About 200 students in various fields of health at the Cégep de Shawinigan were confronted, on Tuesday, with a simulation featuring the crash of a plane which would have injured 32, in addition to causing a fire.
In the scenario created for the simulation, the plane hit three cars, electric poles and crashed into the Maison des jeunes. The fictional scene on the Cégep grounds was very realistic. The thirty actors who played the wounded were also made up by the students of the Séminaire Ste-Marie.
The first to arrive on site were pre-hospital emergency care students. Future paramedics were called upon to put their knowledge into practice.
The script had been kept secret until the last minute and the students faced many twists and turns. Moreover, to stick as closely as possible to reality, the Shawinigan firefighters came to lend a hand. The simulation also took place in partnership with the Sûreté du Québec, the Civil Emergency Response Service of Québec, Hydro-Québec and even Airmedi. The helicopter evacuated one of the injured, a major burnt victim.
Orchestrating the event took almost six months. This is the fourth time that the Cégep de Shawinigan has set up a large-scale simulation for its students. The second part of the simulation took place inside the Cégep de Shawinigan, with future nurses and orderlies and medical residents from the Université de Montréal.
After more than three hours of simulation, all the students and teachers were able to review the actions and gestures taken in order to learn lessons and achieve greater efficiency.