Use of Simulations in Prehospital Trauma Education of Paramedics: Development of an Educational Model

Abstract

Abstracts -14th World Congress on Disaster and Emergency Medicine s63department staff. This study will assess whether the intervention generated an improvement in disaster preparedness in either or both groups. Keywords: Australia; disaster; emergency medical services; exercise; hospital; mock; preparedness The objective of organizing such an exercise for the first time is to test the effectiveness of working together with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on search and rescue operations in case of mass-casualty incidents due to natural disasters, transportation crashes, and terrorist attacks. The scenario of the exercise involved disruption of the Corynth Isthm Bridge because of an earthquake and the subsequent rescue of the victims.The Hellenic NGO team was responsible for search and rescue while the Special Unit for Disaster Medicine had the responsibility of triaging, treating, and transporting the victims to the hospital. There were no informational meetings to prepared each team arranged prior to the exercise.To respond to the needs of the exercise, the NGOs participated with 30 people, 20 of whom had special training in rescue. They set up the necessary equipment for rope transportation over the Isthm. The Special Unit for Disaster Medicine participated with one team of 12 paramedics and one medical doctor, two rescue vehicles, and one mobile coordination center. On arrival at the disaster site, the title of incident commander was assigned, and team officers organized and started the triage and treatment process. The head of the medical services and one paramedic were assigned as observers. Nine victims were rescued, triaged, treated, and transported to the hospital in the first 30 minutes.In conclusion, it was found that NGOs trained in search and rescue and the Special Unit team can collaborate to respond to mass casualties, and provide the best results. However, it is better if previously common exercises are effectuated to know each other and know about each other's work. Methods:The research design was a randomised, controlled study using a pre/post-test design. The participants were student Ambulance and Intensive Care Paramedics (n = 120) at three different phases of training. Ethics approval was obtained.Results: Significant improvement in post-test performance was demonstrated by students undertaking simulationbased learning as compared to students undertaking casestudy based learning (p = 0.008). A sub-group analysis demonstrated that the most significant difference between control and study groups was evident in novice paramedics (p = 0.014). This difference diminished in the more experienced student ambulance paramedic group (p = 0.059) and was not evident in the student intensive care paramedic group (p = 0.767). The method adopted for the conduct of simulations was further developed, identifying a third level to incorporate the impact of situational elements on learning. Discussion: Several issues can be considered with respect to the results of this project. Firstly, it is suggested th...