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GPS Education Offering Study and Luxury Travel

Remember when you were old enough to begin thinking seriously about what education or career you would pursue? You may have discussed your options with a family member, a school teacher or a guidance counselor and, if you were lucky, they offered this sage advice: Try to combine what you do for a living with what you do for fun.

I've been fortunate in that regard. My career as a healthcare provider and educator has afforded me the opportunity to save lives and to teach others how to do the same. Helping people is all I've ever wanted to do, and my career as a firefighter/paramedic, registered nurse and an instructor of life-saving techniques has been richly fulfilling.

Now I'm ready to take my "combine-work-and-fun" approach to a new level, and the best part is that I'm taking some other healthcare professionals along with me.

On Aug. 29 I will take my Port Orange-based business, GPS Education, not just down the road, but on the high seas. Leaving from Port Canaveral on the Carnival Cruise Line, the eastern Caribbean adventure is intended to combine my love of sea cruising with my passion for teaching. The result will be good for participants' minds and bodies, while also satisfying the certification requirements for their selected medical disciplines.

For seven years I have been the sole proprietor of GPS Education in Port Orange. During that time I have taught advanced cardiac life support, pediatric life support, cardio-pulmonary resuscitation and other emergency response and safety courses. I routinely visit hospitals, surgery centers and community centers to provide classroom instruction for mandatory certifications of the people who need to stay current in their training, as well as "civilians" who simply want to be better prepared when an emergency arises.

Last year I opened a 2,500-square-foot office in the Sunshine Park Mall in Port Orange. The facility has separate training rooms. One is a resuscitation room set up specifically to deal with cardiac mega-codes; the other is designed to accommodate all the so-called "skill" stations, including monitoring of respiratory, electrocardiogram and rhythm disturbance skills.

This cruise, in August, offers people who would attend courses at my training facility the opportunity to combine work and pleasure by obtaining or renewing their certifications amid luxury accommodations. They include nurses, nurse practitioners, doctors, dentists or anyone else who might need to sedate a patient.

The obvious added benefit of this dual-purpose gathering for most people is that they will be socializing with people who share their professional backgrounds. And it is a wonderful opportunity for the spouses and children of these participants to make friends with people who share the experience and the common bond of living with dedicated healthcare workers. As the single parent of three children and one grandchild, I know how important it is to be surrounded by people who understand the pressures and the rewards of our very demanding professions.

There is nothing new about this concept. Other professionals have been combining their educational training with their vacations for many years, on cruises and in other recreational pursuits. What we (there will be other certified instructors working with me) hope to do on this inaugural journey is create the niche of comprehensive instruction with comprehensive relaxation at an affordable price.

Because I am a seasoned voyager (I've been on more than 20 cruises) I also will be able to act as a tour guide of sorts for those in our classes who want to explore the ports we visit. For instance, I have used the same fishing guide in Cozumel many times; his service will cost less, yet be more personal.

Detailed information about the classes and the cruise, as well as all other services provided at GPS Education, can be viewed at www.gps-edu.com. I invite you to join us for the first of what we are hopeful will be annual excursions that are both functional and fun.


Gary Sedacca is a state-certified paramedic, registered nurse and a state-certified hazardous materials instructor, firefighting instructor and an adjunct instructor at Daytona State College. Sedacca has earned Associate of Science degrees in firefighting, nursing and emergency medical services from Daytona Beach Community College. He has been a firefighter/paramedic in Port Orange for 22 years. Visit the GPS Education Web site at www.gps-edu.com

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