All In A Day`s Play

     In July, I attended the 2007 Bill Shearer International ALS & BLS Competition hosted by the Emergency Medicine and Learning Resource Center (EMLRC) and EMS Magazine.

     This year, 40 teams competed in the largest scenario-based EMS competition in the country, which is held in conjunction with the annual Clinical Conference on Prehospital Emergency Care (ClinCon) in Orlando, FL.

     When the teams arrived on Tuesday night, they checked their bags into a designated room that was then locked and secured until the next day. That night, scenario actor clothing and moulage was prepared for the following day's competition.

     On Wednesday, the teams entered a sequestering room at 6:30 a.m. and remained there until they were called for the preliminary round of competitions.

     The preliminary competition started at 9:30 a.m. after final instructions were provided to the judges and actors. The teams entered the hall and were given the background of the incident via video and then sent into their separate competition booths. This year's incident involved a call at a rehab clinic for those attending the after-competition ClinCon party.

     Ten minutes into the scenario the competitors were called to a man down at a nursing home and had 45 seconds to relay call information to the transporting EMTs.

     The preliminary round was over by 2:30 p.m., and the entire room dismantled and reset for the next day's finals.

     The day of the finals started at 7 a.m. for the top five teams from the preliminary competition. This year's finals scenario took place at the "2nd Annual John Todaro Invitational Golf Tournament sponsored by the Hair Club for Men and the League of the Vertically Challenged" with Caddyshack playing on the big screen between the five teams for the audience.

     Although humor is injected into this event, the competition itself is taken very seriously. Teams train year-round and volunteer committees start meeting 11 months in advance to plan the next competition. This year, I heard a compelling story about one competitor who had competed before and had completely messed up the preliminary scenario. Two weeks later, this medic had a similar real-life scenario present itself in the field and he believes that his patient is only alive because of the Bill Shearer Competition.

     EMS Magazine is committed to expanding these competitions across the country so that more medics can enjoy the benefits of competing. The Texas and Nebraska EMS associations are just two of several organizations that are looking to add scenario-based competitions to their event line-ups, but they need dedicated volunteers to help pull it off. Please e-mail me or your state association leaders if you are interested in assisting.

     The winner of this year's BLS competition was Boca Raton Fire Rescue. It is interesting to note that in previous competitions Boy Scout Explorer units have also taken part at this level. What a great way to involve one of EMS's primary recruiting field.

     The Florida Medical Training Institute Instructor Team won this year's ALS competition.

     To see a video of the final day's events, visit www.emsresponder.com/videonetwork.