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Extreme remote medical emergencies: UTAS medical students learn to save the day
Australia has some of the toughest and most remote wilderness areas in the world, with extreme climate conditions. In these conditions it is easy for even the most experienced people to become disorientated, to get lost or for an accident to occur, preventing them from returning to safety. It is when situations like this occur that highly trained people are needed to conduct an effective search and rescue operation.
At UTAS we want our graduates to be equipped to deal with all medical emergencies, including extreme remote medical trauma. UTAS medical students don’t just learn through books and hospital experience – they also undertake relevant field work that will directly assist members of the Tasmanian community. Senior lecturer in Emergency Medicine, Dr Bryan Walpole said "Community involvement and hands on experience in the bush is critical to the learning of our students. We aim to graduate top doctors who can think on their feet and achieve excellent health outcomes. The Tasmanian community can be assured that if there is a medical emergency in a remote region of the State, UTAS graduates have been trained for these situations.
To gain experience in emergency rescue situations, Year 4 and 5 medical students braved the elements to participate in an Expedition/Wilderness Medicine weekend in Dover at the end of August. When embarking on hazardous medical events under extreme conditions it is extremely important to have support from people with the right skills and experience. We were fortunate to have eight medical practitioners, including five doctors from the Australian Antarctic Division, to help supervise students during the events requiring rescue and medical expertise.
The weekend was designed to provide hands on experience in undertaking rescue and medical intervention, where help can be far away. The students encountered a series of emergency scenarios, which required leadership, team work, improvisation, initiative, and communication as well as medical and rescue ability. It was a real test of the students’ acquired skills and knowledge and their ability to work together to save lives. The teams were not prearranged, and the impromptu nature of the team work added another complexity to what was an already difficult emergency situation.
On Saturday morning, students rescued ‘victims’ from a mock car crash, with the assistance of the State Emergency Service using their 'jaws of life'. "Working with professionals in a real life situation is an invaluable experience for our students" said Professor Mark Nelson, “Students learn to divide a complex task into achievable components and to execute what needs to occur along a defined path. The scenarios provide the students with the opportunity to gain knowledge and understanding of the roles of the police, ambulance and SES at an emergency”.
In the afternoon four more emergency scenarios were undertaken, giving the students experience in working in dim light and in a cold environment. The scenarios included two mishaps in the water and two land based exercises, one involving an injured father and son lost in the bush and another an airplane crash.
Each exercise was supervised by experienced search and rescue clinical staff.
After the two days of adrenaline pumping activities, re-enacting rescues and attending tutorials, the students came away tired but with renewed confidence in their ability to deal with mishaps in the bush.
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