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Students experience heroin overdose response in simulation

Posted at 6:06 PM, Mar 31, 2017
and last updated 2017-03-31 19:11:18-04

BLUE ASH, Ohio -- A growing number of overdoses in the Tri-State sparked a training exercise for UC Blue Ash College students.

The simulation gave a group of medical students a look at what their future may hold. Paramedics with the Blue Ash Fire Department demonstrated the process of administering Narcan and treating a "patient" who is confused and in denial.

"They were there in the room when we approached the scene, so they got to see it from the time we arrive on scene, how we communicate with each other," Blue Ash paramedic Ali Bultman said.

Carla Henderson, the nursing department chair, said hands-on experience like this is important for the students.

"These are graduating students that need to be ready for what they experience in the healthcare field," Henderson said.

The demonstration continued as the paramedics loaded the patient into an ambulance and arriving at the hospital.

"We treat it the same way we would in real life, any normal scenario that we would come across," Bultman said.

It's an unfortunate, but invaluable lesson, according to Bultman.

"As many of us in the EMS industry, we learn by doing," he said. "And the more you can do hands-on training, the better off you're going to be when it comes to real-life situations."