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Underground Mine Rescue, Bendigo 2011
While not widely known, even in Bendigo I found out, these types of competitions are excellent for putting training into a realistic context. Good makeup and a willing team of casualties make this a confronting but ultimately beneficial exercise. It’s only draw back can be the cost.
Scenario based training – benefits vs. cost
It is sad to say that when the financial situation gets tight, the first thing to be cut from a company’s bottom line will be items related to training. Unfortunately, in work environments, the cutting of training in first aid can end up costing a life.
One industry where training is given some priority is the mining industry. Irrespective of your opinions on mining, the members of the many and varied Emergency Response Teams are dedicated to the preservation of life. So much so, that mining companies can potentially spend upwards of $30,000 to send teams to competitions.
These competitions pit teams against each other in a range of events; challenging their skills and training. The Minerals Council of Australia run these competitions across Australia. And it is at one of these events that I find myself this weekend,
Here in Bendigo, Victoria this weekend, I have been involved with the Victorian division competitions as an adjudicator. Something I have been doing at every event since 2006.
Six teams are being challenged to the limit over a fifty minute round of first aid. Each year the challenge is different but the aim is always the same. Develop the best practice that makes these teams so good at what they do in remote or complicated circumstances.
Theoretical training is fine in a class room environment but nothing can replace the benefit of being placed on the spot with a live patient or patients, encompassing the emotion, stress and impact of simulated injuries. The benefits are tangible. Participants come away with refreshed skills, confidence born of practice and knowing that in all likelihood, they will have pushed far beyond anything they may encounter in the real world.
While the dollars involved are quite high, the benefits gained make the investment well worth while. The confidence that is instilled in staff as a result of the additional training means they can perform their duties safe in the knowledge that if it all goes wrong, their teams will be there to look after them.