First-Responder Training Courses

For the past two months we have been planning for the trauma lay first-responder training courses that took place this week.

As discussed in a stakeholders meeting a month or so ago, we decided that since trainees are not being paid by their employers to take on this extra responsibility, that we should give each certified trainee a first-aid kit, ID card, course certificate, and reflective armband, in order to provide incentive and a sense of pride.

It seemed simple enough at the time.

Just to provide some perspective, here in Kampala even simple things like ordering at a restaurant or buying some groceries, are tasks which inevitably involve delay, detour, or debacle.

Having said that, one can imagine the comedy associated with bargaining at the local flea market for quantities of supplies that quite frankly would be difficult to obtain even at a Costco.

Kit assembly took about ten times longer than calculated, mostly because we decided to individually spray paint the course logo onto each kit ourselves. But after sorting forty-thousand pairs of gloves, individually diluting and pouring 350 one-liter bottles of bleach, cutting 700 square meters of tarp into 350 one by two meter stretchers, folding 350 pieces of cardboards for splinting, cutting 700 triangular bandages, and after folding 6000 pieces of gauze we can see that it was definitely worth it.

During the Uganda Taxi Operators and Drivers Association (UTODA) training days, we were joined Mr. Moses Dumba, UTODA Road Safety Officer, and Mr. John Ndyomugyenyi, UTODA National Chairman. Mr. Dumba provided an excellent talk on road safety that was well-received by the trainees and accessible via Prehospital Project web page. Numerous reporters from local TV, magazines and newspapers were present as well.

The trainees were exceptionally motivated and interactive throughout the training day.

After baseline surveys and a pre-test in the morning, Dr. Jackie Mabweijano, head of Mulago Casualty Department and GPAS Director, gave a 45-minute lecture on the course fundamentals (video accessible online). She eloquently gave and engaging lecture simultaneously in Luganda (the local dialect) and English.

The rest of the day was spent rotating in groups of 10 through each of 5 skills stations. The topics covered airway management (Dr. Cephas Mijumi – Mulago Anesthesia; Dr. Jim Suozzi - UCONN), hemorrhage control (Juliete Kiyimba, Yusuf Kimbowa – Kampala Red Cross, Dr. Michael Lipnick), fracture splinting (Daniel Nsubuga – Kampala Red Cross; Dr. Robert Wangoda, Consultant Surgeon Mulago Hospital), Scene Management (Dr. Jackie Mabweijano, Head of Mulago Casualty Department), and triage/transport (Robert Okuyat – Kampala Red Cross; Dr. Doruk Ozgediz, faculty surgeon UCSF).

Based on the enthusiasm of the trainees, we are optimistic and eager to begin the prospective phase of collecting data for this study.

We are hopeful that we will be able to obtain additional funding from local government and private donations to facilitate future courses.