Implementing a Portable, Simulation-Based Trauma Curriculum for Rural Hospitals: Planning Pilot Year

Trauma patients receiving care in rural settings face higher mortality rates than those at tertiary referral centers. Rural hospitals experience significant gaps in trauma care from limited access to specialists, procedural training, and standardized team-based education. In Georgia, over 20% of trauma patients come from rural areas where high-fidelity trauma training is limited. To address these disparities, we developed a trauma simulation curriculum for rural Georgia trauma providers.

A mixed-methods needs assessment was conducted to identify training needs reported by rural trauma providers. A modular simulation curriculum was created to address common deficiencies in procedural skills, interdisciplinary communication, and trauma system activations. The pilot curriculum was presented at a rural trauma conference by a multidisciplinary team, including interactive lectures and hands-on procedural skills stations (airway management, hemorrhage control, and chest trauma).

The needs assessment revealed training gaps in airway management, tube thoracostomy, cervical collar placement, hemorrhage control, and transfusion guidelines. The curriculum consisted of didactics and simulation sessions grounded in educational strategies (Cognitive Learning Theory, Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning, and Simulation-Based Learning). Participants included rural providers from emergency medical services, nursing, respiratory therapy, and physicians. Learners reported high satisfaction with interactive didactics, hands-on simulation, and interdisciplinary learning.

We developed a multidisciplinary rural trauma simulation curriculum. Early implementation and participant feedback guided iterative refinement, optimizing didactic content, assessment methods, and simulation tasks. This initiative addresses a significant gap in rural trauma readiness and offers a scalable, sustainable model for multidisciplinary trauma education in resource-limited environments.