Supporting the Critical Training for Trauma Surgeons

Have you ever watched medical dramas on primetime TV and wondered how trauma surgeons maintain their calm during those intense, life-or-death situations? When every second counts and precision is crucial, with lives hanging in the balance, how do they remain composed? Naturally, they train, practice, and refine their skills!

For more than a century, the American College of Surgeons (ACS) has been committed to enhancing surgical patient care and upholding care standards in an optimal and ethical practice setting. As an Accredited Educational Institute (AEI) under ACS, Hartford Healthcare’s Center for Education, Simulation & Innovation (CESI) adheres to the rigorous standards to provide top-tier simulation-based surgical education and training programs. By combining the expertise of surgical instructors from Hartford Healthcare with CESI's cutting-edge facilities, we can offer ACS-certified courses that equip surgical providers with vital training for real-world, life-or-death clinical situations.

Below is additional information from the ACS regarding the life-saving, crucial courses available at CESI:

• Advanced Trauma Operative Management (ATOM®) increases surgical competence and confidence by teaching proper operative techniques for penetrating injuries to the chest and abdomen.
• Advanced Surgical Skills for Exposure in Trauma (ASSET™) overviews key surgical exposures in five anatomic areas: neck, chest, abdomen and pelvis, and upper and lower extremities.
• Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS^®) teaches a concise approach to assessing and managing early care for multiple injured patients.
• Basic Endovascular Skills for Trauma (BEST) teaches endovascular techniques such as resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta (REBOA) to temporize life-threatening hemorrhage, ultrasound guided common femoral arterial (CFA) access, percutaneous and open cannulation of the CFA, and CFA repair.

These courses offer surgeons the chance to hone essential cognitive and practical skills in a safe, simulated setting. With CESI's capability to provide simulation rooms that are exact replicas of hospital clinical spaces, along with pre-clinical lab areas featuring realistic surgical and tissue models, we deliver the most authentic and comprehensive facility for this crucial training for surgical professionals. Additionally, expert educators from Hartford Hospital’s Trauma Service, the only ACS-verified state-designated Level 1 Trauma Center in Northern Connecticut, have developed the curriculum for international ACS-certified courses like ATOM® and Stop the Bleed. Surgeons from all over the world come to learn from the best in the best environment.

We are delighted to present this remarkable video honoring Dr. Lenworth Jacobs, the creator of ATOM® and Stop the Bleed, which highlights how Hartford Healthcare prepares for catastrophic and mass casualty events. Please be aware that all images are simulated.

Explore ACS courses available at CESI here