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Gretna Fire Department, UNMC students train at crash scene trauma simulation

Posted at 4:44 PM, Aug 23, 2018
and last updated 2018-08-24 14:37:24-04

“Motor vehicle collision party ejected.”

It's a call first responders get too often.

“Help me, my arm hurts!”

But it's a scene few people outside of their profession ever see.

“Working with those physicians was great,” said Nick Pierce, Assistant Fire Chief with the Gretna Fire Department. “Having the opportunity to cut up a car and extract people — you cannot be too proficient at that. Training is paramount.”

Medical residents from the University of Nebraska Medical Center got to see what happens before they get a patient.

“Just better understanding what our ems colleagues go through and do before they get them (patients) to us,” Dr. Dalton Nelsen, UNMC Emergency Medicine Resident said. "I think this is important for everyone to work as a team and respect each other’s roles.”

As they would in a regular hospital setting, the residents took over when the ambulance arrived with the victims.

Inside the "simulation-in-motion truck," residents identify the victim's problems. These are injuries they see every day in the ER.

“To do this in an environment that is controlled,” Dr. Nelson said.  “And get an idea of how to best go about things is better for when the real time comes and you have a better understanding and a better idea of how to proceed with things.”

UNMC Residents say they have a better understanding of what they can do in trauma situations when resources are tight.