Simulation showdown: Crews shine in staged challenge

At STARS, we strive for excellence. Our ongoing crew training and education is paramount to constantly improving and serving our communities and patients to the best of our ability.

Our annual All STARS Simulation Competition (Sim Comp) allows our medical crews to display their abilities, skills and knowledge in a simulated scenario. Started in 2002, the Sim Comp brings together air medical crews from across all three provinces.

This year’s competition was held near Wapiti Bridge in Grande Prairie, Alta. Five teams of two tackled a high stress scenario with the help of our local first responder allies.

The event was not only a chance for teams to display skill, but also a celebration of teamwork, innovation, and dedication. The pairs engaged in a realistic and challenging scenario designed to push their limits, highlighting the critical roles of preparation, communication, and collaboration in saving lives. It underscored our commitment to excellence in critical care.

The scenario

The scenario was based on a real STARS mission. It included five individuals who crashed a boat into a bridge and became stuck on a riverbank. All five injured patients were cared for by a STARS air medical crew.

For the competition, there were four actors and one high-fidelity human patient simulator (HPS), a sophisticated life-like mannequin that can be programmed to mimic a real-life human emergency. Each ‘patient’ had varying degrees of medical needs, with the HPS being the most critically injured.

The process

Each team was assigned a specific starting time. They were led to a tent near the incident where they were briefed on the scenario, the equipment they could use on-site, and what they could and couldn’t do. None of the teams had any prior knowledge of the incident. Once briefed, they were sent out to the ‘patients’ who were stranded on the riverbank. Each team had different approaches in their responses, but all prioritized the patients’ health and livelihood.

Sim Comp organizers always implement at least one particularly heightened challenge, whether it’s a logistical issue or taking away one of the senses. The challenge pushes teams even further to ensure they can perform under pressure. This year, team members were challenged by physical distance created between the two of them, forcing them to lean on their communication and teamwork skills.

The judges were there to assess each team’s ability to navigate the response and faced a tough decision when it came to selecting a winning team after witnessing a day filled with incredible performances.

Transport physician and Grande Prairie base medical director Dr. Ping-Wei Chen was one of the judges and explained it takes a team effort to judge at an event like this, to ensure all angles are monitored.

“Our teams are so effective at what they do that sometimes they do them so quickly it’s difficult for any single judge to catch,” he said. “That’s why we actually have three judges: one judge for each member of the air medical crew and a third judge to maintain situational awareness.”

The winners

The 2024 winners were Kevin Easton and Chris Fay from the STARS Regina Base. Though it was a close competition, the judges were most impressed by their strong communication skills. With multiple distractions occurring and the physical distance that divided them, their ability to effectively come together and regroup as a team gave them a slight edge over the others.

The win qualified Easton and Fay to compete against international teams in the Sim Cup Challenge, part of the annual Air Medical Transport Conference in November, located in Salt Lake City, Utah. Keep an eye on our social media platforms to see their results.