“There is smoke and lights and screaming and sirens”
Instructors usually like to prevent chaos in the classroom. It can be disruptive. Except when, under the right conditions, a sense of chaos can make a lesson stick.
That was the case when NAIT’s Centre for Advanced Medical Simulation (CAMS) was reduced to rubble in early March – or a convincing representation of rubble.
During a “mass casualty incident” involving a fictional building collapse, the floor of CAMS’ multimedia-enabled “Theatre 9” was strewn with broken office furniture, busted building materials, and dust and grit. Onto the real walls, in 360 degrees, pictures of crumbling ones were projected. To fully immerse students in the experience, actors portrayed disaster victims sporting fake but gory wounds. Wisps of (dry-ice) smoke floated throughout the scene.
And, under the guidance of trained facilitators, a controlled version of the chaos one might expect of such a situation ensued, giving 51 students from various health-care disciplines a chance to test their skills and abilities to work as a team in extreme (yet safe) conditions.
This wasn’t the first mass-casualty simulation for NAIT students. This one in particular was inspired by a scenario designed by Disaster and Emergency Management students in 2024.
But it was a first for Alberta post-secondary. Never before were NAIT students joined at CAMS by students and staff from the University of Alberta along with instructors from SAIT, the University of Calgary and RRC Polytech. The result was a demonstration of how a unique facility can foster collaboration and, ultimately, better outcomes in Alberta health care.
Teaching teamwork
While the simulation tested student’s technical abilities, it was equally important to help students foster soft skills. Just as components of the human body must interact to properly function, so must the various health-care disciplines dedicated to treating it.
That concept is the essence of interprofessional education (IPE), a focus at NAIT that bridges 14 programs in the School of Health and Life Sciences. Communication is at its heart.
“It's a variety of different learning activities that bring together students to enhance their communication and collaboration skills while also improving their understanding and awareness of each others’ roles,” says Lisa George (Bachelor of Technology ’18, Laboratory and X-ray Combined ’09), IPE associate chair.
The recent simulation involved paramedic students effectively transferring patients to hospital rooms (just down the hall from the disaster) staffed by teams comprising medical laboratory technicians, med lab assistants, imaging techs, respiratory therapists and, from the U of A, nurses and medical students.
“The teams that [students] will be part of will change rapidly depending on the setting, so it's really important that they learn how to work together, and make sure that they understand the terms that they're each using,” says George.
The end goal, she adds, is care that is “high quality and accurate.”
A culture of care
Simulation education at post-secondary institutes isn’t unusual. But including multiple disciplines at once can be, as CAMS has in its 6,000-square-foot facility since opening in 2016.
“To offer a mass casualty [simulation] that goes right from the scene of the accident into the acute-care setting is unique,” says Jennifer Stefura, supervisor of quality and strategic initiatives at SAIT’s School of Health and Public Safety.
Stefura scouted the event ahead of sending students, as did professors from the U of C. After observing, they helped facilitate debriefs with students. (RRC simulation centre staff visited as observers.)
"The realism and fidelity of the simulation can be amplified here.”
Staff valued the interdisciplinary nature of the exercise but also the potential influence of the new environment. “Students really appreciate that opportunity to hear about the experiences of students in different places,” says Jenny Langille, a registered nurse and U of C assistant professor (teaching). “They build relationships, networks and connections.”
Amanda O’Rae agrees. “One day, it’s quite likely that they’ll be working together across the province or the country,” says the U of C associate professor (teaching) and IPE lead. And meeting at CAMS in particular, she adds, could help prepare them for that.
Unlike at other institutions, “The realism and fidelity of the simulation can be amplified here.”
Students appreciate that too. Maura Mcgurk enrolled in NAIT’s Primary Care Paramedic program because, she says, “I like driving, chaos and health care.”
Nevertheless, the fidelity sometimes overwhelmed even her. “There is smoke and lights and screaming and sirens, which we have never experienced before,” says Mcgurk. “It’s really hard to focus on just one patient because there is so much going on around you.”
In fact, she says she needed help from a facilitator in handing off her patient to nurses and techs. “I realized in debrief that we were all kind of panicking.”
But Mcgurk also realizes that was the point. Following debrief, she gathered herself, and felt ready to return to the theatre for more.
The Calgary contingent looks forward to returning as well, likely with students, to join future simulations at CAMS. Diana Snell, U of C associate professor (teaching), believes it could help to begin building a culture that will serve students throughout their careers, whatever discipline they choose.
“Health care is a team,” she says. “Everybody has a role, [none] more important than another. Without one, we can’t function.” Collaborative simulations like this, Snell feels, can make that message real for students – or as real as it can get, for now.
“I hope that transfers into practice,” she says. “We all have a place. We’re all here working together.”