BILLINGS — Medical students at Rocky Vista University College of Osteopathic Medicine learned to prepare for worst-case scenarios that could unfold in Montana’s mountains and trails through a simulated rock fall disaster at Phipps Park on Thursday.
Watch the video below:
The staged mass casualty incident, organized by students in the Military Medicine and Wilderness Medicine Tracks, offered a real-world test for nearly 30 future physicians. Students dressed in full special-effects makeup to portray wounded hikers and allowed first-year medical students to practice trauma assessment and emergency care under pressure.
“Students have been studying for the entire year how to stabilize a patient, how to stop the bleed, how to assess a neck and make sure that there's no cervical spine injury. All of those types of skills are going to apply in this setting and then just bring it all home, really put it all together in a very integrated way," said Dr. Ben Wilde, assistant dean of preclinical education.
While second-year students helped design the simulation, complete with realistic injuries and patient backstories, first-year students were tasked with performing under pressure.
Beyond the technical skills, the experience emphasized communication, decision-making and emotional resilience for the students.
“Clearly my face is a little bit of a laceration today, but the biggest role I think I play is a confused and anxious patient," said first-year military medicine student Matthew Koopman. “When you step into a simulation like this, it's frustrating sometimes because I need to focus my attention to other people, but it's also very much a real humanistic aspect of like people are actually scared, people are actually injured, but how do you focus on those who are going to die within the next 10-15 minutes? So kind of allocating your time while still being kind and compassionate."
The simulation will help them be prepared for real-life emergencies and assess patient conditions quickly, share information efficiently, and execute treatment protocols all while navigating distractions and high emotional stakes.
“The most important thing I hope our students come away with is a greater confidence and understanding that they have already started to learn some critical life-saving skills and that when put to the pressure, put to the test, they're ready to apply that knowledge,” said Wilde.
