The patient suffers anaphylactic shock – a life-threatening allergic reaction. For 24-year-old medical student Sophia Reifeltshammer, it is the first case of this kind. She discusses it with the team and briefly thinks about what to do. “Communication was more difficult than I thought,” remembers the Linzer native of her first simulation training, where everything was real – except for the patient. This role was taken on in the exercise by a “humanoid robot”, a type of doll that is a practically lifelike model of a human. This allows students to practice critical situations in patient treatment under conditions that are as realistic as possible.
But doctors and representatives of other professional groups in the Upper Austrian Health Holding (OÖG), who are involved in such cases in the hospital, also train for emergencies. “We show how you can practice safely,” says State Health Councilor Christine Haberlander (VP). There were 85 training sessions with 700 participants in 2023, this year the workload will be increased to 120 missions with 1,000 people.
“It’s like pilots regularly using the simulator,” says Harald Schöffl (OÖG management). “Training processes helps you react correctly. Then you can approach patients in a safe and practiced manner,” explains OÖG managing director Franz Harnoncourt.
Author
Dietlind Hebestreit
Dietlind Hebestreit
