Pre-Hospital Advanced Cadaveric Trauma Skills (PHACTS) Course review

Cadaveric skills courses are not a new invention, but previously these courses have focused on the training and education of surgeons and other medical doctors. Pre-hospital clinicians have seldom been able to access such courses, or they have attended as an observer. Major trauma accounts for a very small part of the pre-hospital workload, but clinicians will be expected to perform at the same high level regardless of exposure. I attended the pilot Pre-Hospital Advanced Cadaveric Skills (PHACTS) course in 2015 to improve my own clinical skills and to provide critical feedback to the teaching team delivering the course.

The course is specific to trauma skills training in the pre-hospital setting and focuses on providing delegates with exposure to those skills that are rarely performed. As well as hands on skills, the course looks in detail at the human factors involved when caring for a major trauma patient and allows all delegates the opportunity to become the team leader.