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Shukraam, Saudi Arabia… Thank you!

December 15, 2019

In early December 2019, Adam Lund and Sheila Turris from the Department of Emergency Medicine, along with Colin Mathie from Live Nation, travelled as invited speakers to the 4th International Conference on Mass Gatherings Medicine. The conference took place in the coastal city of Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In 2017, the King announced a […]

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Shukraam, Saudi Arabia… Thank you!

December 15, 2019

In early December 2019, Adam Lund and Sheila Turris from the Department of Emergency Medicine, along with Colin Mathie from Live Nation, travelled as invited speakers to the 4^th International Conference on Mass Gatherings Medicine. The conference took place in the coastal city of Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In 2017, the King announced a series of policy changes making it much easier to visit the Kingdom and so we packed our bags, climbed on a series of flights for our 22-hour commute, and arrived in sunny, warm Jeddah the next day.

Our host was the Saudi Ministry of Health. Every year the Kingdom hosts roughly 2.5 million pilgrims who are attending the Hajj, an annual religious pilgrimage in the Islamic faith.

Hosting the Hajj requires an unprecedented degree of coordination and management as millions travel to Mekkah. Accordingly, Saudi has a vested interest in understanding mass gatherings and the related health risks and the Global Center for Mass Gathering Medicine, within the Ministry of Health, is a world leader in mass gatherings research. Every 2^nd year they bring together experts from around the globe, including Canada, the United States, Malaysia, Russia, Ireland, Italy, Saudi, Qatar, and a host of other countries. The surroundings were conducive to debate and sharing of ideas and so the conversation was lively and the energy level was high.

Some of the highlights:

Crowd dynamics theory

Prevention/mitigation of terrorist acts

Roles for EMS at mass gatherings

Preventing infectious disease in the setting of mass gatherings

Emergency planning

Planning for large scale mass gatherings

Tele-medicine for mass gatherings medical teams

Data modelling for mass gatherings

Many researchers spoke about the challenges of advancing the science that underpins mass gathering health. Time for mentorship of new researchers, language barriers, and a dearth of training and funding opportunities were among the many challenges faced by those with a passion for this field of study.

The next opportunity for face-to-face collaboration will be at the World Congress on Disaster and Emergency Mass Medicine in Tokyo, Japan in 2021.

Sheila Turris

Adam Lund

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WADEM Congress on Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2019

June 24, 2019

What do you get when you mix sunshine, a gorgeous harbour city, and an excellent event medicine conference? You get Brisbane in May. Members of the Mass Gathering Medicine Interest Group travelled to Australia to present at the World Congress on Disaster and Emergency Medicine. This is a biennial conference that attracts researchers and clinicians […]

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WADEM Congress on Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2019

June 24, 2019

What do you get when you mix sunshine, a gorgeous harbour city, and an excellent event medicine conference? You get Brisbane in May.

Members of the Mass Gathering Medicine Interest Group travelled to Australia to present at the World Congress on Disaster and Emergency Medicine. This is a biennial conference that attracts researchers and clinicians from around the world and it has a strong mass gathering medicine track.

This year our team hosted a panel, gave podium presentations and made a strong showing during the poster sessions. Below is a list of our presentations and speakers:

Lund A, Turris S, Munn B, Rabb H, Jones T, Scott R, Lund N, Camporese M. Ownership and event medicine: who da boss?

Lund A, Turris S. Innovations in mass gathering health.

Rabb H Colby J. Obstacle adventure courses and outcomes: a 5 year case series.

Turris SA. Moving forward together: working toward consensus on key performance indicators.

Munn BM, Turris SA, Lund A, Ranse J. Global event data research registry. Turris SA, Rabb H, Callaghan CW, Munn MB, Ranse J, Lund A. Measuring the masses: guidelines for the publication of case reports for mass gatherings.

Turris SA, Callaghan CW, Rabb H, Munn MB, Lund A. One the way out: an analysis of patient transfers from four, large-scale North American festivals over two years.

Turris SA, Jones T, Lund A. Fatalities at music festivals.

Lund N, Scott R, Turris SA, Yu Q, Chui S, Lund A. Mass gatherings and youth peer volunteerism.

Munn MB, Turris SA, Rabb H, Ranse J, Lund A. Effect of onsite medical perception of substance use risk.

Steenkamp M, Arbon P, Lund A, Turris SA, Ranse J, Hutton A, Munn MB, Bowles RR. Proposing a minimum dataset for mass gatherings.

Lund A, Munn MB, Ranse J, Turris SA. Core curriculum for event medical leaders.

Turris SA. Moving forward together: working toward consensus on measurable outcomes for festival health.

In addition, Drs. Adam Lund, Brendan Munn, and Sheila Turris were invited to participate in a special meeting of the World Health Organization. The focus of the meeting was on safer events and efforts underway to mitigate negative health outcomes that might arise in the mass gathering context.

What a trip!!! Tokyo 2021, here we come!

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4-20 Protest

June 20, 2019

In April, 2019, members of the mass gathering medicine interest group participated as members of the health care team for the 4-20 protest. The attendance for this event was higher than usual because of the changes in legislation, making possession of cannabis products legal and because it was the 25th anniversary of the protest. This […]

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4-20 Protest

June 20, 2019

In April, 2019, members of the mass gathering medicine interest group participated as members of the health care team for the 4-20 protest. The attendance for this event was higher than usual because of the changes in legislation, making possession of cannabis products legal and because it was the 25^th anniversary of the protest.

#READYANDWAITING

This was an unbounded event with water on one side and a road on the other side. What could go wrong? And the borders of the event were just the beginning…

What do you get when you mix hot sun, overuse of cannabis products, a tone of a protest, high crowd density, and sloped geography? You get a high patient presentation rate. Thankfully, there was a strong collaboration between all of the teams onsite, from security and event production staff to the fire department and the provincial ambulance service.

Some of the research questions that could come out of this event?

In what ways did the use of cannabis products influence patient presentations?

To what extent did the presence of an onsite medical team reduce the burden on local emergency departments?

What is the relationship (if any) between crowd density and patient presentations?

#MISSIONREADY

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Mass Gathering Medicine Summit, Las Vegas, 2019

June 20, 2019

An interested group of mass gathering medicine folks travelled to Las Vegas in March 2019. We met with colleagues from across North America to discuss and debate issues related to mass gatherings. Adam Lund facilitated a panel on “Who Owns Event Medicine?” Each person on the eight person panel adopted a different, extreme position and argued […]

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Mass Gathering Medicine Summit, Las Vegas, 2019

June 20, 2019

An interested group of mass gathering medicine folks travelled to Las Vegas in March 2019. We met with colleagues from across North America to discuss and debate issues related to mass gatherings.

Adam Lund facilitated a panel on “Who Owns Event Medicine?” Each person on the eight person panel adopted a different, extreme position and argued why their profession was the most important decision maker at the table. The debate provided conference attendees with a great chance to consider the multitude of stakeholders and the perspectives they bring to the table with a focus on common interests and goals.

Sheila Turris hosted a panel on Festival Health. Experts from Indigo, DanceSafe, and others shared their expertise in providing peer support and access to education for attendees of music festivals. Conference participants had a chance to pose challenging questions and to debate answers. A short summary is provided below.

Major Themes

Spreading the Word.The importance of language was brought home, throughout the Summit. “Harm reduction” is a phrase with history. Sometimes that history works in our favor and sometimes it doesn’t. I was actually surprised at how few people from health care professions understood harm reduction. There is a lot more work to be done in terms of educating producers and other stakeholder groups about the ways in which embedding a strong harm reduction team will change guest experiences of music festivals.

Moving In From the Margins. We all know the value of harm reduction work. We see it every time we step into a festival health space. We have to be able to explain that value to stakeholders – starting with event producers and on-site medical teams. Collecting good data will help us quantify, qualify, and explain value to external groups. If the harm reduction community (for music festivals) can align on essential data points and combine resources, this could move harm reduction services to the centre, with participation in event planning, full integration, and reasonable budgets.

Strengthening Collaborations.Event medical teams and harm reduction teams share many common goals. One of the things that gets in the way of collaboration (if I understood the comments from our audience) is that there are currently no clear, consistent certifications or curriculums for harm reduction professionals. I think this will continue to evolve and in fact, the professionalization of harm reduction (as it relates to music festivals) may be upon us. In the meantime, I remain confident that the “solution” is not an either/or (i.e., either grass roots OR professionalization), but rather a both/and. I know that medical and festival health services can be integrated so that each team is supported to do their best work.

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April 15, 2018

Preparing and Planning for Recreational Substances at Music Festivals: Considerations from Public Health to Critical CareDr. Brendan World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine https://wadem.org/resources/webinar/

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April 15, 2018

Preparing and Planning for Recreational Substances at Music Festivals:
Considerations from Public Health to Critical Care
Dr. Brendan

World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine
https://wadem.org/resources/webinar/

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Want to see what we have been up to lately?

September 20, 2017

Mass Gathering Medicine Interest Group and the International Stage Drum roll please… As mass gatherings and special events proliferate, national and international interest in mass gatherings is growing! In April of 2017, several members of our MGM Interest Group had the opportunity to travel to Toronto and attend the World Congress on Disaster and Emergency […]

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Want to see what we have been up to lately?

September 20, 2017

Mass Gathering Medicine Interest Group
and the International Stage

Drum roll please…

As mass gatherings and special events proliferate, national and international interest in mass gatherings is growing!

In April of 2017, several members of our MGM Interest Group had the opportunity to travel to Toronto and attend the World Congress on Disaster and Emergency Medicine (WCDEM). WCDEM has an active track for Mass Gatherings where our team members presented on many of the Canadian research projects that are ongoing.

View the Congress Abstract Supplement from Cambridge Core on the Prehospital and Disaster Medicine webpage here (251 page PDF). The section on Mass Gatherings starts on page 133.

Altered Mental Status at Music Festivals: A Case Study Examining Clinical Concepts and Controversies (page 134)
Matthew B. Munn, Jose F. Laraya, Adam Lund, Sheila Turris

Camping, Cowboys, and Country Music: Patient and Resource Management at Canada’s Largest
Multi-Day Country Music Festival (page 135)
Mike Webster, Kevin Jones

A Proposed Minimum Data Set for Mass Gathering Health – Updates and Moving Forward (page 136)
Malinda Steenkamp, Sheila Turris, Adam Lund, Alison Hutton, Jamie Ranse, Ron Bowles, Paul Arbon

Event Medical Life Support (EMLS): Event Medicine for Multidisciplinary Teams (page 137)
Adam Lund, Sheila Turris

Mobile Response by Medical First Responders at a Music Festival (page 139)
Matthew B. Munn, Nicolas Sparrow, Craig Bertagnolli

First Aid Training and Comfort in Non-Medical Event Staff (page 140)
Matthew B. Munn

Point of Care Ultrasound at a Remote Multi-Day Mass Gathering: A Prospective Case Series (page 140)
Ross Prager, Colin Sedgwick, Adam Lund, Maja Stachura, Daniel Kim, Ben Ho, Sam Gutman

Effectiveness of Gamification of Mass-Gathering Health Concepts (page 140)
Adam Lund, Riley Golby, Kerrie Lewis, Sheila Turris

Mass Gathering Medicine TableTop Game – A Systems Approach to a Major Planned Event, Health
Services Planning (page 143)
Adam Lund, Sheila Turris, Kerrie Lewis

We are trying to answer practice-relevant questions:

How long does it take for us to respond to a call for help? (aka, response times for onsite medical calls)

How can we prevent unnecessary transfers to hospital? (aka, use of ultrasound technology in diagnosis and triage of patients presenting for care)

To better prepare our event medical teams to practice according to the best available evidence, what are the next steps? (aka, proposal for the creation of an Event Medicine Life Support course)

What are the most common clinical presentations at music festivals? (aka, case reports on music festivals and patient presentations)

How can we improve our level of disaster preparedness at mass gatherings? (aka, use of a tabletop game as a strategy to improve the preparedness of onsite medical teams)

While in Toronto, we had opportunities to connect with groups of international researchers in the fields of disaster medicine, mass gathering medicine, emergency preparedness, and public health.

Following WCDEM, members of our team were invited to present at a disaster preparedness conference in Seoul, Korea in September.

Here is a short snippet from Dr. Sheila Turris, PhD, live from the disaster preparedness conference….

“So, at the moment, I am typing this message (at 3 am, no less) sitting in the heart of downtown Seoul.

Seoul is a fascinating city – a perfect blend of the tradition and modernity. Bright lights (this city never sleeps), 10 lane streets (it takes 5 minutes to cross the road), great food, and lots of history. Oh, and did I mention the weather? It turns out that if you pair 30 degree temperatures with 80% humidity, it feels HOT.”

“Seoul is serious about emergency management. There are wall mounted emergency flashlights in each room, automatic external defibrillators are EVERYWHERE, and in my hotel room there is a hook embedded in the floor by the window. Each guest has access to a rope with a pulley in order to rappel down the side of the building in the event of a fire or other disaster. I haven’t tried it out yet, but I have to admit that I am curious! (The rope doesn’t look long enough to rappel 10 stories!)”

“Tomorrow, I will have the privilege of representing the MGMIG to present our body of work to a large, multi-disciplinary team at Yonsei University. The attendees at this disaster preparedness conference want to learn more about mass gatherings and how to prepare for both common and uncommon emergencies. Wish me luck!”

Dr. Sheila Turris, PhD
Nurse Practitioner
Mass Gathering Medicine Interest Group

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FAQs – Nursing Students at Community Events

May 5, 2016

Source: Life as a nursing student. Available at: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/371898881700778212/ Accessed on: May 4, 2016. Do you love music festivals, triathlons, marathons and parades? Would you like to practice nursing in a pre-hospital setting? Outdoors? In an open field? On the side of a mountain? There is a role for nursing students at special events. If […]

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FAQs – Nursing Students at Community Events

May 5, 2016

Source: Life as a nursing student. Available at: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/371898881700778212/ Accessed on: May 4, 2016.

Do you love music festivals, triathlons, marathons and parades? Would you like to practice nursing in a pre-hospital setting? Outdoors? In an open field? On the side of a mountain? There is a role for nursing students at special events. If you are intrigued, read on…

We get asked questions every year, so we thought it might be helpful to have some tips on the web site to refer back to for the most frequently asked questions (FAQs).

DISCLAIMER: Nothing on this page should be construed as legal advice. We aren’t lawyers or insurance experts. This is simply a space for discussion of questions regarding a “grey area” in staffing for mass gatherings and special events.

What is a mass gathering?

No one knows for sure! In general, a mass gathering is a special event such as a half marathon or a concert that involves a gathering of more than 1,000 people.

What is the Mass Gathering Medicine (MGM) Interest Group?

Mass Gathering Medicine Interest Group members are strong advocates for safer events. We want people to attend and participate at events and to go home healthy and happy. We are nurses, physicians, paramedics and first responders, along with a host of other health professionals. We are truly a multi-disciplinary team and we provide onsite medical/health care for people attending special events.

What is the role for nursing students?

Students from all types of health professions programs may be keen to volunteer and be part of the teams providing care at mass gathering and mass participation events. This post addresses questions related to Nursing Students.

For information targeted to Event Producers & Medical Services Providers considering working with medical students, (click here – coming soon)

For information related to Residents, (click here – coming soon)

For information related to Medical Students, click here

For information related to Nursing Students, read on

What is a nursing student?

A nursing student is a person enrolled in a nursing school at an accredited university or college. In the Canadian context, a nursing degree will involve 3 or 4 years of study. A first year nursing student will have different skills and clinical experience than a fourth year nursing student, but all have something to offer and something to learn. In addition, many nursing students will have credentials such as first responder or paramedic that make them a great addition to the onsite team.

What other credentials might a nursing student have?

Nursing students without a previous health professions background (the majority) will almost certainly have their CPR-Health Care Professional designation and a basic first aid course. As University of British Columbia MGM Faculty, we STRONGLY ENCOURAGE these types of credentials.

What can a nursing student do at an event?

If there is no credential and no direct faculty supervision, then… you are in fact a lay volunteer. There are many roles within a first aid and medical tent that do not involve direct clinical decision making and hands-on patient care, so it is still possible for a nursing student to get lots from the experience and for the event to benefit from another volunteer with caring hands, but this limitation should be noted. Runners, reception, catchers at finish lines, scribes, operations and logistics and many more roles do not require a specific credential.

What if there is a nurse or physician mentor at the event? Does that change what a nursing student can do?

Sometimes. A nurse or physician may, at their discretion, support a student to take a history and perform a physical examination of appropriate patients under supervision. As well, many new skills can be appropriately taught and learned on event, including how to work in under-resourced environments and still achieve goals of care.

The degree of supervision, as in hospitals, is proportional to the level of training and experience of the student, the severity of the problem the patient is experiencing, and the consent of the patient. Ultimately, it is up to the nurse or physician to supervise the learner appropriately, and to be responsible for the assessment and care provided.

If there is no nurse or physician onsite available to supervise and be responsible for the care being provided, then you should act only to the scope of your other credentials, which may be basic first aid and CPR.

Liability and nursing students on first aid and/or medical teams at events… What’s up?

(See disclaimer at the top, in case you forgot!)

Liability at events is complicated, and many perspectives must be considered. This will be the subject of future writing by our team. However, hopefully the following statements will help.

The COMMUNITY (i.e. regional and local government, emergency health services, police, permitting, emergency managers, etc.) is responsible to ensure that permitted events are safe, and that due diligence has been done regarding risk assessment, risk mitigation and planning. Regarding first aid and medical services, the COMMUNITY needs to be reassured that an appropriate plan is in place for the event.

The EVENT is responsible for the safety and emergency planning for everyone involved in the event. The COMMUNITY will usually require the event to hold insurance proportional to the risk of the event. The general liability insurance of the event typically covers all employees and volunteers of the event. This is one good reason to sign up through the volunteer web site associated with big events, or to have an acknowledgement in writing somewhere that you are a volunteer.

The EVENT may have its own or a contracted MEDICAL SERVICES PROVIDER (MSP) to plan and coordinate the on-site care of anyone who is ill or injured at the event. Note that contractors are usually engaged to help the event defer some of its liability. Quality MSP contractors will carry appropriate insurance for the services they are providing. The MSP usually carries their own general liability and errors and omissions insurance. Being employed by, or volunteering for an MSP should put you under their umbrella as well as that of the EVENT. Ask about this if you are wondering!

The MSP will seek volunteers and/or sub-contractors and/or employees who are health care professionals, or who carry first aid and/or CPR credentials to be on their teams. MSPs typically have policies in place that require people to work “within their scope of training.” Many health care professionals carry their own malpractice insurance, either personally, or through association with a health professions organization.

The UNIVERSITY has insurance in place to cover learners in pre-approved learning environments. However, this insurance does not cover nursing students volunteering outside of standard rotations and experiences without pre-approval. As such, nursing students are not “insured as nursing students” at this time in the community event setting. They are protected by the EVENT and MSP’s general liability umbrella as long as they are within their scope of practice, or a health care provider on site is accepting responsibility to supervise them on appropriate cases.

What about the GOOD SAMARITAN ACT? The Act in BC states that, outside of gross negligence, and secondary gain, there is no liability for care provided to an individual in an emergency situation. HOWEVER, there are two exceptions, one of which is relevant to mass gatherings. The Good Samaritan Act does not apply if “a person is employed expressly for that purpose”.Once you go out and put on a “red t-shirt” and take responsibility for being on a first aid or medical team, you are no longer a Good Samaritan.

Should nursing students volunteer their services at mass gathering community events?

Yes! Nursing students, and any member of the community, may benefit from volunteering to be a part of great events in their communities. Whether you volunteer with security, kitchen, main-stage, finish line, course marshal, or whatever… being a part of community events is a lot of fun, a social contribution, and a chance to experience something outside of the daily routine.

The first aid or medical team at an event is a ‘special group,’ in that there is an expectation around skills, knowledge, credentials and training. It is up to the Event Medical Services Provider to ensure that they have adequate minimum staffing for their events, and when they have capacity, it is great to be able to include a percentage of learners on the team. It should be common sense that a learner should never be in a mission-critical position, and should always be redundant to core staffing. As such, it is up to the Medical Services Provider to set appropriate limits on the number of learners they can accommodate, and to consider carefully where and how they are deployed, and who they might be working with/under.

As a student, I say from personal experience, “get out there.” It is a lot of fun, and a great place to work and learn from and with multi-disciplinary teams. To do your due diligence, ask a few questions to ensure that the team you are working with is professional, insured, well-staffed and well-equipped, and that your responsibilities and supervision will be suitable to your level of training. If you happen to have another credential that would qualify you for the team anyway, all the better. Soak it up, learn from everyone, and think about what you will do in the future if you ever have to plan an event. There’s much more going on than just the “medicine.” Look, listen, learn and lap it up.

Dr. Sheila Turris, PhD
Nurse Practitioner
Mass Gathering Medicine Interest Group
Dr. Adam Lund
Emergency Physician
Mass Gathering Medicine Interest Group

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Mass Gathering Medicine Summit – February 9 & 10 2018

May 2, 2016

The annual Mass Gathering Medicine Summit will be in Miami, Florida in 2018! Date: February 9th & 10th Check out the website for more details See you there. ——————————————- An impressive start to the North American conversation on Mass Gatherings last week in New York City at the Mass Gathering Summit… Co-chaired by MGMIG’s […]

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Mass Gathering Medicine Summit – February 9 & 10 2018

May 2, 2016

The annual Mass Gathering Medicine Summit will be in Miami, Florida in 2018!

Date: February 9th & 10th
Check out the website for more details

See you there.

——————————————-

An impressive start to the North American conversation on Mass Gatherings last week in New York City at the Mass Gathering Summit…

Co-chaired by MGMIG’s Dr. Adam Lund and Dr. Matt Friedman, it was a room packed with some incredible knowledge and experiences in a variety of planning and clinical roles.

Photos taken by the MGM Summit 2016 (click photo to be taken to their website)

Interesting presentations by seasoned industry leaders, with an agenda aimed at growing the research base, informing, and supporting the work we all do on site at events. Presentations included medical directors and logisticians from the Super Bowl, Rio Olympics 2016, Electric Daisy Carnival, Burning Man and a ton of others! Really amazing to share ideas with so many people that are as personally invested and qualified in MG safety, and have been bitten equally hard by the event bug.

Personal highlights:

Shaking our heads in envy at the $15 million Super Bowl budget

Laughing through Mick Molloy’s Irish music festival caper where 35 ambulances presented in 6 hours to a community hospital, 8 of them stabbed by a single altered attendee and many of the remaining patients trying to have MDMA-fueled relations with each other despite the chaos in an overwhelmed and understaffed ED

Feeling more comfortable with the Shambhala challenges after learning how Electric Daisy Carnival’s 140,000 attendees are managed — a full order of magnitude more insanity!

Sheila Turris and Adam Lund got a chance to present the state of the MGMIG’s current work as part of the coordination of an event “Chain of Survival” concept. This framework has grown with their hard work, and is moving into a more solid operationalized form that is now identifying the research questions needing answers with respect to providing on site safety systems at music festivals. The next steps will be to get some answers to those questions! Stacey Lock and I also presented the Shambhala Harm Reduction and Medical Collaboration experience as part of a panel highlighting the importance of preparation and safety planning to decrease the risks and impact at music festivals. It was a great experience and was well received.

Overall this meeting underlined the potential for the mass gathering research network to grow internationally, hopefully improving our collaborations and making use of many providers’ battle-tested on site experiences. Looking forward to next year!

Dr. Brendan Munn
Emergency Physician
Mass Gathering Medicine Interest Group

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Research

8th Annual UBC DEM Research Day – April 6, 2016

March 11, 2016

The 8th Annual UBC EM Research Day will be held on Wednesday, April 6th, 2016. Be sure to check out an interesting talk by one of our MGM Club team members Andrew Guy. Andrew’s presentation will be on: A Pre-Hospital Ultrasound Curriculum for BCAS Critical Care Paramedics. Andrew was the Co-Chair for the UBC MGM Club […]

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8th Annual UBC DEM Research Day – April 6, 2016

March 11, 2016

The 8th Annual UBC EM Research Day will be held on Wednesday, April 6th, 2016.

Be sure to check out an interesting talk by one of our MGM Club team members Andrew Guy. Andrew’s presentation will be on: A Pre-Hospital Ultrasound Curriculum for BCAS Critical Care Paramedics. Andrew was the Co-Chair for the UBC MGM Club from 2014 – 2015 and he is still very involved in our mass gathering work. We’re looking forward to hearing his presentation.

This province-wide event, jointly sponsored by the UBC Department of Emergency Medicine and the UBC Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, will take place at the CRFI Chan Centre Auditorium (map) at the BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver. There will also be live video-linkage to sites throughout BC for both presenters and audience members.

This year’s EM Research Day will feature podium presentations of completed or planned EM research, plus a presentation by a visiting professor, Dr. Martin Pusic, Director of the Division of Education Quality and Analytics for the Institute for Innovations in Medical Education at NYU School of Medicine. Dr. Pusic’s work is highly respected and internationally known; this is an event you will not want to miss!

We hope to see to see you there.

More information:

0900h – 1600h
938 West 28th Avenue, Vancouver BC

Visit the DEM website here for more information on this event.

Don’t forget to pre-register to attend:  Registration Form

View the brochure here

Dr. Brendan Munn presenting last year on Harm Reduction and Medical Services at a 5-Day Electronic Dance Music Festival

Kerrie Lewis
MGM Nurse Educator
eLearning & Development
Mass Gathering Medicine Interest Group


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Mass Gathering Medicine Collaborates with Physical Therapy

February 7, 2016

On November 4th 2015, Mass Gathering Medicine (MGM) invited Masters of Physical Therapy (MPT) students to assist in the organization of the Ankle Injuries and Taping workshop– an evening comprised of a didactic and practical session for interested medical students. This event was a first-time collaboration between medical students and seniors students within the Department of […]

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Mass Gathering Medicine Collaborates with Physical Therapy

February 7, 2016

On November 4th 2015, Mass Gathering Medicine (MGM) invited Masters of Physical Therapy (MPT) students to assist in the organization of the Ankle Injuries and Taping workshop– an evening comprised of a didactic and practical session for interested medical students. This event was a first-time collaboration between medical students and seniors students within the Department of Physical Therapy. With a turn-out comprising of over fifty students, this event was largely successful and facilitated the delivery of a great introduction to acute musculoskeletal care- skills undoubtedly useful for future physicians. This collaboration was featured in the Physiotherapy Association of British Columbia’s webpage and successfully sparked future interdisciplinary events for medical students involved within MGM.

Gerome Louie MPT1, Matthew Redekopp MPT2, Samantha Edwards MPT1, Cristian Vadeanu MSI3, Iyad Salloum MPT2

Iyad Salloum (MPT2 student) demonstrates ankle taping technique.

Cristian Vadeanu
Year 3 Medicine

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Shambhala at UBC Public Health Symposium

January 26, 2016

I had the pleasure of presenting work on Shambhala – an annual electronic dance music festival in the Kootenays of British Columbia – this past Saturday at the UBC Public Health Symposium. This festival is perhaps best known for it’s innovative approach to health and safety, particularly the integration of harm reduction services working alongside […]

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Shambhala at UBC Public Health Symposium

January 26, 2016

I had the pleasure of presenting work on Shambhala – an annual electronic dance music festival in the Kootenays of British Columbia – this past Saturday at the UBC Public Health Symposium. This festival is perhaps best known for it’s innovative approach to health and safety, particularly the integration of harm reduction services working alongside medical care. I’ve presented this work just a year prior, discussing how there was a lot of discovery still to come on how harm reduction and medical teams can optimize outcomes. At that time, the work was received with curiosity and many commenters were interested to see how the model at this festival would adapt and optimize based on this focused self-evaluation. On Saturday, the minds of public health had keen enthusiasm to contribute their own ideas and a common theme throughout was the idea that we ought to look at Vancouver’s own Insite Clinic for inspiration. The growing support for this public health success story reminds me that evidence-based evaluation of harm reduction strategies are indeed possible. How we can best apply the lessons of Insite to mass gathering research and ultimately to shift festival operations and health provision still remains elusive.

Riley Golby
Medical Student Year II
UBC MGM Club Executive

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Issues of Substance Conference in Montreal, 2015

November 30, 2015

Tyler Pyrie traveled to Montreal in November for the Issues of Substance Use Conference. Tyler hails from the Canadian Center on Substance Use (CCSA) and he presented a poster on the topic of Music Festival safety. The poster was the result of joint work done early in 2015 by the CCSA, the MGMIG, and a […]

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Issues of Substance Conference in Montreal, 2015

November 30, 2015

Tyler Pyrie traveled to Montreal in November for the Issues of Substance Use Conference. Tyler hails from the Canadian Center on Substance Use (CCSA) and he presented a poster on the topic of Music Festival safety. The poster was the result of joint work done early in 2015 by the CCSA, the MGMIG, and a large team of committed stakeholders including academia, public health, harm reduction, the Ministry of Health, police and security services, as well as event producers.

Link to the IOS 2015 Program

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Mass Casualty Incident Simulation – Nov 26th

October 27, 2015

Invitation to Participate in Mass Casualty Incident Simulation! There will be two simulations held on Thursday, November 26th (see below) in Chilliwack at the JIBC Campus; one in the morning, and one in the afternoon. We have room for 2 residents and 2 medical students in clinical roles per session. Note that other participants will […]

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Mass Casualty Incident Simulation – Nov 26th

October 27, 2015

Invitation to Participate in Mass Casualty Incident Simulation!

There will be two simulations held on Thursday, November 26th (see below) in Chilliwack at the JIBC Campus; one in the morning, and one in the afternoon. We have room for 2 residents and 2 medical students in clinical roles per session. Note that other participants will predominantly be students as well… fire, paramedics, nursing students, etc.

In addition, if there is interest, learners may also participate in operational, mock patient, and other support roles if the clinical spots are filled. Preference will go to senior students and residents for the clinical roles, as more junior learners will have future opportunities.

Contact Jesse or Alyshia or Adam (see below) to express your interest and confirmation of availability. Please only reply if you can be available on that date in Chilliwack. Car-pooling can almost certainly be arranged.

RSVP’s accepted until Wednesday, November 4th at 17:00. Confirmation of attendance and role will be shared by the end of the business day on Monday, November 9th.

2015 Multi-Agency Simulation (MAS) Event

(Click for PDF copy of invite: 2015_MAS_Event_-_Invite.pdf)

The Justice Institute of British Columbia and BC’s Mobile Medical Unit (MMU – http://www.bcmmu.ca) invite you to the third annual 2015 Multi-Agency Simulation Event, being held on November 26, 2015.

This unique event brings together students and professionals in various fields including ambulance, police, fire services, nursing, residents, Canadian Armed Forces and search and rescue to simulate large-scale disaster response and emergencies. Focusing on inter-professional teamwork and collaboration, this health education training simulation will be held at the JIBC Chilliwack campus.

British Columbia’s Mobile Medical Unit, a state-of-the-art mobile hospital that deploys across the province in response to disasters and to support renovations, will serve as the platform for hospital care. The unit’s specialized team of clinicians and educators will also be leading the simulations. Each participating profession will have their own set of simulations that relate directly to their professional roles as well as contribute to the event’s overall objectives.

These events help to best prepare our allied health and emergency providers while offering a unique opportunity to showcase how various professions bring their strengths together to address a multitude of real-life scenarios.

When:             November 26, 2015

Time:              8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Where:           JIBC – Chilliwack Campus –  5470 Dieppe St. Chilliwack, BC

We are looking for a variety of agencies and personnel to participate in this simulation event and contribute to this shared learning opportunity. Roles include both participating in the simulations and leading specific components of the simulations that relate to your area of expertise.

Contact both:

Jesse Sheridan
Lead, Multi-Agency Simulation Event
Primary Care Paramedic (PCP); CCP Candidate
BC Mobile Medical Unit & JIBC
C: 604.505.9833
jesse.sheridan@phsa.ca

Alyshia Higgins
Program Manager, MMU
O: 604-675-7486
C: 778-877-9692
Alyshia.higgins@phsa.ca

Adam Lund
Associate Medical Director, MMU
C: 604-315-8013
adam.lund@ubc.ca

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Sports Medicine & MGM Symposium

October 18, 2015

Friday, October 23rd, 2015 – From 6:00 pm to 8:30 pm Hurlburt Auditorium at St. Paul’s Hospital (1081 Burrard Street) in Vancouver, BC. For MAP CLICK HERE. Link for RSVP form: http://goo.gl/forms/gBpS0olnta Agenda, Topics & Speakers For information on the agenda, please click here or on the thumbnail below. Click to download full PDF version of Agenda: Rock […]

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Sports Medicine & MGM Symposium

October 18, 2015

Friday, October 23rd, 2015 – From 6:00 pm to 8:30 pm
Hurlburt Auditorium at St. Paul’s Hospital (1081 Burrard Street) in Vancouver, BC. For MAP CLICK HERE. Link for RSVP form: http://goo.gl/forms/gBpS0olnta

Agenda, Topics & Speakers

For information on the agenda, please click here or on the thumbnail below.

Click to download full PDF version of Agenda: Rock n Roll Symposium – Final (PDF)

We welcome your attendance to this educational seminar, whether or not you are participating on the medical team for the Rock n’ Roll 10K on Saturday, October 24th, or the Half-Marathon on Sunday, October 25th.

RSVP

To RSVP for the October 23rd Education Event, please complete the form here. We want to pre-order enough munchies for everyone!

Volunteer for the Medical Team

For info on volunteering, click here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3ezx74WE0ilTWwycWJDZGktODg/view?usp=sharing

We look forward to seeing you there!

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Invite to Discuss Drugs & Harm Reduction on EDM Panel in Vegas

June 11, 2015

UK’s BBC Radio 1 DJ, B. Traits, recently featured in a ground-breaking TV documentary tackling the sensitive topic of drug usage and distribution in the UK. In parallel, the Association for Electronic Music (AFEM) has created a platform for debate, bringing together information and expertise to help our industry develop a unified response. As society […]

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Invite to Discuss Drugs & Harm Reduction on EDM Panel in Vegas

June 11, 2015

UK’s BBC Radio 1 DJ, B. Traits, recently featured in a ground-breaking TV documentary tackling the sensitive topic of drug usage and distribution in the UK. In parallel, the Association for Electronic Music (AFEM) has created a platform for debate, bringing together information and expertise to help our industry develop a unified response.

As society experiences increasing harm from so called Legal Highs, B. Traits and AFEM bring together a panel of experts to discuss the global landscape and the options available to tackle the issue.

http://www.edmbiz.com/

Drugs in Dance Music: It’s Time to Talk

Moderator: Mark Lawrence, Chief Executive, Association for Electronic Music

B-Traits, Artist

Dr. Adam Lund, Founder, Mass Gathering Medicine Interest Group, Department of Emergency Medicine, University of British Columbia

Dr. Dale Carrison, Professor/Chair of Emergency Medicine, University of Nevada School of Medicine

Maren Steiner, Director, Health & Safety, Insomniac

Panel Date: Wednesday, June 17th

Panel Time: 11:45am (approximately 45 minutes)

Privileged to be asked, and very excited to join the discussion. I’ll post a link when I can. Here’s a link to the last panel on this topic, earlier in this year in Ibiza, Spain.

Cheers,

Adam

Dr. Adam Lund
Emergency Physician
Mass Gathering Medicine Interest Group


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