GADSDEN, AL-Screams echoed through the grounds surrounding Helderman Hall and Bevill Hall on Gadsden State Community College’s Wallace Drive Campus on May 2, but they weren’t real. The chaos was part of a large-scale, pre-planned mass casualty simulation designed to give nursing and paramedic students vital hands-on experience before they enter the workforce.
More than 100 students from Nursing, Emergency Medical Services, Radiography and Medical Laboratory Technician programs participated in the tornado disaster simulation, which replicated a rural neighborhood hit by a devastating storm. The drill involved multiple simulated casualties, including a critically-injured 32-year-old male pinned beneath debris, a woman trapped in a car on its side and two individuals who were dead upon arrival.
The training event was conducted in partnership with Gadsden State’s Police and Public Safety Department and more than a dozen local emergency response agencies. Over 200 volunteers participated to help bring the scene to life.
EMS students are observed while tending to a victim of the mass casualty simulation event at Gadsden State Community College
“This was a group effort,” said Dr. Joey Battles, dean of Health Sciences at Gadsden State. “The committee delivered the vision. I don’t know if people realize the depth of planning involved in this. Our committee just wants what’s best for the students. They are our main priority.”
The simulation was directed by John Hollingsworth, director of Gadsden State’s EMS Program, and Dr. Evelyn Lightsey, simulations coordinator for the college. The realistic scenario gave students the opportunity to learn how to respond in real-time to high-pressure, complex emergency situations.
“We want to help students understand how to work collaboratively together,” Battles said. “We call it ‘interprofessional education,’ and it’s so important. We wanted to give them experience in real-life situations working together with the newest and best equipment available. Once you do something one time, the next time it’s easier.”
EMS students tend to a victim of the mass casualty simulation event at Gadsden State Community College
Kristina O’Neal, a nursing student who worked the simulation as a trauma nurse, said the experience was intense but invaluable.
“Triage in itself is a pretty intense situation — emotionally and physically,” she said. “The EMS team did an amazing job. It’s kind of hard in mass casualties to silence the noise and keep your brain focused. The EMS team did that perfectly. It was so easy to communicate with them because they knew what they were doing.”
O’Neal, who works in a hospital emergency room, said the simulation gave her a better understanding of how fieldwork and hospital care are connected.
“I actually work in the ER, so I haven’t been outside working in the field,” she said. “Actually seeing how it’s done out in the field will help me in the ER if a mass casualty ever happens and a lot of patients come in at once.”
Valerie Leonard, a nursing instructor at Gadsden State, overlooks a nursing student reviewing patient records for a patient of the mass casualty simulation event
In addition to improving technical skills and communication, the simulation also allowed students to make mistakes in a controlled environment and learn from them.
“Simulations like these are essential,” Battles said. “They give our students the opportunity to build confidence, strengthen their teamwork and understand what it’s really like to respond when every second counts.”
Battles said the goal is to host the mass casualty simulation twice a year to provide students with the best in experiential learning and career readiness.
For more information about healthcare programs at Gadsden State, visit www.GadsdenState.edu/HealthSciences.
Students and faculty of Gadsden State’s Nursing, Emergency Medical Services, Radiography and Medical Laboratory Technician programs gather to debrief after the simulation event.
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