CREDIT: NICHOLAS TIBOLLO
Fanshawe paramedic program professor, Alan Batt is being recognized and will receive the National Paramedic Award on April 28.

Alan Batt, Fanshawe Paramedic faculty member, has been chosen as the 2018 recipient for the Paramedic Association of Canada's Paramedic Award of Excellence for Leadership and Community Building.

This annual award is received by those who have distinguished themselves as a leader in the community of paramedicine regionally, nationally or internationally. People nominated for the award have helped change and advocate new ideas in advancing the paramedical field in a significant way.

Batt has been a professor at Fanshawe's paramedic program in the School of Public Safety since 2015 and is currently completing his doctorate at Monash University in Australia, as well as introducing paramedic education from Fanshawe's program to the National Ambulance Service College in Dublin.

“While in Ireland I had the pleasure of speaking to students in the National Ambulance Service College in Dublin. I introduced them to the concept of research, provided them with some research resources, and discussed Fanshawe's paramedic program research activities. Fanshawe's paramedic program has one of the most complete research in the world, whereby students not only learn about research, but also undertake primary research studies. Many programs internationally are interested in hearing our experiences with this approach,” Batt said.

Batt has a long history with the paramedical field in Ireland. He is a life member of the Irish Red Cross (a voluntary ambulance service), was a Cadet for the first aid unit from ages nine to twelve and has been involved with the Irish College of Paramedics (ICOP) since its founding in 2012 and was recently appointed Vice-President in 2017.

As the Vice-President of the Irish College of Paramedics, Batt is working towards increasing the organization's international collaboration.

“A strategic priority that ICOP has, due to the fact that we are a small organization, is to increase international collaboration. I was in a natural position to further this aim due to my experiences teaching, working and studying in several countries over the past 10 years. I joined the Paramedic Association of Canada and the Ontario Paramedic Association in 2013 when I moved to Canada, and immediately became involved in activities in support of these organizations,” Batt said.

According to a press release from Fanshawe Corporate Communications, Batt has been instrumental in bringing together other professional paramedical associations including the Paramedic Association of Canada and the Turkish Paramedic Association, while there are current talks with the Australian and New Zealand College of Paramedics.

When asked about how he felt receiving the award, Batt stated, “It is a great honour to receive the award, and also quite humbling when you consider that I only moved to Canada in 2013 and spent 2 years working in the Middle East since then. I would still consider myself a relative newcomer to Canadian Paramedicine, and yet I now find myself in a position where I have been selected for this award. To receive this type of recognition is something I am very proud of.”

As someone who has travelled to many places, and experienced different types of paramedicine practices, the Interrobang asked where Batt thinks the future of paramedicine might be heading nationally and internationally.

“Paramedicine is changing and developing rapidly in many countries, and also undergoing professionalization at the same time. I envy my students in many ways, as they are joining the profession at a time of amazing opportunities to progress clinically and professionally. I believe that paramedic education will continue to expand in the next few years, and it will be interesting to see where this leads,” Batt said.

Batt will be presented the award at the Paramedic Association of Canada's awards ceremony in Ottawa on April 28.