Tag: wilderness_medicine

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WMS Elective Day 11 – Scenarios

Heading out to an accidentTired.  I think that word describes everyone tonight.  We were on four scenarios today of increasing difficulty.  I now understand why were are at UT tomorrow and have Saturday and Sunday off.  I’m sorta wondering about next week given we have three days off. 

Our day started at 8am after breakfast with a small incline scenario of some individuals injured in a hunting accident.  These first extractions were difficult and required some thought but were nothing when compared to the later ones.

Second one on a slopeWhat was more interesting then the actual extractions was seeing the dynamics change in the groups as we learned to work together.  It was a bit rough at the beginning as we learned to lead and follow.  A lesson, which we will continue to learn all of next week.  

TK has a quote taken from the Air Force which says, “The more we sweat in peace, the less blood we spill in war.  It is a quote he often reminds us of was we are performing these scenarios.  Reminding us of the importance of doing things right now so as to do it right in the future.

As to the scenarios, the second was a climbing accident.  I forgot my camera and couldn’t take any pictures but Jason was a great victim.  It was hard at time keeping from laughing.  After finishing this scenario we ate lunch and then had two more scenarios in the afternoon with camp staff and an EMS volunteer as victims.

Learning to leadThe first afternoon scenario was a tree accident on a steep embankment requiring ropes to assist in transport.  The second was much more difficult requiring an ~1.5 mile extraction with half of it through a streambed.  This victim “fell” off a 20-foot cliff after having a stove accident and being burned.  Once we were able to move him to the opposite shore we were able to stabilize him, package and carry him to the next point.  A waterfall.  Yep, we had to take the basket down a 10-foot waterfall.  I’ll post some pictures once I can get copies but it was really neat to see everything work out.  Everyone really worked hard to ensure the safety of the team and the patient.  Only one person was injured after slipping on the way up but none were injured on the extraction.  

Once we were done, we ate dinner, cleaned everything up and had 1 presentation and 3 student presentations.  I think this was the best day so far.  Learned a bunch and will sleep great tonight.

Till tomorrow.

Our first patient Finishing our second scenario Our third scenario Steep slope The forth scenario Preparing to traverse the falls Putting the wheel on to walk out Walking out Heading to supper after a long day
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WMS Elective Day 7 & 8 – Rest, High Altitude and SAR

Sunday, or the seventh day, was a day of rest, church, relaxation and superbowl. It was good seeing all my friends back in Knoxville and attending ORBC again after a month out in Memphis. Everyone except me went to Buffalo Wild Wings for the Superbowl and it sounds like they thoroughly enjoyed it. Lots of wings, a good game and new friends.

Finding those cardsYesterday was a day of several lectures.  We started the day was learning about high altitude illness and progressed into Search and Rescue (SAR).  There were a few really interesting bits of information I pickup throughout the morning.  I learned that at a high altitude blood could become much to thick.  Ugh, that would stink having a stroke because the blood thickens to transport more oxygen. 

After the first lecture talked about high altitude illness the rest of the morning and all afternoon were devoted to SAR.  As part of these lectures we instituted two of the three classical search techniques (Efficient and Thorough) practicing them outdoors.

As to the stats of those saved by these techniques, in 2008 there were ~300 saved and a total of ~6000 saved overall since the inception.  As to airplane crashes, 100% of the victims alive after EMS arrived survived the extraction and transport to the hospital (includes transport out of the woods).  It is an amazing stat given only 21% survived the first 24 hours.

Recreate the trackAfter another great lunch, we practiced the Efficient search method where everyone lines up and scans the ground for signs.  We started out in a field looking for cards the instructor left.  Then we progressed to 50% less cards in the woods.  In both cases it was not only a matter of not only finding the cards but remembering where we found them so as to recreate the track of the individual and to determine direction of travel.  Each card was laid out in the order of being found from the first person and according to the number of steps taken by that individual.  This method recreates the track and helps determine the direction of travel by deducing the order of discarding the items.

Trying to TrackOnce we learned the efficient method by scanning we progressed to tracking.  It is simple.  A simple but methodical method but still very much an art.  It was fun having the chance to practice this but different in knowing we will be doing it in the very near future.  It also made it much more real life. 

After dinner we had a lecture by Dave Halstead from the University of Tennessee about head injuries.  From all his experiences and consults with the NFL, multiple college football teams and high profile athletes Mr. Halstead appears It was a very interesting lecture and was very worthwhile.  According to his research it takes ~6 weeks to recover from a concussion or a MTBI (mild traumatic brain injury).

Talking about the efficient tracking Searching in the woods Learning to track Tracking Tracking