[Latest News: How Hands-on Training
Builds Confidence When It Counts](https://lunalabs.us/dislotech-hands-on-training/)
A medical simulation conversation with athletic trainers, Matthew Gage, John Coots, and Greyson Daviau, Liberty University and York College.
We sat down with athletic training faculty at Liberty University to talk about one of the challenges in their profession: how to teach joint reduction when you can’t practice on actual dislocated joints.
It is a real problem. The Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE) requires, through Standard 70 (p. 56), that students learn to evaluate and manage patients with acute conditions, including “fractures and dislocations (including reduction of dislocations).” For years, this has been learned through PowerPoints, videos, and on the job if there was a team physician to walk you through when a real injury happened.
The Simulation Solution
That’s where medical simulation comes in, using realistic devices and scenarios for healthcare practitioners to practice clinical procedures in safe, controlled environments before treating actual patients. Devices now exist, but they are too loose or don’t feel realistic enough for Drs. Gage and Coots.
Professor and Athletic Program Director
Professor and Co-Clinical Education Coordinator
Assistant Athletic Trainer at York College and Liberty Athletic Program Alum
Given the opportunity to provide their feedback during development of the Luna Labs’ Dislotech Shoulder Reduction Trainer, the product achieved what they describe as, “the closest representation to what it feels like when a shoulder reduces back into place.” The resistance levels and the way the humeral head fits into the glenoid socket all matter when you are trying to build muscle memory and confidence.
Muscle memory works. Greyson explained his real-life experience that occurred about a year-and-a-half after being trained on the Dislotech Shoulder. His team was two hours away from campus at a night game when an athlete dislocated his shoulder. Instead of holding up the entire team for a lengthy emergency room visit, he performed the reduction right there on the field using the technique he had practiced on the shoulder trainer. “I did exactly what I did on the model,” he later told his professors. “It felt and worked exactly like I had practiced.”
The Confidence Factor
There is a huge difference between watching a video of proper hand positioning and actually feeling the resistance and movement of a joint reduction.
“I’m 6’5” and reduce shoulders differently than an athletic trainer who is shorter due to leverage and positioning,” explained Greyson. “Getting to figure out what works for me on the trainer and then applying it on the field was huge for building confidence.”
Simulation provides a risk-free, hands-on learning environment where students can make mistakes and learn without the pressure of a real emergency. Rather than attempting joint reductions for the first time on a real person, students can build competency safely and confidently before encountering actual patients.
Unlike a real emergency where there’s pressure, pain, and time constraints, simulation allows students to take their time, ask questions, and truly understand the mechanics of the procedure.
The legal environment has changed too. Previous generations of athletic trainers sometimes tried procedures for the first time on real patients because there weren’t other options. Today’s concerns about liability make that approach less appealing. Simulation training provides a safer path to competency.
Making It Work Financially
Athletic training programs operate on tight budgets, and convincing administrators to spend dollars on a training device can be challenging.
Drs. Gage and Coots made a decision to make the investment in Dislotech, a product that did not yet have widespread adoption. “This is something we needed to do, especially because CAATE requires us to teach how to do these procedures effectively,” stated Dr. Gage.
The real value proposition becomes clear after you have actually tried the device. In addition to the realistic training, you are ensuring CAATE compliance, student competency, and better outcomes for the athletes. Early intervention with joint reductions can significantly reduce an athlete’s pain and potentially shorten recovery time. “Dislocations are crazy painful,” explained Greyson. “The longer the muscles guard (spasm and tense), the harder it is to reduce the joint so you want to treat it as soon as possible.”
The Bigger Picture
What is happening at Liberty University reflects changes in healthcare education. Athletic trainers are facing requirements from CAATE Standard 70, and programs need practical solutions to meet them. Based on Liberty’s experience, realistic simulation training is becoming essential for preparing competent practitioners who can handle emergency situations with confidence when it counts.
As Dr. Gage explained, “Hearing about an alumnus successfully performing a joint reduction in the field and knowing that success came from proper training, that’s why we invested in this technology.”
We are grateful to Dr. Gage, Dr. Coots, and Greyson Daviau for sharing their insights.
More information: Dana Rich, Dislotech Sales Manager, dana.rich@lunalabs.us
M.S. in Athletic Training at Liberty University
Dislotech at Integrated Medcraft
Dislotech™ products are developed by Luna Labs USA LLC, a Virginia-based product development company serving defense and healthcare markets.
Categories
Tags
Share:
More Articles
-
How Hands-On Training Builds Confidence When It Counts
How do you teach joint reduction when you don’t have actual dislocated joints for practice? Medical simulation trainers can help.
Categories
-
Celebrating Virginia Life Sciences Week: Innovating to Save Lives
Virginia Life Sciences Week reminds us that innovation is about improving lives and building a healthy future.
Categories
Tags
-
Flexible Electrodes for Better Connections to Damaged Nerves
Our flexible electrodes create better connections so damaged nerves can send and receive messages more effectively.
Categories