When Dr. Debra Miller heard about a pilot program offering physicians’ basic life support training, she jumped at the opportunity. She and her colleagues who work at the Joseph & Rosalie Segal & Family Health Centre at VGH eagerly responded to the offer from the VGH Simulation Centre.
“Our patients have complex mental health and medical needs; they’re all ages; some are active drug users—they are at risk of having a medical emergency and we are the first physicians on the scene,” said Dr. Miller. “We are responsible for stabilizing patients until help from people with greater expertise is on hand. For the first five to 10 minutes, we have to provide basic life support. We need to be up on our skills in order to provide the best care for our patients.”
While all physicians learn basic life support skills, the guidelines and recommendations change over time. Having the chance to update these skills is important.
The training took place over the course of an evening in the VGH Simulation Centre, with VPSA providing meals for the physician participants. The centre provides a realistic learning environment where people can practice and develop skill sets to advance patient care.
VMDAS is now coordinating with VGH SIM to offer private basic life support and advanced cardiac life support training. Sessions exclusively for VMDAS members have been set for the following dates.
BLS provider:
ACLS blended provider and BLS:
· February 28 from 8 am to 4 pm
VGH SIM also offers custom courses; information on those is available here.
“Our trainer, who works with the Heart and Stroke Foundation, was excellent,” recalled Dr. Miller. “She understood she was dealing with people with medical backgrounds. We were treated with both respect and without too much assumed knowledge. It was the perfect balance.”
Dr. Miller also enjoyed the camaraderie of doing the training with her colleagues and noted that it was a bonding experience for them. Most importantly, she now feels more comfortable—rather than terrified—about the next emergency happening.
“I worried before about what if I didn’t do the right thing to stabilize a person in those first important minutes,” she said.
Dr. Miller wholeheartedly recommends the training to all physicians who work in environments where these life support skills are not used regularly.
More information about the courses exclusively for VMDAS members is available here.