Inuit org brings medical responder training to Cambridge Bay

Jessie Tologanak, black shirt and Tracy Okhina, white shirt, work to stabilize their “patient,” who is actually emergency responder training instructor Tony Clarke. Tologanak and Okhina were two of three students who took part in a recent three-week training program in Cambridge Bay sponsored by the Kitikmeot Inuit Association. (PHOTO BY DENISE LEBLEU)

Special to Nunatsiaq News

CAMBRIDGE BAY — A construction worker has fallen 14 feet and is unconscious. Someone else is suffering from chest pain as a result of a heart attack.

Don’t worry, it’s only a test.

And now, thanks to those tests — part of a three-week emergency medical responder program for job-seeking beneficiaries sponsored by the Kitikmeot Inuit Association — an additional three people in Cambridge Bay are now trained to deal with those kinds of medical emergencies.

“At end of the program, students who complete all three weeks are qualified as emergency medical responders,” said Michelle Buchan, the KIA’s manager of Inuit employment and training. “We saw this as a real opportunity to gain entry level skills that may compliment what an applicant may already have.”

The emergency medical responder program, offered for the first time in Cambridge Bay from April 13 to May 1, gave community members a chance to add skills to their resumés.

“Some of the things we’ve been hearing is some sort of medic training would be beneficial because often on smaller operations, the cook also acts as the medic. They can’t afford to hire a full-time medic,” said Buchan. “ Employers are looking for people who can perform various duties.”

So adding the EMR certificate to a resume can make it more attractive.

“If the students end up with work, or if they end up going back to school, those are the two most important things,” said Buchan. “It’s hard to guarantee them work but we are trying to build capacity with our beneficiaries.”

To be eligible for the free program, applicants needed nothing more than a resumé and Grade 9 level reading, writing and mathematics.

“To be successful in the EMR course you needed to understand things like advanced biology and chemistry,” said Tony Clarke, the lead instructor for the program. “In some communities in Nunavut you can’t even take those courses in high school but in Cambridge Bay, they still fought through the program.

“To me, that shows something very positive. It shows a huge level of dedication to the art and these are people that, once trained, are a valuable asset to their community.”

The program was offered last year in Kugluktuk and was so successful, organizers worked to bring it to Cambridge Bay this spring.

“We are always looking for demand-driven training,” said Buchan. “We take up-to-date labour market information of the region, we look at it and say ‘what are your needs?’”

Buchan explains that the courses offered never duplicate what Nunavut Arctic College provides but to fill gaps instead.

“When I look at Cambridge Bay, this training would be very valuable to our local fire department,” she said. “It could open doors to being employed at mental health or the group home, or even the daycare, in addition to what the candidate already has.”

And the instructors are pleased with how it went.

“The students here are absolutely phenomenal,” said Clarke, who lives in Yellowknife.

“I give a huge round of applause to everyone who has done the course. I’m proud of them, each and every one of them and I’m hoping to get a chance to do more of these in the future.”

Buchan says that she is hoping to bring four different skills-training programs to Cambridge Bay by the end of the year.