SIU Medicine first in U.S. to pilot new trauma care course
Southern Illinois University School of Medicine will host the first use of the newest edition of the Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) course in the United States on April 29–30. The Southern Illinois Trauma Center (SITC) at Springfield Memorial Hospital and the Memorial Learning Center are piloting the training.
The American College of Surgeons (ACS) selected SIU Medicine to test the training and contribute essential feedback on its implementation and effectiveness. The new 11th edition of the course made its international debut in Norway the previous week.
Dr. John Sutyak, professor emeritus and a national leader in trauma care, chairs the ATLS steering committee. He is returning to SIU to help guide the training. He will be joined by representatives from the ACS ATLS Education Division and a visiting trauma surgeon from Brazil.
“Being selected to test the new edition of ATLS is a tremendous honor and a reflection of our institution’s long-standing commitment to advancing trauma care,” said Dr. Jarrod Wall, SITC medical director and chair of the Illinois State Committee on Trauma. “We’re proud to help shape the future of trauma education alongside leaders in the field.”
The two-day course will introduce the latest advancements in trauma care, incorporating updated protocols and skills-based rotations in airway management, resuscitation, pediatric and geriatric trauma, and disaster triage. Participants will engage in both didactic and hands-on learning, with group-specific rotations through trauma bays, simulation labs and assessment stations.
The training materials include a new manual, instructor course, discussion slides, skills stations, videos and interactive hybrid courses with online modules. Several videos feature Wall and were filmed at the Memorial Learning Center.
Established in 1978, ATLS is the premier trauma education program in the world, with more than 60,000 learners taking the course annually in 80+ countries. It was developed by the American College of Surgeons to equip physicians with a systematic approach to the early care of trauma patients.
More information on the ATLS program is available at facs.org/quality-programs/trauma/education/advanced-trauma-life-support.
