Trauma Training and Education

The TEAM course was designed by the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma for medical students to provide basic instruction in the initial care of trauma patients. The course is held monthly and is mandatory for third-year medical students.

The Smith Level I Shock Trauma Center offers ATLS provider and instructor courses taught by Division of Trauma and Surgical Critical Care faculty. ATLS is mandatory for all surgical residents at Indiana University School of Medicine. Core trauma surgeons are required to maintain an ATLS instructor status in order to cover trauma at the Smith Level I Shock Trauma Center. Courses are held throughout the year for physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants practicing in the community setting.

The ATOM course was designed by leading trauma surgeons as a follow-up course to the Advanced Trauma Life Support course. This course, which combines a series of interactive lecture presentations and a surgical laboratory experience, increases the participant’s knowledge and procedural skills in surgical interventions for injuries from penetrating trauma. This course is mandatory training for fourth-year surgical residents of the Indiana University General Surgery Residency Program.

Smith Level I Shock Trauma Center surgeons held the first ATOM course in 2005. The course has also been taught internationally. Gerardo Gomez, M.D., F.A.C.S., was the course director for the inaugural ATOM course in Latin America in 2001, held in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

The ASSET course uses human cadavers to teach surgical exposure of anatomic structures that, when injured, may pose a threat to life or limb. A course manual is distributed to students prior to the course to provide an overview of surgical exposures in five key anatomic areas: neck, chest, abdomen and pelvis, and extremities (upper and lower). The one-day course follows this modular, body-region approach. Each section begins with a short, case-based overview followed by a hands-on exposure performed by students under the guidance of faculty. The student-to-faculty ratio is low, allowing extensive faculty guidance and interaction with students. The student assesses his or her ability to perform each exposure independently and is evaluated on knowledge and technical skills.

TNCC and ENPC are Emergency Nurses Association courses dedicated to providing a standardized education program to enhance the knowledge of emergency nurses in assessment of cognitive and psychomotor skills in adult and pediatric populations.

In partnership with Michael & Susan Smith Emergency Department nurses, the Smith Level I Shock trauma nursing director, trauma program manager, trauma clinical educator and injury prevention coordinator participate as instructors and coordinators for courses throughout the year.

These symposia attract nationally renowned speakers who present educational seminars to physicians, nurses, pre-hospital providers and other medical professionals on advances to the discipline of trauma care, specifically trauma as a result of violence.