Resiliency: Bouncing Back to Where3?

This will be a live interactive webinar presentation. If you are unable to attend the live webinar, you will be able to view the recorded webinar for up to three days after, but you must be registered to view the recorded version.

Presented by 1st Responder Conferences.

Presentation Title: Resiliency: Bouncing Back to Where3? (Please note: the “3” should be a superscript in the title, as in “Where Cubed”)

Description of the Presentation: If Resiliency is about bouncing back, where are first responders bouncing back to? Sarah will be speaking on the evolution of mental health awareness for first responders. She will address the importance of mental health awareness in the workplace. The presentation will discuss first responder resiliency and the idea of a “resiliency toolkit”. It will also look at the larger contexts where first responders exist. Sarah will address the importance of combining knowledge of individual resiliency with advocacy around larger positive contexts. This talk is valuable for anyone interested in general mental health awareness for themselves or as leaders in their respective communities.

About the Speaker: Sarah works as an Advanced Care Paramedic on the Tactical Team with Peel Regional Paramedic Services. She has been a paramedic since 2008. Graduate of the University of Toronto, she holds an Honours Science Degree, Specialist in Paramedicine. In the early part of the Covid-19 pandemic, Sarah joined her service’s High Risk Response Team. Time on that team reaffirmed her belief in the importance of mental health awareness for first responders.

Sarah first became aware of First Responder mental health concerns by writing a paper on paramedics and stress that won her a National Scholarship from the Tema Conter Memorial Trust. Sarah was a volunteer with that charity, involved in first responder Mental Health awareness and advocacy, from 2007 to 2018. Through her time with the charity, she was trained in MANERS Psychological First Aid, CISM, and NOVA Crisis Intervention. She has spoken to college students, colleagues, and other first responders in both Canada and the USA on the basics of stress reactions, stress management, and resiliency.

A current educator with her service and former educator for her local base hospital, Sarah has also facilitated continuing medical education sessions. As an educator, she has been trained to deliver the Mental Health Commission of Canada’s Road to Mental Readiness (now The Working Mind First Responder) program. In 2016 PRPS was proud to be one of the first paramedic services in Canada to roll that program out to its entire staff. Sarah was excited for the opportunity to assist with the delivery of the program. Currently Sarah is part of the Core Team of people revamping the peer support program in her workplace.

In 2016 Sarah was honored to be a support volunteer for both the Heroes are Human Capital to Capital Ride and the Ontario Paramedic Ride. Over the years she has participated in several paramedic memorial rides on the East Coast of the USA and in various Canadian Provinces. To maintain her positive mental health Sarah tries to stay active in the community, curls up with a good book, or spends time in the great outdoors whenever possible.