Over the course of the week, RVUCOM students – along with their counterparts from Touro University California, Touro University Nevada, and Western University of Health Sciences – and nurses participated in several Hyper-Realistic® Training simulations designed to prepare them for high-stress situations. Students performed cricothyroidotomies, deep wound packing, suturing, and combat application tourniquet placements in multiple emergency simulations. RVU’s research team was also on the scene conducting multiple projects, including hardiness and resiliency, along with a new study that examines the effect mindset has on the stress response. In the operating room, student doctors honed their surgical skills with the Cut Suit®, a human-worn body suit that simulates realistic trauma. Students had the opportunity to participate in different roles, such as head surgeon in the operating room, attending physician in the emergency room, and acting in turn as first responder, observer, and patient.

The large-scale, healthcare simulation event takes place every year at the STOPS facility in San Diego, California. In addition to our own amazing RVU instructors and staff, we were joined by John E. Moore, MD, Assistant Dean of Pre-Clinical Education for the Montana College of Osteopathic Medicine, and Holly Spitzer, DO ’20, who took a break from her military residency to attend and assist.