Prince George paramedic Sarah Shaw and her Team Canada BC teammates won silver in an international EMS skills competition in the Czech Republic last month.
Shaw is a critical care paramedic at the BCEHS medevac base at the Prince George Airport. She and her teammates took second place in the international paramedic division of the Rallye Rejvíz, which took place May 24 to May 28 in Kouty nad Desnou, Czech Republic. The 2023 competition was the 26th year the international competition was held.
“All teams must participate in 10-12 scenarios over a 24 hour period,” Shaw said in an email. “Each scenario is complex and challenging and tests everything from teamwork and communication to physical fitness to high level medical skills. This year, for example, we were given scenarios with radioactive materials, hostage situations, pediatric resuscitation, poison control and toxic substances, multi-casualty incidents, motor vehicle accidents, blood transfusions and ultrasound diagnostics to name a few.”
Shaw and her teammates, primary care paramedic Alex Mattes of Nanaimo, advanced care paramedic Tyrone Trotter of Victoria and critical care paramedic Ryan Casselman of Comox competed against 15 other teams from the United States and across Europe. They came is second with a score of 9,725, only 134 points behind Team USA.
“The team is hand-picked based on medical proficiency and the ability to work as a team,” Shaw said. “This year we are very proud that we brought home the silver medal for Canada.”
