March 06, 2020
We started off the day with egg in a frame for breakfast, shortly followed by class about femur breaks and fractures and how to treat them with a traction splint. A traction splint is a device one makes which pulls on the leg to aid in re-alignment of the fractured bone. We then prepared for our 3-mile hike to Pelican Bay where our skills would be tested. 20 minutes into our hike we encountered a scenario. Three patients either had closed or open leg fractures that needed to be treated. Upon treating the fractures with regular or traction splints we continued our journey. When we arrived we took our lunch break and had a little fun. A few students jumped into the cold ocean, being cautious of the marine life. A few shivering steps later we proceeded to Tinker’s Cove to continue our hands-on learning. We learned how to make a litter, which is used to carry patients that are unable to walk. We were split into three teams, given 35 minutes, and had to use whatever was in our packs or we could find around us. Matt, our instructor, put his faith into us to carry him on our newly made litters in some very rocky terrain. We all passed the test! After concluding our learning and activities we began our 3-mile hike back with great motivation for food and showers. We finished our day strong with another lesson. This time we learned about spinal injuries and how to clear the patient of this as a possible injury.
