March 4, 2009
BC Ambulance Service (BCAS) Primary Care Paramedics (PCP) Clair Hall, Virginia Kronstein and Adam Irish hope to repeat history this March, when they are set to face-off against Canada's finest at the 7th annual National Paramedic Competition in Oshawa, Ontario. The same event where BCAS Advanced Care Paramedics Kathy Harms, Jade Munro and Kathy Pascuzzo earned the gold only a short year ago, the competition will see paramedic teams from across the country work through a combination of practical scenarios that use both human actors and patient simulators.
"Practice, practice, practice," said Clair Hall, when asked how the BCAS team will be getting ready for the event. "We plan to do everything we can to prepare ourselves for the Nationals, so we are ready to represent BCAS as best we can."
With over twenty-seven years of combined experience, BCAS' newest hopefuls for national gold have been busy preparing for what they expect will be a tough competition. Working with Clarke McGuire and Jade Monro (Team Manager and member of 2007's BCAS' Gold Medal team), paramedics have been studying the National Occupational Competency Profile, reviewing rules and regulations specific to the competition, reading up on PCP practice and running through a variety of hands-on scenarios.
While preparation is demanding, the team is looking forward to an exciting event and the opportunity to share best practices and compare equipment and techniques with their counterparts from across the country.
"We're really proud to be ambassadors representing BC," said Virginia Kronstein. "It's a tremendous honor and we're looking forward to meeting our fellow competitors."
