Introduction The Advanced Certificate in Medical Rescue (ACMR) is a truly unique programme offered by the Faculty of Health Sciences, which had its first intake of students in February 2022. This new qualification is primarily designed for emergency services staff. The programme focuses on the production of graduates who are able to function as members of specialised search and rescue teams operating in both urban and rural medical rescue contexts. The nature of rescue and the ACMR programme is such that many of the associated teaching and learning activities can be physically demanding. As a consequence, ACMR students (and academic staff who teach rescue modules) are required to be physically fit and mentally capable of operating in austere and physically demanding environments. Being healthy and physically fit is particularly valued within the emergency care profession, for the development and maintenance of physical fitness improves performance and reduces the likelihood of injury. As a consequence, formal credit bearing Physical Preparedness modules form an integral part of the curriculum for a number of programmes offered within the Department of Emergency Medical Care. The completion of these modules remains a prerequisite for graduation and entry into other modules. The challenge faced by educators and medical rescue students enrolled for the new rescue programme was that the typical student cohort registering for this qualification consisted of mature “middle-aged” emergency service workers and not young school leavers. As a consequence, the levels of physical preparedness varied considerably within the group upon intake. In addition, the part-time nature and structure of the medical rescue programme is such that our rescue students are only physically on campus two days per week. This placed a greater need for the students to complete three to four physical training sessions per week in their own time back at their bases in order to supplement the limited formal contact sessions offered when they are on campus. Motivating students to do their own training, as well as monitoring and recording self-directed training sessions and fitness levels became an ongoing challenge. The innovation Using funding from UJ’s Teaching Innovation Grant, the Department purchased a number of Garmin 45 Forerunner Global Positioning System (GPS) Watches. These watches were regarded as an innovative Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) method of monitoring and recording exercise sessions and related physiological parameters linked to physical fitness. These “smart” watches link into a mobile phone application that provides the user with a wealth of physiological exercise data. The application also allows for user groups to be created, where members can view their logged activities and those of their peers. We provided each of our medical rescue students with such a watch at the start of their programme in 2022, thus providing them and our physical preparedness lecturers with a tool to facilitate real-time high-tech recording, monitoring, and analysis of exercise sessions. See the following images of the device and the phone app. Students were provided with a tutorial on the use the devices and the mobile phone application upon receipt of the devices. Data from physical training and swimming sessions was then recorded and shared within the group and with the relevant physical training instructor/s. Data gathered included a number of physiological parameters, such as number of sessions per week, distances covered, time spent training, Vo2 Max, and heart rates, as well as swimming activities. Teaching Innovation for the 21st Century | Showcasing UJ Teaching Innovation Projects 2022 91
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