National Competitions
Ok,
so for those that may be wondering exactly what first aid competitions are, and what I did on the weekend in the process of coming 2nd, here is a little run down.
First Aid Comps
In general first aid competitions within St John involve the setting of a scene for competitors to enter and treat simulated first aid injuries within a limited time frame and according to the mark sheets. Typically each casualty has an adjudicator assigned to them who has a 3 page or so document of things that need to be done that are ticked off as performed. This year at nationals there was a completely new marking scheme thrown into the works, and I am yet to ascertain as to whether this made any significant contribution to the outcome. Depending on the level of competition does have a bearing on how lifelike they start to make it. At the national level they generally have paid actors who have been made up by either professional or semi professional make up and special effects staff to simulate injuries very well. At the state level the casualties are typically fellow St John members and some are better at acting then others, typically at this level casualty simulation is performed. At any lower levels casualty simulation might be as simple as a red texta drawing for blood etc.
Team
I was part of the team event that puts 3 first aiders in a group and launches them into a scene. There are a number of arrangements that can be done for teams but typically there are specified roles that you do practice and assign well before the event. You generally have a leader, a clinical person, and a gopher. All of these roles should, theoretically, be highly interchangeable. Some teams do that better then others. I am pleased that the team that I competed with was competent (enough to come second in Oz) and was able to swap and change as required. A lot of communication was not required and we were easily able to pick up the slack should it be there. I do know that there were at least 2 casualties that I did not talk to, treat, or even know what was wrong with them and my other team members just jumped in and performed what was required.
Individual
There is also an individual event that is run. This is generally a slightly smaller scene that is controlled by a single first aider. There are typically some slight differences in that the individual normally has more bystander help and more people around who are able to perform basic first aid functions then are made available for the team to use. Whilst I might also do very well in the individual event I would much prefer to be part of a team, and seem to prefer competing in team events all round (cricket, indoor cricket, volleyball, frisbee, etc)
Contingent
A unique aspect at the national level (which may or may not filter down to the state level in the upcoming years) is the inclusion of a contingent scenario and marking scheme. This involves the contingent manager become part of the whole competition and performing roles that help work out which contingent was the most consistent and should be travelling across the Tasman to compete for the trans-Tasman championship. There were representatives at our competition from NZ to be competing this years trans-Tasman trophey and they were a great bunch of people. In terms of the contingent mark it is split up as 1/3 from the team result, 1/3 from the individual result and 1/3 from the managers/whole contingent result.
Isolation
As the competitions are run to be as fair as possible there is one group of actors who, all day, perform the same dance with the competitors. This means that we all go out one after the other throughout the day. To make it fair the people who have yet to compete are not allowed to watch and see what is happening and as such we are placed in isolation. No phones, pagers or any other communication with the outside world. This year isolation started at 0730! oh my was that early! We were picked up on two buses (there were a lot of competitors, 10 contingents with at least 5 people in each) and transported to the isolation room. On the way we passed some early morning golfers teeing off in minus 3 degrees to a course completely covered in frost. What an interesting sight that was. NSW was listed to be second last out at 1400, with only NZ behind us at 1440. In the end the whole day ran about 40 minutes late, but nothing too bad. Isolation is one of those funny places, sometimes being a great place but just as easily giving people cabin fever. Not just from being cooped up but also from the anticipation and nerves about going out on to such a stage to compete. Various means are brought in by people to help pass the time. One of the contingents brought in a complete poker set and started playing, we took along an indoor tenpin set which was a great hit towards the end of the day where we had our own little trans-Tasman championship!
There is a lot of socialising that does go on in isolation and with everyone being in the same boat it is a good time to sit down with fellow competitors and have a little chat. At that point we are all equal and have some fun.
Due to us being out last we were given the opportunity to hop on a bus and be taken for a little tour around Canberra to see some of the sights. This was fine and I thought it would be a grand idea rather then being stuck in iso all day long. The fact that the bus was driven by a fellow NSW member who lives in Sydney was interesting, turned into something like my infamous Adelaide tour during my Oz wide Trek of 2002. One of the highlights was Parliament House. We drove over the bridge, across the roundabout, into the carpark, through the carpark, out of the carpark, across the roundabout and onto our next destination. Hey, that was parliament house guys!
Transfer
When it did finally become our turn to compete we were taken out of iso and transferred through one of the dodgy econovans (it was interesting, almost every single vehicle used in the ACT comps was supplied by NSW! I guess that is what happens when you are such a bigger state with more needs) by one of the NSW drivers through a very bumpy ride around the back of the halls in exhibition park!
Stage 1
After being dropped off we were started with our brief! We were informed that there had been an explosion in Civic (now why would you call the centre of a town Civic, it just seems weird! But hey, those canberrians are! :)) and there were 15 confirmed dead. We were to man an evacuation post and provide first aid coverage. the SES were to be involved and would be transporting us to the post as well as potentially bringing 20 items along. We were given a listing of these 20 items and asked to rank them from 1 to 20 of what was most important for our use in the evacuation centre. During this time there was a news broadcast playing, filmed by actual news people, in regards to the disaster, which we promptly ignored!
Stage 2
We were then taken to the main hall where the scene proper (I suppose you could call it such) was to take place. I was informed that this section of the case ran for 20 minutes, but to me felt like about 2! This was a fenced off area that provided my team of three 9 casualties of various levels to treat, an absolutely insane number and a very very very busy scene. As I mentioned earlier we were able to split the load and provide good coverage without too much need for leadership or chaos! The team that I worked with are a great bunch and we did enough practice to easily be able to cover everyone's back and jump in and do what is required to finish off treatment when required.
(1) I started with a casualty with grit in her eyes - flushed with saline and she was better - She ended up walking out of the scene, I had no problem with that, I was occupied with other stuff when she did that.
(2) Then a lady walked in with a cut and bleeding to the head and a suspected fractured arm/wrist. Bleeding was contained and treatment halfway done when a man dragged his friend in who was dead.
(3) CPR case was a very expensive dummy supplied by laerdal. This manikin has the ability to breathe, have a pulse you can feel, and can even talk! But he was dead when he arrived. A quick response and some shocks from the SAED with 2 minutes of CPR brought him back to life and I was able to see first hand a dummy breathe and have a pulse for myself! This was then removed from the scene by a real ACT Ambulance crew, adding to the realism of the whole scene.
(4) The friend of the CPR guy was given a little bit of attention by me for his bleeding nose and he helped later with paperwork for me.
(5) The last casualty that I treated was a lady who walked in with embedded glass to the palm and a very sore ankle. A quick ring pad to the palm sorted that out and then I moved on to the ankle! What a fun part! I quickly pulled out the universal shears and cut her pants and had one big reaction! They were her real pants! that she paid lots of money for! and was told would not be cut! (no one else had up to that point!) but I had done it then! I went and cut off the shoe and sock as well, but she was expecting that to happen and had old ones of those. She was an unhappy camper at her pants being ruined, but hey, they did tell her to wear old clothes (well, they should have at least)
At that point Time was called and we were done!
Adrenalin
I must say that for about the next 40 - 60 minutes I was still running around on a high from the adrenalin pumping through my system! It was insane! I did thoroughly enjoy the scene and the accomplishment of having completed it well more then makes up for the nerves leading up to it in isolation and the training that we did for the months beforehand. It certainly is a buzz and the amount of people that did come up to congratulate me, all of the supporters from the state, were treated to a very distracted man!
Announcement
The announcement was completed by the Chief Commissioner with the aid of Robert DeCastella. There was a little bit of an oops with the individual being announced first and 1st place being read out as 3rd! It was quickly corrected and we all had a laugh. First place in all of the events received a very big shield and great accolades from all and sundry. It can be seen that no one state dominated and it was good to see everything spread around. I am slightly disappointed that we did not win, but I went into the comps thinking that we were a solid top 3, and once you are up there anything can happen. All in all it was a good result.
Results
Individual:
1st: WA
2nd: VIC
3rd: ACT
Team:
1st: SA
2nd: NSW
3rd: VIC
Overall:
1st: VIC
2nd: NSW
3rd: WA
Dinner
On the saturday night of the conference there is always an end of week dinner. This is traditionally a black tie affair and gives me one of the few times of the year were I get to scrub up well and chuck on a tux! It was a nice dinner, although the quality of the food deteriorated as the courses went on. Entrée was by far the best, main was ok, and dessert was eatable! The wine did flow freely and the entertainment was a good cover band. Everyone was up and dancing and it was a fun evening had by all (well. at least most) As is typical there was a lot of socialising going on and I did make it to a good few tables to have a chat with people. For some strange reason people want to make up rumours and I think I was hitting on up to 7 people towards the end of the night, what fun the rumour mill can be!
Drinks
Following the end of dinner at around midnight we all scooted off from the venue in search of further drinks at any of the various (there must have been at least 4 options) pubs in Canberra. First option was full and we made our way along. A whole group of dolled up people headed into an Irish pub and crashed the karaoke evening. I failed to sing, what a shame!
Beer Jacket
Because I was driving home the next day I left the put around 2am and walked back to my accommodation. A beer jacket (with a couple of bottles of red to top it up) works very well at 2am in minus 4! All in all it was a fun couple of days!
so for those that may be wondering exactly what first aid competitions are, and what I did on the weekend in the process of coming 2nd, here is a little run down.
First Aid Comps
In general first aid competitions within St John involve the setting of a scene for competitors to enter and treat simulated first aid injuries within a limited time frame and according to the mark sheets. Typically each casualty has an adjudicator assigned to them who has a 3 page or so document of things that need to be done that are ticked off as performed. This year at nationals there was a completely new marking scheme thrown into the works, and I am yet to ascertain as to whether this made any significant contribution to the outcome. Depending on the level of competition does have a bearing on how lifelike they start to make it. At the national level they generally have paid actors who have been made up by either professional or semi professional make up and special effects staff to simulate injuries very well. At the state level the casualties are typically fellow St John members and some are better at acting then others, typically at this level casualty simulation is performed. At any lower levels casualty simulation might be as simple as a red texta drawing for blood etc.
Team
I was part of the team event that puts 3 first aiders in a group and launches them into a scene. There are a number of arrangements that can be done for teams but typically there are specified roles that you do practice and assign well before the event. You generally have a leader, a clinical person, and a gopher. All of these roles should, theoretically, be highly interchangeable. Some teams do that better then others. I am pleased that the team that I competed with was competent (enough to come second in Oz) and was able to swap and change as required. A lot of communication was not required and we were easily able to pick up the slack should it be there. I do know that there were at least 2 casualties that I did not talk to, treat, or even know what was wrong with them and my other team members just jumped in and performed what was required.
Individual
There is also an individual event that is run. This is generally a slightly smaller scene that is controlled by a single first aider. There are typically some slight differences in that the individual normally has more bystander help and more people around who are able to perform basic first aid functions then are made available for the team to use. Whilst I might also do very well in the individual event I would much prefer to be part of a team, and seem to prefer competing in team events all round (cricket, indoor cricket, volleyball, frisbee, etc)
Contingent
A unique aspect at the national level (which may or may not filter down to the state level in the upcoming years) is the inclusion of a contingent scenario and marking scheme. This involves the contingent manager become part of the whole competition and performing roles that help work out which contingent was the most consistent and should be travelling across the Tasman to compete for the trans-Tasman championship. There were representatives at our competition from NZ to be competing this years trans-Tasman trophey and they were a great bunch of people. In terms of the contingent mark it is split up as 1/3 from the team result, 1/3 from the individual result and 1/3 from the managers/whole contingent result.
Isolation
As the competitions are run to be as fair as possible there is one group of actors who, all day, perform the same dance with the competitors. This means that we all go out one after the other throughout the day. To make it fair the people who have yet to compete are not allowed to watch and see what is happening and as such we are placed in isolation. No phones, pagers or any other communication with the outside world. This year isolation started at 0730! oh my was that early! We were picked up on two buses (there were a lot of competitors, 10 contingents with at least 5 people in each) and transported to the isolation room. On the way we passed some early morning golfers teeing off in minus 3 degrees to a course completely covered in frost. What an interesting sight that was. NSW was listed to be second last out at 1400, with only NZ behind us at 1440. In the end the whole day ran about 40 minutes late, but nothing too bad. Isolation is one of those funny places, sometimes being a great place but just as easily giving people cabin fever. Not just from being cooped up but also from the anticipation and nerves about going out on to such a stage to compete. Various means are brought in by people to help pass the time. One of the contingents brought in a complete poker set and started playing, we took along an indoor tenpin set which was a great hit towards the end of the day where we had our own little trans-Tasman championship!
There is a lot of socialising that does go on in isolation and with everyone being in the same boat it is a good time to sit down with fellow competitors and have a little chat. At that point we are all equal and have some fun.
Due to us being out last we were given the opportunity to hop on a bus and be taken for a little tour around Canberra to see some of the sights. This was fine and I thought it would be a grand idea rather then being stuck in iso all day long. The fact that the bus was driven by a fellow NSW member who lives in Sydney was interesting, turned into something like my infamous Adelaide tour during my Oz wide Trek of 2002. One of the highlights was Parliament House. We drove over the bridge, across the roundabout, into the carpark, through the carpark, out of the carpark, across the roundabout and onto our next destination. Hey, that was parliament house guys!
Transfer
When it did finally become our turn to compete we were taken out of iso and transferred through one of the dodgy econovans (it was interesting, almost every single vehicle used in the ACT comps was supplied by NSW! I guess that is what happens when you are such a bigger state with more needs) by one of the NSW drivers through a very bumpy ride around the back of the halls in exhibition park!
Stage 1
After being dropped off we were started with our brief! We were informed that there had been an explosion in Civic (now why would you call the centre of a town Civic, it just seems weird! But hey, those canberrians are! :)) and there were 15 confirmed dead. We were to man an evacuation post and provide first aid coverage. the SES were to be involved and would be transporting us to the post as well as potentially bringing 20 items along. We were given a listing of these 20 items and asked to rank them from 1 to 20 of what was most important for our use in the evacuation centre. During this time there was a news broadcast playing, filmed by actual news people, in regards to the disaster, which we promptly ignored!
Stage 2
We were then taken to the main hall where the scene proper (I suppose you could call it such) was to take place. I was informed that this section of the case ran for 20 minutes, but to me felt like about 2! This was a fenced off area that provided my team of three 9 casualties of various levels to treat, an absolutely insane number and a very very very busy scene. As I mentioned earlier we were able to split the load and provide good coverage without too much need for leadership or chaos! The team that I worked with are a great bunch and we did enough practice to easily be able to cover everyone's back and jump in and do what is required to finish off treatment when required.
(1) I started with a casualty with grit in her eyes - flushed with saline and she was better - She ended up walking out of the scene, I had no problem with that, I was occupied with other stuff when she did that.
(2) Then a lady walked in with a cut and bleeding to the head and a suspected fractured arm/wrist. Bleeding was contained and treatment halfway done when a man dragged his friend in who was dead.
(3) CPR case was a very expensive dummy supplied by laerdal. This manikin has the ability to breathe, have a pulse you can feel, and can even talk! But he was dead when he arrived. A quick response and some shocks from the SAED with 2 minutes of CPR brought him back to life and I was able to see first hand a dummy breathe and have a pulse for myself! This was then removed from the scene by a real ACT Ambulance crew, adding to the realism of the whole scene.
(4) The friend of the CPR guy was given a little bit of attention by me for his bleeding nose and he helped later with paperwork for me.
(5) The last casualty that I treated was a lady who walked in with embedded glass to the palm and a very sore ankle. A quick ring pad to the palm sorted that out and then I moved on to the ankle! What a fun part! I quickly pulled out the universal shears and cut her pants and had one big reaction! They were her real pants! that she paid lots of money for! and was told would not be cut! (no one else had up to that point!) but I had done it then! I went and cut off the shoe and sock as well, but she was expecting that to happen and had old ones of those. She was an unhappy camper at her pants being ruined, but hey, they did tell her to wear old clothes (well, they should have at least)
At that point Time was called and we were done!
Adrenalin
I must say that for about the next 40 - 60 minutes I was still running around on a high from the adrenalin pumping through my system! It was insane! I did thoroughly enjoy the scene and the accomplishment of having completed it well more then makes up for the nerves leading up to it in isolation and the training that we did for the months beforehand. It certainly is a buzz and the amount of people that did come up to congratulate me, all of the supporters from the state, were treated to a very distracted man!
Announcement
The announcement was completed by the Chief Commissioner with the aid of Robert DeCastella. There was a little bit of an oops with the individual being announced first and 1st place being read out as 3rd! It was quickly corrected and we all had a laugh. First place in all of the events received a very big shield and great accolades from all and sundry. It can be seen that no one state dominated and it was good to see everything spread around. I am slightly disappointed that we did not win, but I went into the comps thinking that we were a solid top 3, and once you are up there anything can happen. All in all it was a good result.
Results
Individual:
1st: WA
2nd: VIC
3rd: ACT
Team:
1st: SA
2nd: NSW
3rd: VIC
Overall:
1st: VIC
2nd: NSW
3rd: WA
Dinner
On the saturday night of the conference there is always an end of week dinner. This is traditionally a black tie affair and gives me one of the few times of the year were I get to scrub up well and chuck on a tux! It was a nice dinner, although the quality of the food deteriorated as the courses went on. Entrée was by far the best, main was ok, and dessert was eatable! The wine did flow freely and the entertainment was a good cover band. Everyone was up and dancing and it was a fun evening had by all (well. at least most) As is typical there was a lot of socialising going on and I did make it to a good few tables to have a chat with people. For some strange reason people want to make up rumours and I think I was hitting on up to 7 people towards the end of the night, what fun the rumour mill can be!
Drinks
Following the end of dinner at around midnight we all scooted off from the venue in search of further drinks at any of the various (there must have been at least 4 options) pubs in Canberra. First option was full and we made our way along. A whole group of dolled up people headed into an Irish pub and crashed the karaoke evening. I failed to sing, what a shame!
Beer Jacket
Because I was driving home the next day I left the put around 2am and walked back to my accommodation. A beer jacket (with a couple of bottles of red to top it up) works very well at 2am in minus 4! All in all it was a fun couple of days!