MCC nursing and paramedicine students’ skills are put to the test in a mass-casualty simulation

Waco, TX ( FOX 44 ) — This is the first year MCC is conducting a mass casualty simulation. It gives future nursing and paramedicine students the exposure to a real life emergency in a safe controlled environment.

“We’re able to stop time and discuss their actions, what their next priority should be, and really get into their train of thought and let them self reflect on their actions,” says assistant professor, Tiffanie Elbrecht.

The mock disaster scene’s help students learn how to communicate in a real event. They learned how to treat patience according to their injuries and take immediate actions.

“We did a color coding triage where it’s red for immediate, yellow for delayed, green for minor and black for people who are pretty much not with us anymore,” says nursing student, Shasheena Allen.

Nursing student Shasheena Allen was one of the patients.

“I was thinking as a nurse, what would I be doing in the event if I was at the hospital about to receive a patient like this. Knowing what to do and knowing what to look for,” says Allen.

Students had hands on experience taking turns being the patients and medical workers so they can experience being both, the patient and the medical worker.

“To be in the situation to say, ‘okay, this is what I would do. How would I do this receiving report from an EMT’, like that’s fast paced, an adrenaline rush. You got to be able to think on your toes. So, it was very helpful to do that,” says Allen.

This facility includes different simulation wards such as a critical care unit and a trauma area.

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