Simulation technology showcased at provincial summit for health care advancement

Students at NAIT got the chance to participate in an emergency simulation of an ATV rollover to gain experience before entering the workforce.

The Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) held an inaugural summit to explore how simulation can help advance health care in the province.

Industry leaders, government officials, health-care professionals and educators took part in a series of panels and presentations on Wednesday.

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Demonstrations of simulation in four applications - health, education, workforce readiness and innovation - was brought to life in a 360-immersive space at the Centre for Advanced Medical Simulation (CAMS) on campus.

CAMS manager Carolyn Kincade says simulating a “real” environment is an important learning tool for students and teachers.

“It gives students or trainees an opportunity to come together and learn in a safe environment,” she said. “They get to try out the situations, work through it and then implement learning right away.”

CTV News Edmonton caught up with paramedic students responding to a “patient” in a simulated ATV rollover at a camp. The life-like mannequin had lost part of its leg and blood in the demonstration.

“The second that you walk into this room, you feel like you are in this environment,” said advanced care paramedic student Carter Buchanan.

“It not only makes it mentally easier to buy into the situation, but also just physically, you’re thinking, ‘Wow. I’m here. I’m not in a classroom. I’m not where I did a lecture 30 minutes earlier. I am in a completely other world.’”

CAMS has 20 realistic dummies, according to Kincade, which simulate everything from childbirth to lost limbs and blood flow.

“It has those real elements to it. (It) gives sort of that sense of urgency to the situation, elevating the stressors, which is what we’ll see in real life,” she said.

“We just provide a safe place to make mistakes and then try again later.”

Competitions where 18 teams pitched their health care tech to investors was also held at the NAIT Dow Theatre in sessions throughout the day and streamed online.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Brandon Lynch