Winnipeg, MB - Representatives from the Province of Manitoba and City of Winnipeg celebrated the achievements of twelve Advanced Care Paramedic (ACP) program graduates in a ceremony earlier today at the Robert A. Steen Community Centre. The graduates completed a challenging three-year program, offered by the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service (WFPS) consisting of classroom, hospital and field training to achieve the highest level of paramedic training available in Manitoba.
The graduating class is comprised of eight WFPS paramedics and four paramedics from Regional Health Authorities across Manitoba, including Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority, Prairie Mountain Regional Health Authority and Southern Health-Santé Sud.
“The specialized training of Advanced Care Paramedics provides patients with the highest level of pre-hospital care,” said Health, Seniors and Active Living Minister Kelvin Goertzen. “I want to commend today’s graduates for their dedication to this intensive training program and wish them all the best as they continue their careers in communities across the province.”
“Congratulations to the graduates today on this milestone achievement in your career and professional growth,” said Councillor Mike Pagtakhan, Chair, Standing Policy Committee for Protection, Community Services and Parks. “Your success in the ACP program demonstrates the City’s ongoing commitment to delivering the very best in emergency frontline medicine.”
“The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service is once again pleased to partner with Manitoba Health in the training of Advanced Care Paramedics from across the province,” said Chief John Lane, WFPS. “The scope of frontline emergency medical care is always changing and our newly graduated ACP paramedics have received the very best in Canadian Medical Association-accredited training. I am confident that the addition of these graduates’ new skills to agencies across the province will be of immediate benefit to the public. I congratulate the graduates for their dedication and success in completing their ACP training.”
About the Advanced Care Paramedic program
ACP candidates undergo an intensive selection process, which includes two years of experience as a primary care paramedic, a written exam, and an interview. Prior to working as an advanced care paramedic, graduates of the program are required to challenge the National Registry Exam. Program participants complete ACP courses while continuing to serve as paramedics.
Including these latest graduates of the competitive ACP program, the WFPS has 131 advanced care paramedics on staff.
ACP graduates gain a number of specialized skills throughout the program, including a broader understanding and appreciation of disease and trauma, advanced airway management, chest decompression, symptomatic cardiac dysrhythmia management, and a greater pharmaceutical responsibility.
With the long-term goal of having at least one advanced care paramedic in every ambulance at all times, the ACP program is one of many ways that the WFPS commits to a high standard of patient care.