News

When a student enrolls in a Level 2 or 3 Occupational First Aid (OFA) course at Grace Community College, head instructor Sean Welch believes it's his duty to ensure the student does more than just pass the final examination. The ultimate goal is to turn out a top quality first aid attendant.

"My philosophy is pretty simple," says Sean, a thoroughly qualified first aid instructor who has taught more than 100 level 2 and 3 courses over the years in addition to several hundred other first aid courses. "I want to train great first aid attendants, not just produce people who can pass the course."

The task might sound simple enough, but Sean is emphatic when he states that it's anything but; that the pass rate alone is generally much less across the province.

"I'm pretty proud of the fact that in the past two years I have only had one student fail a Level 2 or 3 course. I think anyone in the industry will admit that is an impressive record given the general failure rate."

He doesn't mention his achievement in order to brag about it; rather as a lead in to discuss the reasons his students fare so well.

"We do a lot of things differently at Grace Community College," Sean declares. "Right from the day a student enrolls, he or she gets specialized attention that continues right through the program."

It starts with a pre-course interview in which Sean outlines the requirements of the course and provides a reading list so the student can read ahead and come prepared to class. Over the years he's learned that one of the biggest problems for students is they generally come to class without much preparation and are then swamped by homework so that by day three or four they're just snowed under and exhausted from seven or eight hours of homework each night. By having them read ahead, the homework becomes more manageable at two to three hours a night and students can concentrate in class.

Time in class is another key difference. Students can expect extra hours of training and instruction — about 15 hours more than the prescribed 35 hours per week — at no extra charge. The hours are optional but highly recommended for students who want a better chance to pass. Class sizes are also kept small, no more than 12 students at a time.

Student comfort is high on Sean's list of priorities, with lots of room, plenty of new supplies and equipment, comfortable chairs and tables, excellent audio-visual equipment, and even one-inch thick carpet underlay to take some of the strain off of student knees.

"That might not sound important but a student who is suffering from sore knees or a sore back isn't going to be concentrating on the course work."

Another key component is the fact that the final exam is usually scheduled within a few days of the course ending. Sean believes students should have the opportunity to be tested while the information is fresh in their minds instead of getting stale while they wait for the examination a couple of weeks later, which often happens in other programs.

The bottom line, says Sean, is student success should be the priority in these programs, and at Grace Community College it is.

"We care, we're committed, and we put in the extra time," he states plainly. "These students will be coming back every so often for refresher courses so we believe in building a strong rapport with them early on so that they have confidence in us and in themselves."

Besides first aid courses, Grace Community College offers more than 100 other courses and programs.