With fake injuries and victims, paramedic trainees practice for disasters

Demetrios Sanders
·2 min read

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Preparing for the worst was the goal for paramedics in training with Life EMS Ambulance on Wednesday afternoon.

GLC Live at 20 Monroe, a downtown Grand Rapids concert venue, was turned into the site of a simulated mass casualty incident.

“At Life EMS Ambulance, we put these on twice a year for all of our new paramedics in training before they go out on the road and they’re on their own,” Patrick Cooney-Davis, a field training coordinator, said.

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Organizers mocked up a scenario in which a firework malfunction at the venue injured several people. The “victims” were portrayed by actors who work at Life EMS. Staff from the venue participated, too. Five paramedic trainees practiced how they would handle the situation.

“I’ve run countless scenarios in the education center, but to come here and do this and the scale it was on, my nerves were high, I’m not going to lie,” Kyle Corfixsen, a licensed paramedic and Life EMS Ambulance trainee, said.

Corfixsen, who is around halfway through Life EMS’ training program, says hands-on practice helps control those nerves and creates invaluable experience if the real thing ever happens.

“The more often that we can practice the real thing, the better,” Corfixsen said.

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The mock mass casualty incident was also an opportunity for mistakes to be sorted out.

“It’s not always about making sure that we do things 100%, nail it during the training. We want to try to stick to our framework as much as possible and more than anything, it’s going to help us recognize where there are areas to continuously improve,” Corfixsen said.

Cooney-Davis says it’s special when paramedics discuss how simulations like Wednesday’s have led to good patient outcomes.

“And says ‘Hey, we ran through this scenario, something very similar happened and I knew what to do because we were able to practice and we were able to run through it.’ That’s the coolest thing for me,” Cooney-Davis said.

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