This autumn, for the second time, Catastrophe Day was organized at the University of Pécs Medical School. The event, which took place on 14 October, simulated an earthquake, and in the Medical Skills and Education and Innovation Centre, 50 students and 30 demonstrators had the opportunity to try out how they would act in such an emergency and what care they would provide to the injured.
Written by Blanka Szabó
The program was first organized last year, at the initiative of students. This year's event, like the 2022 event, was organized with the help of the Emergency Society, the Surgical Society, the Medical Skills and Education and Innovation Centre, the English-German Student Council (EGSC), and the UPMS Student Council (ÁOK HÖK).
The Catastrophe Day aimed to allow students to experience how best to act in an emergency. The program was like a revolving stage: passing through several rooms and corridors, there were even stations in the emergency exits where the teams had to face the consequences of the "earthquake".
In addition to simple resuscitation and hemostasis, the students had to fix fractures, perform sutures, practice airway debridement, head trauma care, and various casualty transport and rescue techniques, and the future doctors were also able to practice on a simulator in a catastrophe situation.
The realism was also enhanced by nine "actors" on which participants could practice triage steps. The actors were used to take a complex medical history and respond to specific care.
An important element of the competition was peer-to-peer teaching. The students who arrived at the stations were assisted by students who had been trained beforehand in important theoretical and practical knowledge that was essential for the particular station.
"Last year was undoubtedly a success, and I see the same with this year. The feedback from the stations has been very positive, which shows that people are committed to the subject. All participants have received certificates of recognition, as they have all performed outstandingly well. Everyone was there to learn and we made it possible for them to do so."
- said Dr. Alan Ahmed Abada, one of the main organizers of the event. He said the most important lesson was that the students were satisfied.
"We are delighted that the new and renovated Medical Skills and Innovation Centre is being used for exactly what it was designed for", he added.