P.E.I. paramedics say diversity workshop all the more important amid heavy burnout

Paramedics in P.E.I. are getting the opportunity to learn more about something they say is a key component in making them better professionals: Anti-racism training.

The Paramedic Association of P.E.I. invited groups and community members — including PEERS Alliance, the Black Cultural Society, and Mi'kmaw poet and storyteller Julie Pellissier-Lush — to talk about diversity with association members.

Facilitator Aaron Sardinha delivered a part of the workshop for the Black Cultural Society. 

He says there was a lot to discuss.

"We need to be cognizant of the populations that we're serving, right?" Sardinha said. 

"It's about exposure. It's about are we taking the time to learn about different customs and different cultures, and how that might inform how somebody perceives a healthcare provider and how, you know, they might want to be treated or touched or looked at, or spoken to."

All about respect

Sardinha said that any paramedic needs to do things swiftly and effectively, but that they also need to understand they're dealing with a person with a culture and history that need to be "respected."

"If you treat somebody without proper respect, they may just quiet down. They may not supply the information you need in a critical time," he said.

"It's up to not only the person who is doing that immediate healthcare response. But it's also up to allies and colleagues to have conversations with people and be like, 'I wonder why you said that?' 'Is that the best way to approach that?' 'Do you think that might have come across this way?' And there's so many different ways that that can be addressed."

Tristan Mitchell with the Paramedic Association said they wanted this training because Island paramedics want to go beyond what they learned in their more traditional education.

'This is a pioneering initiative'

"I've looked across Canada and I haven't really seen any sort of conferences or programs like this. This is definitely a pioneering initiative," he said, adding he would like to see other jurisdictions adopt similar initiatives.

Mitchell said that as P.E.I. continues to become more diverse, cultural sensitivity will increasingly become more necessary.

He said that despite the pressures on health care workers, paramedics still need to remember to provide their patients comfort.

"Health care is an industry that is suffering immensely as we struggle with things like staffing, increased call volumes. The environment becomes very stressful, which leads to professional burnout. And with burnout comes apathy," Mitchell said.

"We know that issues like unconscious bias, racism and things like that are within people that work within the profession. And I think that when the environment is not conducive for people to function at their best, sometimes those things can be amplified. So I think it's really important to dive into those topics."