The patient is in trouble. The packed room of emergency medical service providers falls silent as the previously normal delivery suddenly comes to an alarming halt. Dr. Woody Weeks had just explained that this very complication - shoulder dystocia – was likely one of the worst-case-scenarios that a medical provider might encounter in the field. The mother on the raised bed groans and cries out as Colquitt County Paramedic and Southern Regional Technical College (SRTC) Nursing student Jacob Brinson jumps into action. Fellow medics move into support positions and work together to save mother and child. The seconds fly by as the team members put their training to work. They know that they only have five minutes before the outcome for the baby would be dire. After a few tense moments, the baby’s shoulder slides free, and Jacob brings a healthy baby mannequin into the world.

The group was taking part in Moultrie’s first EMS Skills Lab and Symposium, held on August 9-10 in the Simulation Center of PCOM South Georgia, the region’s first four-year medical school. SRTC and PCOM co-hosted the event, which was designed to bring EMS providers from around the area together for hands-on advanced medical training simulations. The participants ranged from newly graduated SRTC Advanced EMT students to seasoned Paramedics with vast experience earned from long careers in service.

Trauma Skills presentations were provided by staff of Colquitt Regional Medical Center, Air Evac Tifton, and PCOM South Georgia in PCOM’s Sim Center and Anatomy Lab. The hands-on training covered topics including advanced airway management, in-field obstetric complications, advanced cardiology, and advanced trauma skills for adult and pediatrics. Attendees were awarded eight hours of continuing education credits from the Georgia Office of EMS and Trauma. Thanks to the generosity of all organizations involved, the 2019 EMS Skills Lab and Symposium was offered at no cost to healthcare providers.

SRTC AEMT Instructor Herbert Denton took a leadership role in organizing the symposium. He said that the event was exactly what he had hoped for, “We welcomed providers from Colquitt, Cook, Dougherty, Lowndes, Tift, Lowndes, and Worth counties. This event saw EMS personnel networking and learning with other professionals from across the region.” SRTC’s partnership with PCOM allowed the EMS providers to interact and train with instructors and facilities that are unmatched in the state. Denton added that the “training helps bring better patient care to the patients we serve across South Georgia.” The Southern Regional Technical College EMS Professions faculty hopes to build an enduring partnership with PCOM South Georgia. “Together, we will be able to expand our initial education experiences and provide the region with the best trained providers possible,” said Denton.

PCOM South Georgia’s Chief Academic Officer, Dr. Michael Sampson, agrees, saying, “PCOM South Georgia does not exist in a bubble. It was built to work and function in the community.  It was built in South Georgia to be a resource to the community and be a regional center of excellence for medical education, with the end result being advancement of health and medical care of the citizens of South Georgia.”

He added, “The Simulation Center and Anatomy Lab bring state of the art resources and high tech/high touch training that is usually found only in larger metropolitan areas.”