Hi All
I undertook this course through Basics recently and thought I'd write a brief review while it's still fresh in my mind.
I booked onto the course via Basics website and paid online. At over £700 it's not a cheap course to attend but I'd heard it was used by students as preparation for the DipIMC which is a goal of mine so I decided to go ahead and book.
Pre course reading materials and dvd were sent out promptly and I had them in my hand less than a week after securing my place. All other pre course admin was handled via email and was straight forward.
Day One
The course assembled in the lecture theatre and we were introduced to the faculty. The instructors come from a variety of backgrounds and include paramedics (most with critical care experience), GPs, Hospital Doctors from various disciplines and Nurses. All had years of experience and most seemed to have some sort of volunteering backgrounds such as mountain rescue or lowland rescue to compliment their day jobs.
After the introductions we moved on to our first lectures on scene safety and hazard management and it was here things started to go wrong. We fell behind time almost before we started and as a result time at the practical skills stations became severely limited. We split into groups of 6 for the practical,sessions which covered the interventions required when dealing with a time critical trauma patient. While the lectures re-enforced the use of a structured CAcBCDE approach to patient care.
Day Two
We started earlier due to the over run on day one and the last lecture having to be postponed. To be fair day two was a massive improvement on day one and seemed to run more to time. We split into the same groups and completed a number of OSCE type excercises that most clinicians will be familiar with. The majority of the excercises are adult trauma in nature though obstetrics and paediatrics are touched on. The day was completed on time and there was time for about and hours free practice at the end so I managed to catch up on some of the practical skills I'd missed on day one.
Day Three
Similar to day two in that it was predominately small group OSCE and some brief lectures before lunch. In the afternoon it was for the assessments. I should point out that the course is pass/fail and not attendace based. The assessments consisted of a 200 question multi choice paper and 10 questions shown on the projector for 30 seconds each. There's also two practical assessments. One covering an adult trauma with a moulage and the other an adult als along with some core skills such as airway management.
Conclusion
Over all I thought the course was well worth doing for someone like myself who's in a rural area and not seeing a high volume of patients. It re-enforces a structured approach to patient assessment and if you follow the CAcBCDE model you'll not go far wrong. Do make sure you've read the manual before you go.
Scott
I undertook this course through Basics recently and thought I'd write a brief review while it's still fresh in my mind.
I booked onto the course via Basics website and paid online. At over £700 it's not a cheap course to attend but I'd heard it was used by students as preparation for the DipIMC which is a goal of mine so I decided to go ahead and book.
Pre course reading materials and dvd were sent out promptly and I had them in my hand less than a week after securing my place. All other pre course admin was handled via email and was straight forward.
Day One
The course assembled in the lecture theatre and we were introduced to the faculty. The instructors come from a variety of backgrounds and include paramedics (most with critical care experience), GPs, Hospital Doctors from various disciplines and Nurses. All had years of experience and most seemed to have some sort of volunteering backgrounds such as mountain rescue or lowland rescue to compliment their day jobs.
After the introductions we moved on to our first lectures on scene safety and hazard management and it was here things started to go wrong. We fell behind time almost before we started and as a result time at the practical skills stations became severely limited. We split into groups of 6 for the practical,sessions which covered the interventions required when dealing with a time critical trauma patient. While the lectures re-enforced the use of a structured CAcBCDE approach to patient care.
Day Two
We started earlier due to the over run on day one and the last lecture having to be postponed. To be fair day two was a massive improvement on day one and seemed to run more to time. We split into the same groups and completed a number of OSCE type excercises that most clinicians will be familiar with. The majority of the excercises are adult trauma in nature though obstetrics and paediatrics are touched on. The day was completed on time and there was time for about and hours free practice at the end so I managed to catch up on some of the practical skills I'd missed on day one.
Day Three
Similar to day two in that it was predominately small group OSCE and some brief lectures before lunch. In the afternoon it was for the assessments. I should point out that the course is pass/fail and not attendace based. The assessments consisted of a 200 question multi choice paper and 10 questions shown on the projector for 30 seconds each. There's also two practical assessments. One covering an adult trauma with a moulage and the other an adult als along with some core skills such as airway management.
Conclusion
Over all I thought the course was well worth doing for someone like myself who's in a rural area and not seeing a high volume of patients. It re-enforces a structured approach to patient assessment and if you follow the CAcBCDE model you'll not go far wrong. Do make sure you've read the manual before you go.
Scott
