Manitoba Health’s Office of Disaster Management (ODM), in conjunction with the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) and the Regional Health Authorities (RHAs) of Manitoba, hosted a full scale disaster management health exercise on September 18th 2015. The exercise, titled Turbulent Sky, simulated a multi-organizational response to a plane crash.

Among other organizations, 55 third year Nursing students and 5 instructors from Red River College participated as part of their Inter-professional Practice course. The students joined the response to the simulated plane crash of Flight 725 at Winnipeg’s James Armstrong Richardson International Airport.

The Nursing students were able to experience an Interim Medical Treatment Facility (IMTF), through its setup and efficient triage and treatment of patients. The simulation allowed students to observe and practice effective communication and information sharing between response agencies.

The students collaborated with Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), Emergency Medical Services Branch (EMBS), Manitoba Materials Distribution Agency (MDA), Manitoba Health’s Office of Disaster Management (ODM), Manitoba’s Office of the Fire Commissioner (OFC), Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), Red Cross, Salvation Army, Winnipeg Airport Authority (WAA), Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service (WFPS), as well as representatives from the airline industry and students from Criticare and Brandon University’s Applied Disaster and Emergency Studies. The organizations worked together in their response to the simulated crash.

The Nursing department is proud to have participated in this health exercise. The experience was incredibly positive for the students as they put the theory of Inter-professional communication into practice.

The Turbulent Sky health exercise will continue to inform Nursing students. Currently, a Disaster Management virtual simulation is being developed. The project, similar to Nursing’s Journey North virtual simulation, will allow students to virtually experience the multi-organizational response to the Turbulent Sky plane crash. The project is being produced in conjunction with eTV, who was on hand to record footage of the health exercise.