Abu Dhabi, 10th Oct. 2009 (WAM): Abu Dhabi Mens College, part of the Higher Colleges Technology (HCT), has welcomed back sixteen students from Abu Dhabi Police Ambulance for their second year of studies in the Paramedic Program, after they qualified as Emergency Medical Technicians with the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
The students are undertaking a three year Higher Diploma in Paramedic Studies in conjunction with Harrisburg Area Community College in central Pennsylvania, and as second year students they now move into the Advanced Life Support phase of their training to be Ambulance Paramedics who will serve the Abu Dhabi community.As part of their studies, the students travelled to the United States in May this year for two weeks of arduous exams and also successfully completed the intensive Basic Trauma Life Support (BTLS) and Rope & Vehicle Rescue course. The students were placed in community ambulance stations around the Harrisburg County to gain valuable clinical and cultural experience.
"Now we have the knowledge and we have access to the people who know how to develop our emergency services and system. This expertise will assist us to move forward, contribute to helping our community and improve our emergency medical services in the UAE" says Mahmoud Mohammed Al Beloushi, Paramedic Student with Abu Dhabi Police Ambulance."We learned a lot from this trip. The most interested thing was the rescue classes that we took. It was amazing to cut a car using real tools and then land from a three story building by rope. The teachers were so good to us and they made us love the subject, even when we were doing the practice, they tried to help us as much as they can and explained tasks." said Ruqaya Al Harithi, Paramedic Student Abu Dhabi Police Ambulance who was also the top of the class with near perfect scores in all her work.
Ruqaya continues "The way Paramedics from Harrisburg treated the patient to the way they connected to the Harrisburg hospitals are different from Abu Dhabi. I hope one day to be part of developing an EMS system for the UAE and this is what we are trying to do by studying this course and by travelling to US". "This was a real eye opening experience for the students," explains Nathan Puckeridge, Paramedic Faculty Coordinator with Higher Colleges of Technology, Abu Dhabi Men's College. "The students were exposed to a world class EMS system in a foreign country and I am incredibly proud of their performance, and to be part of the students clinical development in pre-hospital care". This group of students is now half way through the paramedic program, and every six months evaluators from Harrisburg fly to Abu Dhabi Men's College and put the students through their paces with exams and exercises. The students are also undertaking extensive clinical placements in Mafraq Hospitals, Sheikh Khalifa Medical City, Al Rahba Hospital and the Abu Dhabi Police Ambulance Department to practice their skills and apply their knowledge. They will also take another trip to Pennsylvania to complete further training and exams there. This process is aimed at ensuring that Abu Dhabi Police Ambulance can provide a world-class ambulance service to the community."Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2009.
