Helicopter Emergency Medical Service Simulation Training in the Extreme: Simulation-based Training in a Mountain Weather Chamber.

Mountain rescue operations often confront crews with extreme weather conditions. Extremely cold temperatures make standard treatment sometimes difficult or even impossible. It is well-known that most manual tasks, including those involved in mountain rescue operations, are slowed by extremely cold weather.

Simulation-Based Training in Mountain Helicopter Emergency Medical Service: A Multidisciplinary Team Training Concept.

Objective: Mountain helicopter rescue operations often confront crews with unique challenges in which even minor errors can result in dangerous situations. Simulation training provides a promising tool to train the management of complex multidisciplinary settings, thus reducing the occurrence of fatal errors and increasing the safety for both the patient and the helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) crew.

Methods: A simulation-based training, dedicated to mountain helicopter emergency medicine service, was developed and executed.