Texas Tech University students learn during Disaster Day simulation
Students from the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) schools of medicine, nursing, veterinary and more, as well as health professionals and graduate school of biomedical sciences in Amarillo, participated in a Disaster Day simulation Thursday at the Texas Tech University School of Veterinary Medicine.
According to Texas Tech, the scenarios created in collaboration with the Texas Tech University School of Veterinary Medicine (TTUSVM), Red Cross staff and volunteers, City of Amarillo Fire Department and Amarillo Medical Response were created to demonstrate real life possibilities in the event of a disaster.
"We feel a responsibility to train. So, when the wildfire in Amarillo and the panhandle began, we reminded students today that part of our role as a Health Sciences Center and School of Veterinary Medicine is in honor of those who are currently responding. It's our responsibility to train so that when these students find themselves in similar situations down the road, they have some tools in their tool kits and can address the situation accordingly," Kyle Johnson, executive director of the TTUHSC simulation, said.
During the event, inter-professional student teams diagnosed, treated and cared for volunteers role-playing as patients and populations affected by a disaster situation, simulating the wildfire that burned close to TTUHSC on March 18, 2018.
Each of the 24 interprofessional teams accompanied by a faculty leader cycled through four activity stations, including a triage station, basic life-saving and bleed control, team lift skills, an AMBUS (ambulance bus) station and an animal rescue station.
Throughout the event, the teams practiced the basics of mass casualty triage and apply assessment, reasoning and decision-making skills during an emergency to facilitate and optimize collaboration through teamwork, communication, ethics and understanding of roles and responsibilities.
TTUSVM student Tommy Butler said these situations not only seemed familiar due to its 2018 correlation, but also to the more decent wildfires that Butler has responded to over the past week.
"Doing simulations like this is, in my opinion, very important to be able to be prepared for these emergency situations, because you never know what to expect, similar to the real recent wildfire situations we had. This simulation really helps us to create a way of communication between the different fields and work together," Butler said.
School of Pharmacy Student Sophia Martinez spoke about how the disaster day simulation allowed her to work in situations that she otherwise believes she wouldn't be involved in.
"Just a moment ago I just finished CPR on a dog. I never thought I would do that, but it is a great opportunity for me to learn and have a perspective on how to help animals affected by these disasters, not only humans," Martinez said.
"As a School of Pharmacy student, we focus on patient assessment and medication delivery. With this, I am able to work with vet students, medical students and work in collaboration to treat our patient as effectively and quickly as possible," Martinez added.
Following the simulation, students will receive feedback on their efforts throughout the event. According to TTU officials, next year's disaster day is also currently being designed and created. Each year, the disaster day demonstrates different situations for the students.
For more information about TTUHSC, visit them online at https://www.ttuhsc.edu/ .
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Texas Tech students learn about emergencies in disaster simulation
