The European Trauma Course: Transforming systems through training.

The European Trauma Course (ETC) exemplifies an innovative approach to multispecialty trauma education. This initiative was started as a collaborative effort among the European Society for Emergency Medicine, the European Society for Trauma and Emergency Surgery, and the European Society of Anaesthesiology under the auspices of the European Resuscitation Council. With the robust support of these societies, the project has evolved into the independent European Trauma Course Organisation.

A novel use of telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objective: The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic brought with it many challenges but possibly the biggest was the best use of national hospital resources. With the aim to protect the hospital healthcare resources in the country whilst simultaneously safeguarding the health of COVID-19-infected patients, a telemedicine system led by experts was set up in Malta.

Methods: A team of local experts, called the 'Community COVID-19 Initial Assessment team' (CCIAT), co-ordinated the initial medical assessment and decisions for all newly diagnosed community patients.

Combined quality function deployment and logical framework analysis to improve quality of emergency care in Malta.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to develop an integrated patient-focused analytical framework to improve quality of care in accident and emergency (A & E) unit of a Maltese hospital.

Design/methodology/approach: The study adopts a case study approach. First, a thorough literature review has been undertaken to study the various methods of healthcare quality management.

The European Trauma Course (ETC) and the team approach: past, present and future.

The European Trauma Course (ETC) was officially launched during the international conference of the European Resuscitation Council (ERC) in 2008. The ETC was developed on behalf of ESTES (European Society of Trauma and Emergency Surgery), EuSEM (European Society of Emergency Medicine), the ESA (European Society of Anaesthesiology) and the ERC. The objective of the ETC is to provide an internationally recognised and certified life support course, and to teach healthcare professionals the key principles of the initial care of severely injured patients.

The European Trauma Course--from concept to course.

The Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) course, developed by the American College of Surgeons, has revolutionised in-hospital management of major trauma patients and is now accepted as a standard of care in many countries worldwide. However, within Europe, there are significant differences in both the aetiology of trauma and the specialties involved in its initial management compared to the American model. Over the past 4 years, there have been a number of initiatives aimed at producing a trauma management course that was evidence based, practical and flexible enough to meet regional European needs and team oriented.