From Local to Global: AUHS Simulation Medical Education for Trauma Received Support from a Global Grant of the International Rotary Club (GG 2464923)
Prof. Oksana Zayachkivska, MD, PhD, DSc, School of Medicine, AUHS
As we mark the beginning of the third year of the war against Ukraine with daily bombings and aggressive use of ground-based improvised explosive devices which have sharply increased the number of injuries among civilians, including children, The AUHS initiative, an educational project for Ukrainian medical workers to expand training in trauma, control bleeding, and treat injury to limbs, received a Global Grant from the International Rotary Club (GG 2464923).
David Omut, RN, MBA, Director of Simulation Laboratory at AUHS (far left) providing advanced training with the SimMan to the Ukrainian participants Dr. Volodymyr Marina (Director of Lviv Simulation Educational Center), surgeons Dr. Arkadiy Savchenko, Dr. Yaroslav Pavlovsky, and a representative of the host Rotary Club, Lviv-Ratusha, Lviv, Ukraine, Dr. Andriy Beyzyk.
Participants were delighted to be at LNMU virtually on February 3, 2025, to hand over this plaque (pictured above) honoring this outstanding project initiated by AUHS and funded by a grant from Rotary International.
The project aims to assist with the implementation of novel knowledge about trauma management and controlling bleeding for victims of wartime trauma, diagnostic and procedural skills for different types of emergency cases in resource-limited settings, and fostering a collaborative approach to managing trauma. The simulation teaching methods in the educational process will be provided by using the SimMan Essential manikin manufactured by Laerdal Medical Corporation, USA. Its software will be able to supply a wide range of educational scenarios about combat trauma which will help medical students and doctors to acquire skills for practical uses.
Dr. Oksana Zayachkivska (left) and Mr. David Omut (right) in front of AUHS.
The Simulation Training Center of the Danylo Halytsky Lviv National Medical University (LNMU) will receive educational and methodological support from AUHS for the training of future physicians and medical personnel based on the guidelines from the American College of Emergency Physicians and the American Medical Association. The clinical scenarios covering major emergency medicine topics will be advised by Dr. Sandor Szabo, an experienced physician with a long-term affiliation with the VA Long Beach Health Care System. The creation of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) cases will help develop comprehensive OSCE (Objective Structured Clinical Examination) tasks for the final assessment of future Ukrainian physicians.
The first phase of the project: Advanced training “ SimMan for Emergency Medicine” began recently in Krakow (Poland). It was successfully conducted by David Omut, Director of the Simulation Lab of AUHS for Ukrainian participants from LNMU (Fig.1). The addition of advanced training, educational materials about combat trauma and emergency medicine, and practical recommendations about simulation education with an emphasis on clinical competency, critical thinking, and interdisciplinary collaboration will be created (Fig.2). The online meetings regarding interprofessional education, technical support for the manikin and software will be introduced each month during 2025.
The project fosters international collaboration by AUHS with international institutions. It opens doors for future joint initiatives and research opportunities. Moreover, it will have a positive impact on the local community, presenting AUHS as well-known internationally and an innovative educational institution that provided support in the higher education of the future medical professionals of a country undergoing a full scale war and, thus, helping to save Ukrainian lives.
Generous individual and personal donations by individuals of good will and members of Rotary 5320 District Clubs in Huntington Beach, Buena Park, and Signal Hill, Californa and the Rotary Сlub Lviv-Ratusha (Lviv, Ukraine) were key parts of the successful initiative of Prof. Oksana Zayachkivska, School of Medicine, and David Omut, Director of the Simulation Lab and Interprofessional Education at AUHS with major support from a Global Grant by the International Rotary.
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