EFRT ALUMNI NEWSLETTER
EFRT
AUGUST 2017
CONTENTS 02
DIRECTORS MESSAGE The 2017-2018 Director's message to alumni and a glimpse on her vision for the year.
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MEET THE EXEC Hello messages from the new 2017-2018 executive team
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35TH REUNION Check out the save the date for our 35th Reunion Celebration!
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JOIN THE AWAKENING EFRT hosted NCCER 2017. Find out what all the hype was about!
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NALOXONE Learn more about the new symptom relief drug that EFRT will start carrying this September
ALSOÂ How to help..................................08 Stay in contact............................09
Hi from the Director SAMANTHA
AUNG
As the new school year starts I am excited to be able to update you, our alumni, on things are have happened as well as what we are working towards this year. EFRT has a very unique structure, in which we could not operate without the help of those that have gone before us. Alumni play such a big role on the team and I am hoping that through these newsletters, you are able to get a better idea of whats happening on the team and how you can get involved. This year I am so excited to be able to lead the team that has given me so much. I hope to lead with a fresh start but still incorporate all of the great things that have been put in place before me. I hope to continues to have our team be the family that I love it for and I am so grateful to be in charge of it! I can't wait to meet or see you again in the upcoming year! 2| EFRT • AUGUST
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JOIN THE AWAKENING FROM FEBRUARY 17TH TO 21ST EFRT HOSTED THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF CAMPUS EMERGENCY RESPONDERS (NCCER). RESPONDERS FROM ACROSS THE ONTARIO JOINED THE AWAKENING DID YOU?
BY VICKY LAI
A decade later, the EFRT makes its comeback to host another conference. This past year in February, we had the wonderful opportunity to host NCCER 2017. With an infectious disease theme (based on epidemics such as Ebola, SARS, H1N1), The Awakening was a complex storyline that slowly unfolded over the conference weekend. To make it all the more convincing, several videos were shot (in collaboration with Dr. Alexander Ball, an anatomy professor at McMaster) and a fictitious lab, The Awaken Labs, was created as part of the storyline. What was thought to be a conference themed around advances in emergency medicine turned into a viral 3| EFRT • AUGUST
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outbreak requiring campus responders to attend to simulated medical emergencies all over campus. The planning committee worked relentlessly over the summer and school year to organize the conference to ensure all of the different tasks were covered: speaker sessions, competition, accommodation and logistics, entertainment, and promotional events. Several of our alumni—Andrew Zvanitajs, Ken Piercey, and Lowyl Notario—were invited as speakers to talk about topics they were passionate about. Additionally, our very own medical director, Eddie Wasser, was featured as our keynote speaker and gave a very engaging talk, which prompted a lot of discussion in the room. Continued on next page
NCCER
continued
The EFRT team that was sent to compete at this conference—Beth Currie, Megan Bittner, and Matthew Boroditsky—were all seniors on the team. Not knowing what was in store for them, they went in headstrong and with high spirits. They were able to make it into the top four teams which allowed them to compete in the mass casualty simulation the following day. The team placed 2nd overall with Western at 1st and Trent U at 3rd place. Throughout the entire weekend, the EFRT received lots of positive praise. Many individuals approached the team to express how fun and enjoyable the learning experience was and several even stated that it was the best conference they have been to! ‘The Awakening’ campaign also won a national Advertising & Design award from the ADCC, which is widely recognized for excellence in Canada’s creative community. The campaign was entered into the competition by Michael Romaniuk, the promotions coordinator for this conference so huge thank you to him but also…huge win for the team! The conference was definitely one for the books. Though it was a great time commitment for the planning committee, an event as big as this one could not done without every single active responder on EFRT, our alumni (that came to help with the conference or to run shifts), and our volunteers.
Click here to watch the Awakening Videos Click here to watch the Never Released Awakening Trailer Click here to see what the Hamilton Spectator Article Click here to see what the McMaster Daily News Article
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MEET THE 2017 EXEC TEAM Dunavan Morris-Janzen- Public Relations My name is Dunavan Morris-Janzen. This year as Public Relations Coordinator I will be working with Student Wellness and Residence Life to improve our protocols and care when treating psychiatric patients. In addition, I'm excited to work with current responders as we continue to make the EFRT an approachable, friendly, and trusted service. Lastly I want to thank the Alumni Association for their continued support throughout the years. I look forward to meeting many of you in the fall!
Caleb Seward- Standard First Aid My name is Caleb Seward, I am going into my 4th year of Life Sciences and am the Standard First Aid Executive for this upcoming school year. For this year, I plan on increasing advertising for our courses and implementing more blended learning first aid courses, allowing us to educate more individuals.
Satyam Choudhuri- Training and Orientation Satyam Choudhuri, commonly referred to as ‘Saturday’, is currently a fourth year Bachelor of Health Sciences (BHSc) student and a part-time model (along with the rest of his buddy line). When he isn’t breaking both of his elbows running into walls at Relay for Life (true story), Satyam spends his time reading, watching HBO shows, and going to the gym. He currently has a growing interest in meditation and Stoicism, a school of philosophy. As an avid Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto FC and Buffalo Bills fan, Satyam gets very little happiness from life outside of EFRT.
Andrea Rossos- Scheduling and Internal Hi! My name is Andrea Rossos and I am the Scheduling and Internal Coordinator for the upcoming year. I am currently a rookie (soon-to-be soph) on the team, and I am so excited to be given this opportunity after learning and growing so much during my first year on the team. I am greatly looking forward to working with the other Execs and the rest of the team to make it an incredible year for the new rookies, current responders and alumni!
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NALOXONE
BY RACHELLE LASSALINE
Starting this September, EFRT will be adding Naloxone to our symptom relief repertoire. This comes after many talks with Dr. Wasser and lots of input from alumni. The addition of Naloxone comes in response to the increasing number of opioid overdoses that have been seen in Hamilton. EFRT has not seen any opioid overdoses on campus in the past few years, but having Naloxone is a way to be prepared should we ever encounter one. The Naloxone will be carried and administered subcutaneously only by senior responders, following a checklist protocol similar to the ones used for epinephrine or ASA administration. We are going to be integrating the requirement that McMaster Special Constables be on scene into the checklist, for responder and patient safety when Naloxone is administered. Dr. Wasser will be teaching symptom relief at Retraining this year and will be including our new Naloxone protocol in that training session. Any alumni interested in attending this lecture are welcome to attend for the Friday night lecture or the entire weekend. Please reach out to the EFRT Director at efrt@msu.mcmaster.ca if you have any questions or comment about our new symptom relief protocol.
EFRT TURNS 35 This year marks 35 years from when (now) Doctor Eddie Wasser started the Emergency First Response Team. The team has drastically changed from the operation that was ran out of McKay to what it is now. To celebrate this anniversary we will be hosting a office open house and social Pub Night. Please come out to meet the newest member on the team and reconnect with some old ones.
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Be sure to check other ways to be a part of or learn about the 35th reunion here: In the September Issue of the Mac Times Alumni Magazine for the Then and Now piece on Dr Eddie Wasser and Sam, the current director. Click here for event registration Click here to donate to the team Click here to add photos to our slideshow
HOW TO HELP SEPTEMBER August 26th to September 2nd
15th
22nd
17th
24th
We are looking for responders to help with welcome week shifts!
Orientation Weekend One: Come help out and teach candidates
Orientation Weekend Two: We need your help to evaluate candidates
to
to
ongoing Monthly
Training: Want to help out at monthly trainings? Let our training coordinator know
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Anytime
Shift coverage: Wanna run a shift or even better a buddy shift? Let our scheduling coordinator know
Contact us! We leave you with our newest group of seniors after their AMLS certification. If you want to contact us to help out or just to know more about what is going please feel free to reach out to any of the exec members. Also please let us know if you are not on our alumni mailing list and want to be! Director- efrt@msu.mcmaster.ca Training and Orientation Coordinator- efrtraining@msu.mcmaster.ca Scheduling and Internal- efrtschedule@msu.mcmaster.ca Public Relations- efrtpr@msu.mcmaster.ca Standard First Aid- efrtsfa@msu.mcmaster.ca
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