SEMILLA Pre-Hospital Trauma Course, 2018
Managua, Nicaragua
In many low and middle resource countries, trauma is an epidemic. Injuries that could be dealt with in an expeditious manner in one country often result in disability or death in countries that lack robust pre-hospital systems. Pre-hospital care is any care a patient receives before their arrival at a hospital, which includes transport to an appropriate facility. The Project SEMILLA pre-hospital trauma course emphasizes the rapid and systematic evaluation of trauma patients, and aims to provide skills and knowledge geared toward those who do pre-hospital work, be it as members of an ambulance crew or as first-responders at a scene.
Our pre-hospital trauma course is a one-day course that, like other SEMILLA courses, features morning lectures and afternoon skill stations. The 2018 course was held in Managua and attended by members of the Nicaraguan Red Cross, various Nicaraguan Volunteer Fire Departments, and members of the National Police. Lecture topics included primary and secondary survey, airway, breathing, circulation, hemorrhage/shock, and neurological and spinal injuries. The SEMILLA pre-hospital trauma course is designed to help our participants put the knowledge from the didactic portion of the course into practice by providing hands-on skill stations. These skill stations covered techniques ranging from management of the airway, bag valve mask ventilation, hemorrhage control, splinting, and proper spine immobilization.
Aristides Orue, NP, Assistant Professor, UCLA School of Nursing, addressing pre-hospital providers from across Nicaragua.
Gladys and Joxan from El Centro de Atención Pre-Hospitalaria en Emergencias y Desastres (CAPHED)
Orlando Morales, MD - Project SEMILLA Director in Nicaragua
Participants enjoying boxed churrasco for lunch.
Project SEMILLA Instructors in Training from Benemérito Cuerpo de Bomberos, León (BCBL)
Fielding questions from Nicaraguan physicians.
Carmen Partida, MD and Amir Rouhani, MD taking a break between skills sessions.
Denis Bermúdez, SEMILLA instructor candidate, sharing techniques on maintaining the airway patent in the acute trauma victim.
Station dog at the La Cruz Roja in Belmonte, Managua
Ari Orue and Breena Taira demonstrating the PreHospital approach to the Trauma victim.
Congratulations to SEMILLA's newest Pre-Hospital Trauma Course instructors.
Caleb Canders, SEMILLA instructor and trauma victim, as our instructor candidate leads the skill station.
Amputated arm model used to demonstrate proper tourniquet use in the field.
Some of our newest SEMILLA Pre-Hospital Trauma course graduates and their instructors.
SEMILLA Pre-Hospital Trauma course graduates showing off their certificates.
Amir Rouhani, SEMILLA instructor, answering questions about the primary survey in trauma.