It’s hard to believe that August is here and ski season is just around the corner! Once again Ron Stertzbach, Cindy Wert and I are leading the Senior Program. I also want to welcome Stephanie Hilgefort to our team. If you are interested in learning about the Senior Program, start the Senior Program, or plan to continue your Senior Program journey, you are highly encouraged to attend an informational meeting being held at PNS on Tuesday, October 9th at 7:00 pm. This informational meeting will cover program requirements, key dates and provide paperwork for the Senior Program. To be eligible to enroll in this program, you must be classified as an Alpine Patroller or Patroller. This year, the Senior Regional OEC and Ski/Toboggan tests will be held at Boston Mills/Brandywine on February 9 & 10.
The general concepts for the 2018/2019 Senior Program are:
Ski and Toboggan Module Senior Program:
If not previously submitted, a Senior Application and a Senior Ski/Snowboard Test Application must be submitted to take this test. The Senior Application must be completed and signed by the Patrol Director (Mike Reed). The Senior Ski/Snowboard Test Application must be signed by two instructors for skiing/snowboard test and one instructor for toboggan test. This year, an exception is being made for those individuals that completed this application during the 2017/2018 ski season but were unable to test due to the early closing of PNS. These individuals only need one signature for ski and/or toboggan on last year’s test application. Specific instruction and application cut-off dates will be provided at the informational session. The ski and toboggan tests will be held at Boston Mills on February 10.
OEC Module of the Senior Program:
If not previously submitted, a Senior Application must be completed and an OEC Test Application must be submitted to take this test. The Senior Application must be completed and signed by the Patrol Director (Mike Reed). In addition to the two applications, one must also submit 1 written scenario to the Regional OEC Director. The OEC Module of the Senior Program Test Application requires signatures from a Senior Trainer/Evaluator for successful demonstration of Patient Assessment, Vital Signs, Airway Management, Bleeding Control and Bandaging, Fracture Management, Spinal Immobilization, Lifting Techniques, Medical Emergencies and four on hill/on snow scenario evaluations.
Ron, Cindy, Stephanie and I will be holding practice sessions every Tuesday starting after the informational session being held on October 9. During these sessions, we will be reviewing Patient Assessment, Vital Signs, Airway Management, Bleeding Control and Bandaging, Fracture Management, Spinal Immobilization, Lifting Techniques and Medical Emergencies. We will also practice “Senior level scenarios” to prepare you for the PNS “on hill/on snow” test and you receive sign-offs for the “skills” portion of the Senior OEC Test Application. If you are planning to start the Senior OEC module, please bring your vest or pack because we will start practicing right after the information session.
On Hill Scenario Evaluation:
Once again, we plan to break the “on hill/on snow” evaluation into two parts. Depending on weather, we will hold the first evaluation session December 16. The second evaluation will be held on January 20. This test is a mandatory requirement by National and must be successfully completed to be permitted to take the Senior Regional OEC Exam. During these sessions, you will be evaluated on 4 Senior level scenarios (2 in December and 2 in January), that will be performed on the snow. Successful completion of this module will result in the required 4 signatures for scenario completion. In order to be permitted to take this test, you must have obtained all of the prerequisite “skills” signatures that you can get by participating in the Oct/Nov practice sessions. The Senior Regional OEC Test will be held at Brandywine on February 9.
Once again, Ron, Cindy and I will be requesting that anyone interested in starting the Senior Program to please contact either myself or Ron Stertzbach, or just show up at the informational meeting being held on October 9. My email address is kevin.rankey@ge.com. Ron’s email address is ronald.stertzbach2@va.gov.
Taking the “Senior Journey” offers many benefits and challenges that all result in improving your OEC, Skiing, and toboggan handling skills. If you are ready to take your patrolling to the next level, then maybe the Senior Program is something you should check out. More details will be provided at the October 9th meeting.