Pre-Hospital Trauma Course

The need for adequate training

Physicians require proper training in pre-hospital trauma care for a number of reasons:

• There is a large emotional component to this work, and appropriate training helps minimise the impact of the stressors;
• Incident sites are dangerous, and proper education about the common hazards can substantially reduce risks;
• There are documented examples of patients suffering preventable mortality and morbidity due to lack of training, poor communication and poor organisation.

Assumed knowledge and experience

The Pre-Hospital Trauma Course assumes:

• a basic level of knowledge and skill taught to hospital-based trauma doctors;
• substantial experience in leading trauma teams and managing critically injured patients in the hospital setting.

The course aims to translate this knowledge, skill and experience into the pre-hospital environment.

Program Objectives

By the end of the course it is expected that the participants will be better able to:

• understand the need for a trauma system;
• conduct themselves safely at a scene;
• demonstrate the attitudes and medical skills necessary to perform optimally at a pre-hospital trauma scene;
• understand the principles of extraction;
• describe the structure, roles, capabilities and hierarchy associated with the other emergency services at the site;
• understand the concept of teamwork as it applies to pre-hospital trauma care;
• identify appropriate personal and medical equipment for pre-hospital trauma medicine;
• demonstrate the basic use of radios;
• understand the basis of major incident medicine;
• use triage in a major incident setting.

Content

The course is an intensive two-day program which requires pre-reading. It is run by two full-time and three part-time medical instructors, one full-time paramedic instructor, five part-time fire brigade instructors and one full-time co-ordinator.

The program covers:

Day 1

• AM: Skill stations and lectures. Subjects include trauma systems, packaging, circulation control, crush syndrome, transport physiology, chest drains and splinting.
• PM: Three scenarios on bush rescue, radio use and intubation in the field.

Day 2

• AM: Extrication skills and scene assessment followed by three practical scenarios.
• PM: Disaster skills and scenarios.

Course Dates

The Pre-Hospital Trauma Course is run every January and July. The last course was held on 22 and 23 July, 2008.

For more information about the course please contact Medical Assistant Angela Thornhill:
Tel: (02) 9891 6144
Email: angelat@careflight.org

Pre-Hospital Trauma Course Brochure (PDF, 351KB)