UPEI paramedicine program quadruples in class size since last year

UPEI'sparamedicine program has quadrupled in class sizesince last year. The degree program was introduced in 2017 by Dr. Trevor Jain, an emergency room physician at Queen Elizabeth Hospital andone of the instructors.

It'saimed at people thinking about a career as a paramedic, or for those already working in the industry and wanting to explore other opportunities.

Anyone with a diploma in paramedicine from Holland College or the equivalent with a 70 per cent average can apply to the two-year program at UPEI.

"I've got really motivated students," Jain said. "The program has been growing. We started with only four students two-and-a-half, three years ago and now we're up to 24."

Program an example for other regions

Last year, six students atUPEI graduatedfrom the program. It's been getting the attention of more than just prospective students. Jain said he's received support from local, regional and national paramedic institutions.

"We've been asked by other institutions in Canada for our curriculum, our design, our barriersto getting this done and how to mitigate those," he said.

Jain credits the success of the program to the evolution of the job of a paramedic.

"The profession has gone from not just being ambulance drivers. We know that the first 45 minutesto the first hour of a patient's care is critical."

The courses are tailored to paramedics, including disaster medicine and crisis response.

Keeping up with'best practices'

Samantha MacIsaac, a third-year student in the paramedicine program,isalready a working paramedic after taking a two-year course at Holland College, but said she didn't hesitate to come back to school to take this course.

"I think it's really important to continue learning and continue your education," MacIsaac said.

"Paramedics and health care in general is something that's always evolving and always expanding so to stay on top of that knowledge, stay on top of research and best practices is something that's very important to me."

She also said that having a degree gives her a sense of security if she ever gets injured as a paramedic and needs another career in medicine.

Beau Blackmoremoved to P.E.I. after studying in Stephenville, N.L., and is currently in his second semester of the paramedicine program.

"I think the way paramedicineitself is going is within the next 10 years or so, a degree is going to be the entry requirement. So hopefully this will set me apart from the next paramedic," he said.

Jain said he's followed the small group of graduates from the two previous years. Afew are doing research, some have returned to their jobs as paramedics with greater expertise, and others have been able to applyto other health-care professions.

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