Advanced Trauma Life Support^® (ATLS^®) Course for Doctors

Named as EMST in Australia and New Zealand

American College of Surgeons Hong Kong Chapter

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Trauma strikes down its many victims swiftly and indiscriminately. In that first critical hour after someone has been severely injured, the doctors must act with speed, knowledge, and proper skill.

The ATLS^® Program is developed by the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Committee on Trauma, aiming at improving the care for the surgical patient. The Course teaches well-established treatment methods and approaches trauma care in a systematic manner, presenting to the doctor a concise method of establishing assessment and management priorities in the care of the trauma patient.

The ATLS^® Program emphasises the first hour of initial assessment and primary management of the injured patient, starting at the point in time of injury and continuing through initial assessment, life-saving intervention, re-evaluation, stabilisation, and when needed, transfer to a facility in which the patient can receive specialised care, such as a trauma centre.

The ATLS^® Program has been exported to nearly 30 countries all over the world. In Australia, the ATLS^® Course is named as Early Management of Severe Trauma (EMST). The EMST Program is the ATLS^® Course in Australia and New Zealand. There is no difference between the ATLS^® and the EMST and the EMST Program is run according to the guidelines laid down by the ATLS^® Sub-Committee of the ACS.

In order to improve the standard of trauma management in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Chapter of the ACS and the Department of Surgery, The University of Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital decided to promulgate the ATLS^® Program in Hong Kong.

The Inaugural ATLS^® Courses in Hong Kong were held in January 1997 under the auspices of the ACS, Committee on Trauma. Up to 2011, a total of 102 Student Courses and 10 Instructor Courses were organised and trained over 1,450 doctors from various specialties and hospitals.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

Based on well-established principles and objectives of trauma management, the course is intended to provide doctors with ONE acceptable method for SAFE, immediate management and the basic knowledge necessary to:

• assess the patient's condition rapidly and accurately;
• resuscitate and stabilize the patient on a priority basis;
• determine if the patient's needs will likely exceed a facility's capabilities;
• arrange for the patient's interhospital transfer; and
• assure that optimum care is provided each step of the way.

STUDENT COURSE

The Student Course is a two-and-half-day course, consisting of pre- and post-course tests, core content lectures, case presentations, discussions, development of life-saving manipulative skills, practical laboratory experience, and a final performance proficiency evaluation.
Criteria for successful completion of the ATLS^® Course includes:

• attend the entire course;
• adhere to course content and demonstrate practical skills as outlined in the ATLS^® textbook;
• achieve a minimum score of 80% on the written post-test; and
• successfully complete a final assessment station.

Upon completion of the Course, doctors should feel confident in implementing the trauma skills taught in this Course. The qualification of an ATLS^® provider is valid for four years.

Student Course Schedule

INSTRUCTOR COURSE

The Instructor Course is a one-and-half-day course. It is designed for training Instructors for teaching ATLS^® Student Course.

The Instructor Course consists of a variety of teaching-how-to-teach components that are directly related to the ATLS^® core content:

• principles and philosophies of teaching the course;
• management of various students behaviors;
• techniques for giving a lecture;
• techniques for skills-teaching;
• techniques for leading group discussion;
• techniques for critiquing and assessing student's performance.

There is no formal and standard assessment for a participant's ability. Instead, the performance and the attitude of the participant will be evaluated throughout the entire course. A participant with unsatisfactory performance will be requested to retake the Course later.

CRITERIA FOR SELECTING INSTRUCTOR CANDIDATES

Participants for ATLS^® Instructors should have all the following characteristics:

• doctor who attended the ATLS^® Student Course in Hong Kong within the recent two years;
• with outstanding performance in written and practical tests;
• has been identified as having Instructor potential;
• demonstrates a commitment to ATLS^® philosophy; and
• demonstrates a commitment to trauma education.

REQUIREMENT FOR INSTRUCTORS

• After finishing the Instructor Course, the Instructor Candidate is required to teach in a Student Course within 12 months and his or her teaching performance will be evaluated by the Course Director.
• If the first teaching performance is not satisfactory, the Instructor Candidate will be requested to teach another Student Course for re-assessment.
• We require our Instructors to teach at least once a year, depending upon the performance of individual Instructor.

Instructor Course Schedule

Course Faculty

TARGET PARTICIPANT

Student Course

• Doctors with at least one year clinical experience

Instructor Course

• Doctors who are committed to trauma education

TEACHING MEDIA

• English

CO-ORGANISER

Hong Kong Chapter, American College of Surgeons

COURSE FEE

The course fee for Student Course is HK$5,000. It includes:

• an ATLS^® Student Manual;
• a course folder with other course materials;
• a Certificate of Attendance from the Hong Kong Chapter of the ACS;
• a wallet-sized card issued by the ACS, Committee on Trauma will be issued to participants who have successfully completed the Course; and
• luncheons and tea breaks that we provided during the Course.

COURSE FOLDER AND MANUAL

• Participants will be informed to collect the Course Manual four weeks before the registered course.
• The Course Folder will be delivered to the participants via internal mail approximately ten days before the Course. Participants should contact the Centre's staff if they do not receive the Folder near the Course.
• All the important details will be included in this Folder and participants are strongly recommended to read all the course materials received before they come to the Course. Participants are also required to bring with them their Course Folders to the Course.

DATE

Friday to Sunday, 17 - 19 February 2012
Friday to Sunday, 23 - 25 March 2012
Friday to Sunday, 20 - 22 April 2012

ENQUIRY

Tel no: 2819 9691 / 2819 9692
Fax no: 2818 9249
E-mail: hkussc@hku.hk

Application Form Download