Paramedic research at Georgian well represented at Canada’s largest paramedic conference

A contingent of recent graduates, as well as currents students in Georgian’s Paramedic program, travelled to Manitoba in September to present their research at the Paramedic Across Canada Expo in Winnipeg.

The conference is the largest in the country and attracted nearly 700 paramedics from 11 different countries.

Kelsey Zwicker, Courtney Kraik and Jessica Riley examined student confidence and competence related to patients with mental health crisis. This was accomplished with both scenario testing as well as surveys. Read their abstract.

At the same time, Eric Alonzi and Zach Kostigian used both the driving and patient simulators in Georgian’s Paramedic Lab to study the effects of fatigue on the performance of common physical and cognitive tasks performed by paramedics. Read their abstract.

While in Winnipeg, the students participated in the Prehospital Research Symposium, where they described their work during moderated poster presentations.

The Winnipeg contingent was led by Ian Drennan. Ian is a faculty member who used his extensive background in prehospital and medical research to supervise the students.

The research of both groups was supported by grants from Georgian’s Research, Innovation and Scholarship Fund.

The student’s abstracts have also been published in Canada Paramedicine, a national trade journal, and their research has been presented previously in numerous other research days throughout Ontario.

The projects represent the first student-generated research from the Paramedic program. They have garnered national and international attention for the students, the research and the program.

This experience has also opened the door for more robust student research in the coming years, including collaboration with a number of other colleges within Ontario.