Course summary

Trauma is the disease caused by physical injury. Trauma has only been called a “disease” since the 1970s. Although it seems strange at first, it is the correct term to use. Severe injury triggers a sequence of changes within the cells of the body and can lead to critical and disabling illness. Just like other diseases such as cancer, HIV and heart disease we need to understand these changes to improve survival and recovery. Trauma is one of the world’s leading killers and is responsible for the loss of more life-years than any other disease. War is predicted to be the sixth leading cause of death by 2020. Opportunities for the training of military trauma care specialists are extremely limited, and many defence agencies rely on the deployment situation as the primary training for their personnel. All countries, developed and developing, recognise the importance of trauma to their healthcare systems. With global disasters, humanitarian crises and mass casualty events on the rise, the importance of specialist training in the science and management of these events is increasingly important. This distance learning course will provide students with a broad and critical understanding of the most up-to-date science and practice of trauma care in these environments. A summer school incorporating simulated scenario training (consistent with your scope of practice) will complement the didactic learning to provide practical knowledge and experience of decision-making, along with the safe, professional delivery of core clinical functions in the management of seriously injured patients.