As usual, Laura convinced me into going to this year’s Virginia State EMS Symposium, held in Norfolk, Virginia.
Going through the insane weather on our way there was no joke.
The EMS Symposium is the largest annual EMS event that is hosted and organized by the Virginia State Office of Emergency Medical Services (VAOEMS). Since its first Symposium held in 1980 in Williamsburg, it attracted an average of 2,000 participants. Activities range from specialized courses in which registered EMTs and paramedics can earn CME (continuing medical education) credits required to maintain their respective certifications, meetings for committees aimed to improve education, training, and quality of EMS services, and social activities such as the annual banquet featuring special guest speakers.
This year’s event was held Nov. 11-15 at the Norfolk Waterside Marriott. Registration for this year’s EMS Symposium was $165, which includes tuition for all classes and a participants’ information package and pass. An additional $35 if you wanted to attend the annual banquet. Free H1N1 swine flu shots were given to all registrants this year, which was a big plus if you think about the long lines at local public clinics.
Visit the VAOEMS EMS Symposium web page for more information:
http://www.vdh.virginia.gov/OEMS/symposium/index.htm
The organizers couldn’t have picked a better week to hold the largest annual EMS event in the state (just kidding; it wasn’t their fault really.) Remnants of Hurricane Ida had developed into a tropical depression and moved northward into the Virginia area, bringing heavy rain of up to 10 inches and gust winds of up to 80 mph. By the time we reached Norfolk, multiple intersections were already underwater, forcing our two-car convoy to get briefly separated (I had to mount a rescue mission to save Laura from driving her car into a sink hole). Eventually, we made it in one piece and began taking the classes we signed up for.
Here is a list of classes I took (classes with a “*” are the ones I highly recommend):
– Trauma Injuries to the Chest
– Clandestine Meth Labs (*)
– Narratives for the BLS Provider (*)
– BLS Trauma Patient Assessment
– Back to Basics (*)
– Tactical Wound Care (*)
– How to Become an Instructor (this class was particularly confusing and somewhat annoying with some participants complaining about the changed policies regarding testing for EMT instructors. Of course, I acknowledge that most of my confusion was due to the fact that I was not familiar with the process of obtaining an instructor certification.)
– Children with Diabetes
Another major attraction is the Expo, which features major businesses and vendors in Virginia. Exhibits include ambulance apparatus chassis, fire/EMS gear, recruiting stations for fire departments, medical equipment and publications. You can get some valuable discounts from these vendors. Laura and I particularly enjoyed the apparatus exhibit.
An unrelated point, those of you who are familiar with EMS Symposium will also now Bar Norfolk, which is apparently a required venue to visit during the event. Unfortunately, the place was forced to close down a couple of months ago, as the bar experienced multiple instances of fighting and other related violence.
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