TraumaMan Makes Headlines as Alternative Training Method

Some trauma training courses in the United States still use live animals to demonstrate invasive trauma skills and test students. But nonanimal alternatives are rapidly gaining ground, as recent stories from National Public Radio, The New Yorker, the Associated Press, and other media outlets make clear.

The TraumaMan Surgical Training System is one leading alternative. This anatomical human body form, which is manufactured by the Seattle-based Simulab Corporation, is widely used in military courses, EMS Training, and other trauma surgery simulations. The TraumaMan System has been approved by the American College of Surgeons for use in its advanced trauma life support courses.

Congress got a peek at the growing range of alternatives on May 12 at a special exhibit on Capitol Hill organized by Advanced Initiatives in Medical Simulation.

TraumaMan and other alternatives offer enormous advantages. Canine anatomical landmarks differ significantly from those of the human, and using dogs or other live animals is also very costly. Additionally, many physicians and others object to using and killing animals for procedures that can be more effectively demonstrated on manikins like TraumaMan and human cadavers.

That’s why dozens of medical centers, including the Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, Maryland, have eliminated animals from their courses in favor of using human cadavers and realistic simulators.

At medical schools, the trend is even more advanced: More than 80 percent of U.S. med schools have now stopped using animals to teach basic skills.

For more information about live animals labs and the growing range of alternatives, please consult the Ethics in Medical Education section of PCRM's Web site.

Posted 5/11/05

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