Paramedic student, Ina Old Shoes, stands before the HALO Air Ambulance moments after it lands on Medicine Hat College's (MHC) soccer field.
For students in Medicine Hat College's (MHC) paramedic program, hands-on learning scenarios are common practice to help build confidence and prepare for practicums.
Thanks to a collaboration with HALO Air Ambulance, students were given a unique addition to their education as they learned how to create a safe-landing zone, approach a helicopter and care for a patient within an air ambulance.
The scenario begins in MHC's advanced simulation labs. First-year students arrived for class on Monday, where their second-year peers portrayed tornado-struck patients. Students worked in teams to practice triage and provide urgent care to these critically injured patients.
Ina Old Shoes, an Indigenous student from the Blood Reserve, was given the exciting opportunity to direct the helicopter to land, as her classmates wheeled their patient onto the north soccer field.
"I couldn't determine how the situation was going to be until I experienced it," says Old Shoes, who was instructed to stand with her arms in the air, then bunker down as the helicopter landed in front of her. "It was such an adrenaline rush, having that much force come at me and knowing that this is the job I want to do."
Once she completes the paramedic program, Old Shoes plans to return home, where she will be one of the first female advanced care paramedics from the reserve.
It is during surreal moments like these, that Old Shoes reflects on her journey.
"I didn't expect to start thinking about all my ancestors and the opportunity that I had here during this experience. I was thinking about how my grandparents survived a lot, including the diseases that came, residential schools, and all these different things just for me to be able to have a life and be here," adds Old Shoes. "It was kind of cool because, even though they're not with me today, I know that I would have made them proud."
Andrea Heckley a second-year paramedic student who participated in a similar exercise in 2023 reflects on the benefits of the practice.
"Last year I got to participate as a paramedic instead of a patient in the scenario. It makes you a little bit less intimidated to train and practice with HALO, and just less scared so that if we ever are in a similar scenario, we're more comfortable around what we're doing and how to approach the helicopter."
Both the students and instructors hope to continue to work with HALO in the future and thank them for their time and dedication in supporting student learning at MHC.
