The Galician EMS provides emergency medical services throughout Galicia; a partly rural, partly densely populated region located in northwest Spain. Aiming to facilitate more effective and more efficient training, Galicia established a simulation center in year 2000. As the Galician authorities have made simulations mandatory for EMS personnel, the center's training activities are primarily targeted to this group, however training for physicians and nurses in 24/7 primary care and specialists in family medicine is also facilitated.

The training comprises mostly 9-hour courses, during which participants solve eight different critical care scenarios. The scenarios are developed to ensure exposure to a relevant curriculum. Individual and team performance are both focused during the training, as is protocol training, particularly for EMS personnel. The debrief sessions are lengthy, personalized, and instructor-led.

The training facilities occupy 60 sq meters of the EMS premises in Santiago de Compostela and comprise 1 simulation room, 1 control room, and 1 separate room for briefs and debriefing sessions. Plans are underway to develop a new, larger center in collaboration with the Santiago University and the Santiago de Compostela General Hospital.

The training equipment currently includes 1 SimMan 3G, 2 SimMan, 2 SimBaby, 1 AV System, 7 ALS simulators, in addition to skill trainers and manikins.

Areas of research Cost efficiency related to increased survival rates following implementation of semi-automatic AED programs and Methods for validation of scenarios.

 

Gained

  • EMS personnel learn and practice how to provide emergency medical care in a safe, controlled environment without causing harm to real patients.
  • Pre-qualification tests and the lengthy, personalized, instructor- led debrief sessions following each scenario, help augment the learning outcomes gained from the actual scenarios.
  • The increasing survival rate following cardiac arrest now seen in Galicia, is partly attributed to the effectiveness of the simulation training.