The Mass Casualty of a Bus Wreck

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This year on November 17, we took a trip to the University of South Alabama. We started prepping hours before we left because we had to get all the students ready for the “bus crash.” I helped with the moulage which is a mock injury for the purpose of emergency response teams which in our case were EMT’s and PA’s.

As a student who wasn’t involved in the “bus crash.” I got a more detailed view of what was going on. When the EMT’s arrived they were determined to find the students and diagnose them. After retrieving the students out of the car and bus they were separated between red, green and a yellow tarp. Red meaning the student needed more help and their condition was one of the more serious ones. While yellow were the students who were responsive and alert. This was considered the triage of an accident.

After all the students were separated into the different levels of their injuries, the most severe students were taken on a stretcher to the hospital and then transported to the “ER.” While in the ambulance they were closely watched and it gave the EMT’s a better understanding of their injury and what was going on through their body. After arriving at the “ER” the PA’s were able to take over. The students were then examined again thoroughly to see if there were any other injuries that the EMT’s didn’t catch. Each student was taken to get an X-ray, MRI, or a CAT Scan depending on the severity. Some students were in need of surgery and in the ER they had the ability to get that covered.

As I reflected on this day, I was able to get a better understanding of each and every detail that took place during a Mass Casualty which in our case was a bus wreck. It was a very long day and a lot of hard decisions were made. If I were put into this situation I would have to cancel out everything else that is going on in my life and put my patient and their needs first. Every decision made has to be precise and accurate.