, a professor with the School of Health & Community Services, after they won the College division of the 2010 National Paramedic Competition. Sellors and Bright competed against students and professional paramedics from across Canada in a series of emergency situation simulations during the event held on April 10 at Durham College.

A team of Paramedic students came out on top at the 2010 National Paramedic Competition on April 10, winning the College division and placing third in the Advanced Care Paramedic (ACP) division, giving Durham College its first win since the competition began in 2003.

Competing against teams from colleges and emergency medical service units from across Ontario, Durham College students Andrew Bright and Adam Sellors participated in a series of simulated scenarios throughout the Oshawa campus.

The scenarios, drawn from real-life emergency calls, tested their skills in dealing with crisis situations while judges looked on. Scenarios included an assault during a protest, a deaf and mute mother with a choking baby and a pair of criminals breaking into a factory and being exposed to a pesticide.

“It’s amazing to come in first, mostly because it was so unexpected,” said Bright. “We were feeling pretty good throughout the day but we still had no idea how everyone else was doing. It took a couple days for it to sink in and finally realize what we had done.”

Bright added that he plans on participating in the competition again in the future at the Primary Care Paramedic (PCP) and ACP levels, which are reserved for more advanced students and professional paramedics.

Durham College students Brock Bodashefsky and Rob Morra also did well at the competition, placing third in the ACP division and holding their own against professional ACPs with experience in the field.

“They did very well,” said Melissa Simpson, a paramedic lab technologist with the School of Health & Community Services. “They were practising as much as they physically could before the competition, which is difficult since they have a day and a half of classes per week and spend the rest of their time with their preceptor crew out on the road.”

For more information on the 2010 National Paramedic Competition and to see photos of the paramedics in action, please visit www.paramediccompetition.ca.