Last week, Tuesday, November 7, the first national competition for students of different paramedic training centers took place at Assaf HaRofeh Medical Center. The competition was held thanks to the initiative of Ms. Nira Abraham, a paramedic nurse from the senior staff of the Academic Campus of Nursing at Assaf HaRofeh, in collaboration with Magen David Adom. During the competition, emergency teams that are currently in an advanced stage of their training in different courses instructed by MDA, competed on quality of treatment in emergency cases.

The competition opened with a professional lecture on Hyperbaric Chambers, a new treatment technique that exists strictly at Assaf HaRofeh Medical Center. Following the lecture, the competition began, with 12 teams composed of participants of MDA paramedics’ courses taught at Magen David Adom, Asaf HaRofeh, the IDF and Ariel University, all taught by instructors from MDA’s paramedics’ school.

The competition lasted for three hours during which teams were exposed to a variety of urgent medical conditions in different stations throughout the Medical Center, to which they were required to provide medical response using advanced MDA gear. All participants were examined based on management and quality of treatment in emergency situations, professionalism of treatment and teamwork. The competition concluded with a festive ceremony in the Campus of Nursing, during which the winning team was announced – participants of the IDF paramedics’ course.

Shaffir Bottner, Head of the MDA Paramedics’ Training School: “We thank the Academic Campus of Nursing, especially Ms. Nira Abraham, who manages the paramedics’ program at the Medical Center, for her blessed initiative. We know that in addition to theoretical learning, there’s significant importance to practical, experimental training on the field and that is exactly what this competition promotes. I wish good luck to all participating teams.

Doctor Reli Alon, Director of the Academic Campus of Nursing at Assaf Harofeh: “Today we established the national competition among paramedics in training throughout Israel. As the leading campus in Israel, we have a unique training program of ‘Certified Nurse & Paramedic’, therefore I see great importance in holding this competition and leading in training and practicing of paramedics in Israel.”

MDA Director General, Eli Bin: “The most important aspect of training EMTs and paramedics across all courses taught by MDA is without a doubt, practical training. We implement that using drills, ambulance shifts and competitions. I salute Assaf HaRofeh Medical Center for the initiative and hope this is the beginning of a tradition.”

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)