For most students, the first semester back at university after the summer is a bit of a shock to the system. It definitely was for our third-year radiography students, who recently took part in a major incident simulation on campus.
Working in radiography, you must be ready for anything, even if that means dropping everything mid-seminar to tend to patients screaming in the corridor.
Students rushed to the scene to find three patients, entirely in character, from prosthetic radius bones hanging off and fake blood-stained clothes to bandages. Diagnostic Radiography lecturer, Holly Pickford, and Head of Simulation, Jodie Bryant, kept the event as authentic as possible. Everything was hyper-real, as it would be during a major incident.
In the face of initial shock, third-year student Arbaz jumped into action and put their recently learned skills into practice.
"It was a challenge; we were in here and all of a sudden, we heard someone calling out for help. We thought it was only one patient, but three situations were going on and – you just weren’t sure who to go for, and they were all critical."
The event also aided the students' ability to have invaluable inter-personal skills with patients and the capability to prioritise patients depending on their needs. They had felt a boost in their professional confidence through assertively relaying their findings and opinions to academics amid the high-intensity situation.
Although the idea of roleplay may sound fun, holding a Major Incident Simulation event is an effective way of teaching. Holly Pickford sat down with us to explain, “What we are actually trying to do with this event is give students a safe space to develop their skills. It allows them to make mistakes and learn from them in a controlled environment, so they can look back on this experience, if they need to, once in a real-life situation.”
Students learn a lot of their skills on their placements. But nothing can prepare you for a major incident; preparation is essential.
"We’re confident in our students' abilities to undertake imaging examinations, but we are throwing complex situations at them to see if they can deal with distressed patients and how well they can interact with other areas of the team whilst under pressure.”
Get a taste of the action for yourself, come along to our next Open Day. You’ll get to try out some of our brand-new equipment and facilities.
