BC Ambulance Infant Transport Team partners with BCIT Specialty Nursing for paramedic training

BC Ambulance Infant Transport Team members are now taking BCIT Specialty Nursing courses as part of their training.

The partnership between BC Ambulance and BCIT began a year ago when BC Ambulance recognized that BCIT Specialty Nursing offered courses in Neonatal and Pediatric care that could supplement their own internal course work. According to Peter Kehler, lead instructor for the Infant Transport Team, “We are always trying to make our program better. Rather than us developing material that already exists somewhere else, we get to attach BCIT’s name and reputation as an accredited program to bolster our program.”

Mike Elliott, Provincial Training Officer for the ITT, echoes Peter’s sentiments and says, “Having a connection to BCIT adds a level of validity to our program that we can’t develop on our own. We are still developing this partnership and may look at adding courses from pediatric critical care in the future.”

Treena Cardiff, BCIT Specialty Nursing Neonatal Program Head says, “the BCIT Neonatal, Pediatric, and Perinatal programs are all very excited to work with BC Ambulance to educate their new transport team members. We believe that collaborative education provides the best outcomes for mothers, newborns, and children.”

The Infant Transport team is a specialized division of BC Ambulance that was created in the early 1970s. The Infant Transport team (ITT) currently has 24 members and is based out of Vancouver but serves the entire province. Reporting to BC Women’s and Children’s hospital, the team travels by helicopter and Learjet anywhere in the province. They are trained to respond to obstetrical, neonatal, and pediatric emergencies. The BC ITT is the only paramedic-based transport team in the world that covers these three specialties.

Mike and Peter remember one call when the team was dispatched to Pemberton for a woman in pre-term labour. Once they arrived they found that things had progressed faster than anticipated and they could no longer transport the laboring mom. While other teams might be trained to care for adult patients, they would normally have to call a separate team to care for the newly arrived premature infant. The BC Infant Transport Team, on the other hand, was able to assume care of the infant even though they had originally been called for the mother.

Experienced BC Ambulance paramedics working towards joining the ITT undergo two years of training that currently includes eight BCIT Specialty Nursing courses. Other than a one-day course in fetal health surveillance, these courses are all taken online and have been condensed to fit into the paramedics’ schedules.

While BCIT Specialty Nursing courses are not specifically designed for paramedics, the content supports the more specialized knowledge and skill set the ITT paramedics need to do their job. The ITT’s partnership with Specialty Nursing reflects the interdisciplinary nature of their jobs. According to Mike, “much of our training program is interdisciplinary because that’s how we function on the job. We are at the bedside with nurses, respiratory therapists, and techs. When we arrive at a smaller community hospital we work with the team on the ground. We break down barriers.”