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  • Trauma scenerio: Putnam Co. Hospital RN Jan Stearley (R) explains her actions to Meredith Addison during an exercise to evaluate responses to traumatic situations. Acting as the patient is Indiana State University nursing student Brittney Skinner. (Tribune-Star/Bob Poynter)

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March 13, 2008

Wabash Valley nurses learn how to assess patients with a wide range of trauma

Two-day training session hosted by Regional Hospital

By Sue Loughlin

TERRE HAUTE — A 57-year-old female had jumped from a highway overpass and fallen about 20 feet onto an unforgiving roadway.

She was seriously injured and had just arrived at the hospital emergency room.

It was up to Melissa Wells, a registered nurse in Paris (Ill.) Community Hospital, to thoroughly assess the patient’s condition and determine appropriate interventions.

The struggling patient was fragile and might have medical conditions. She had attempted suicide twice in the past.

Fortunately, the scenario was not real, and the “patient” — Brittney Skinner, an Indiana State University nursing student — was alert and healthy.

Wells and 32 others from Indiana, Illinois and Ohio were participating in a two-day Trauma Nursing Core Course in Terre Haute Regional Hospital.

The course was developed by the Emergency Nurses Association.

“This is the basic, hands-on trauma skills course. It’s the international standard of care in trauma skills,” said Meredith J. Addison, course instructor and a registered nurse in Regional’s emergency room, which requires such training.

The two-day course included both lecture and hands-on experience, with faculty who have taught internationally, nationally, statewide and locally.

“This type of training isn’t offered in nursing school and is critical for trauma situations,” said Mindy Balka, Regional’s director of public relations.

On Friday, Addison outlined the “trauma” scenario for Wells and evaluated how she responded.

At various points in the assessment, Wells checked the patient’s breathing; asked for a full set of vitals; checked for external bleeding and head, neck and chest injuries.

“Excellent,” Addison said, praising Wells on several occasions.

In addition to her job at the Paris hospital, Wells soon will start working part time in the Regional emergency room.

“I’m learning all about trauma patients — how to stabilize them, assess them and get them ready for transport” if they have to go to another facility, Wells said.

While she already knows much of it, by taking the course, “It gets everyone on the same playing field to make sure everyone has the same information and everybody is doing it exactly the same way,” Wells said. “Whatever hospital you go to in the country, if they’ve had this course, everybody is doing the same thing.”

Addison suggests that “every nurse who touches a patient that could have been injured needs this basic trauma skills course.”

While such training is mandatory in all seven Indiana trauma centers, it isn’t mandated for all Indiana emergency rooms. “You’ll find completely diverse standards,” Addison said. “I’m fortunate enough to work in a facility where it is mandatory [at Regional].”

The course provides a verification of skills, Addison said. Those who participate get a card good for four years showing they have successfully completed the two-day course. They must successfully perform on both a multiple-choice test and nursing skill assessments.

Ron Fraley, one of the instructors, said the focus of the course “is to teach the nurses how to deal with the trauma patient that comes in … it’s a standardized approach to assessing anyone who has a trauma.”

Many people assume these skills are taught in nursing school.

“In nursing school, you learn a lot. You learn about how to take care of patients. But trauma is so specialized,” Fraley said. “They know how to do some of the assessments, but not how to do the assessment in relation to trauma patients.”

Providing the course is important “so that the nurses can give the best possible care for the patients who come through the door,” Fraley said. “It just makes the whole process that much smoother for the patient.”

It also can mean the difference between life and death, he said.

Skinner said that acting as the “patient” wasn’t that much different than what she does at nursing school.

“It’s really good experience to be here and be surrounded by all these great emergency-room nurses,” Skinner said. “I feel lucky to be here.”

For a schedule of other Trauma Nursing Core Courses being offered in Indiana, go to www.indianaena.org and go to the education link.

Sue Loughlin can be reached at (812) 231-4235 or sue.loughlin@tribstar.com.

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