Amputees in Action simulates extreme casualty situations for medical training

20 March 2014

Amputees in Action, the UK’s largest provider of amputee actors and special effects artists, is extending its medical training expertise to cover extreme working environments.

Amputees in Action recently demonstrated its capabilities in a series of workshops at the National Undergraduate Extreme Medicine Conference 2014.

Organised by the Emergency Medicine and Wilderness Medicine Societies of King’s College London, the conference focused on the multidisciplinary skills required to provide effective pre-hospital and critical care when accidents occur in extreme environments — from densely populated cities to the remotest regions on the planet.

John Pickup, Managing Director of Amputees in Action, commented: “We were delighted to have the opportunity to help with the training of medical students who are considering a career in extreme medicine. We know from experience that the realism we bring to casualty simulation exercises can lead to lives being saved. And we also know that the service we have provided for many years for the military and the emergency services is equally applicable to any extreme situation in which prolonged pre-hospital care can quite literally be a matter of life and death.”

Through the training scenarios it has conducted for both the military and the emergency services, Amputees in Action has shown that its actors and moulage artists can improve training for saving lives in extreme situations. By desensitising trainees to the shock of encountering serious trauma injuries, the agency’s simulations prepare them to carry out best practice procedures instinctively, even in the most horrific situations.

Louise Austin, Conference Director, King's College London Emergency Medicine Society commented: “Having Amputees in Action at our National Undergraduate Extreme Medicine Conference enabled us to provide our delegates with a real sense of the critical nature of extreme pre-hospital scenarios. This sort of experience is something that is often only encountered by healthcare professionals once qualified and in real life situations. Working with Amputees In Action enables students who wish to peruse a career in extreme medicine to go through the process of learning from mistakes, becoming desensitised and learning how to cope under pressure in a safe learning environment."

Source: Amputees in Action