Background: The African Peacekeeping Rapid Response Partnership sponsored the Uniformed Services University’s (USU) Center for Global Health Engagement and the Graduate School of Nursing on behalf of the United States Africa Command and U.S. State Department to conduct the Trauma Nursing Course (TNC) in Africa during August 2018. The focus of TNC’s curriculum is to establish foundational trauma nursing concepts, to demonstrate critical decision-making skills and effective communication during a MASCAL scenario.
The incorporation of trauma simulation exercises improves trauma teams’ overall performance and application of non-technical skills such as situational awareness, communication, and leadership skills; thus, proving beneficial for implementation in trauma curriculums in developing countries (Aekka et al., 2015; Barleycorn & Lee, 2018; Kim, Reibling, & Denmark, 2012, Mackey et al., 2015). Two USU graduate nursing students developed a new TNC triage, MASCAL simulation skills station.
Methods: Two cohorts completed the 4-day TNC utilizing multimodal learning applications via lecture presentations, hands-on skills stations, tabletop simulation, and live multi-casualty simulation exercises. Study participants completed pre- and post- 5-point Likert scale course surveys measuring their confidence in the performance of 16 trauma nursing skills. Additionally, participants completed comprehensive written examinations to test trauma nursing competence.
Findings: Nineteen African military nurses with varying levels of trauma experience completed course surveys, knowledge assessments, and the four-day course requirements. The first and second iteration of students noted a 36% and 34% increase in post-course confidence, respectively. More specifically, post-course mass casualty confidence increased by 12% and 17% each iteration. An assessment of competence produced a 13% increase in average pre and post-test scores during the first and second iterations.
Conclusion: The findings support simulation-based training as a practical framework for teaching trauma nursing concepts to international military partners. The delivery of nursing education within developing countries requires faculty-tailored teaching methods to account for potential language barriers and limited resources. The inclusion of a mass casualty tabletop and live simulation exercises in trauma training is an adaptable model to reinforce overall learned competencies for the east African partner country’s nursing school and will continue to improve their response capabilities.
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