Monday, May 31 2010
I had the pleasure of recently attending and presenting CompTracker on May 13 during the National CSRT Conference in St. John's Newfoundland. What a charming city! But more on that later.... Following a whirlwind 65+ minute presentation (sorry for going over Ted!) and during which time some very thoughtful and insightful questions were asked (thank you Mary, Emily and many others!!) I was left with a profound impression that was reinforced during the rest of my stay in St. John's. From the young, very poised students I met from NBCC to interesting Therapists, Institution Clinical Coordinators and Administrators, and even the Conference Organizers all from many Canadian locales - I was blown away by the dedication, caring and sense of purpose in most everyone I was fortunate enough to talk with. I started out my life as a very preemie baby in the devoted, knowledgeable and loving care of this group of professionals and it reassures me, given their depth of commitment, to think that I may someday see them towards the end of my journey - but that's hopefully a long way's away yet! And to Faculty at the College of the North Atlantic - many thanks for a warm, St. John's Welcome. I feel I have a bit better appreciation for the wisdom you are endeavouring to impart in your young students and I would like to continue learning more about your challenges and opportunities. I also look forward to a day when I can return and spend much more time basking in the glow of a culturally rich, warm group of people and celebrating and exploring some of our founding geological and historical roots. So long for now from Edmonton, and seriously - thanks for the fish! Thursday, November 05 2009
On November 18th, Great Big Solutions will be a proud participant at the Innovations in Health Care Expo (www.health.gov.on.ca/innovations) at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre (www.mtccc.com). We were selected from hundreds of applicants to present CompTracker to a large industry audience. The selection committee was looking to showcase groundbreaking initiatives in health care. This honour recognized Great Big Solutions as an innovator in health information management at a national level. The information technology revolution is changing the way all services can be provided. The opportunities in health care alone are profound and impressive. Enthusiastic adopters have used CompTracker to strive to make the best possible work environment for health science educators and students. An innovative training environment plays an important role in teaching and retaining talented individuals in health care. By automating their administrative work, CompTracker allows educators to focus their time on training rather than completing paperwork. CompTracker has truly come a long way from the first paramedic program that was looking for PDAs to be an alternative to log books seven years ago. Now completely web-enabled and on trendy mobile devices like iPhones, iPods too, CompTracker is found in a diverse range of health science programs on more than 20 colleges across the country. Look for the GBS booth in the Innovations Expo. It is part of the Health Achieve 2009 Exhibition (www.healthachieve.com), the largest national health industry trade show. We welcome a chance to discuss ways to make health science education even more efficient. Wednesday, July 08 2009
This past week I was honored to be in attendance at the 3rd Annual Society for Prehospital Educators in Canada's (SPEC) AGM and Conference in St. John's, Newfoundland. Great Big Solutions continues to be a proud supporter of this Society and the annual event, in its continuing efforts to promote national collaboration amongst Prehospital educators. I was privileged to meet many new faces, even those of which we have been working with over the years and hadn't had the opportunity to meet in person until now. One of the most prevalent topics of the conference was Simulation training. So many of the educators around the country are expanding their use of Simulation in their programs to enhance the skills of their students. This topic at the event spanned everything from the use of Stress Innoculation and Cortisol testing, to Clinical Simulation Centers in hospitals, to the evaluation of student judgement in the Clinical Setting using high-fidelity simulation. Simulation and its use in Prehospital programs has been debated recently, especially in discussions relating to the national competency profile for Paramedics in Canada. There seems to be a push towards more Simulation experience as a tool for students to capture experience in high-risk, low-frequency skills. With all of the evidence for simulation being proven as an environment that can enhance a learner's skill set in this area, it becomes (to me) a question of WHY it hasn't been as widely accepted as a proven tool in the field of Paramedicine training; when it comes to program budgets and investing in the technology, simulation time (%) allotted to Paramedic programs as compared to other Health Science fields, frequent high-fidelity experience to be recognized equally as less frequent experience on patients in the field.
We are interested in opening up this conversation to the Educators of all Health Science programs across the country, as in the end it affects all of us. The more information and opinions we can share, the more changes we can make in the end. Please comment if you have something to share about simulation training. Are there research projects that you think would be advantageous to perform in order to address some of the concerns from the other side? My thanks again to the members and executive of SPEC for including Great Big Solutions in their recent event. Thanks, and happy tracking! Kathryn Thursday, July 02 2009
The Canadian Pharmacy Technician Educators Association (CPTEA) invited Great Big Solutions to speak about CompTracker at their recent conference at Fanshawe College in London, Ontario, on June 20, 2009.
Rod Wolchyn from Great Big Solutions was on hand to present the concept of electronic student tracking, and answer any questions that might arise from the Educators in attendance. Educators representing about 30 Canadian colleges and universities were present, from every region of the country. The instructors from our existing CompTracker Community (currently using CompTracker) commented on how their colleagues' programs have benefited since using our software. We will be arranging demos of the latest version, CompTracker 5.0, as soon as its available late this summer, so if you'd like to have a sneak peek just give us a call! If you think your industry might benefit from using CompTracker and would like us to speak at your school or Conference, please feel free to get in touch and arrange a presentation! Happy Tracking! Tuesday, June 23 2009
Please join us to celebrate our new home at an Open House Friday, July 17, 2009
6827 - 104 Street Cocktails & Hors D'oeuvres will be served Come and join us for Games, Fun, and Prizes! please RSVP to Wednesday, June 10 2009
SPEC Conference St John's, June 30 - July 3, 2009
Great Big Solutions and CompTracker are once again proud sponsors of this year's event. I had a great time mingling in Victoria last year, and hope to see you this year also!
Speakers include leading pre-hospital educators from across Canada from B.C. to Newfoundland and Labrador. Presentations include:
Kathryn Fraser from Great Big Solutions will be in attendance from July 2-3, in case you have burning questions about CompTracker or want to grab a coffee!
Download the brochure for more information and how to attend:
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