Quality EMS uses cadavers for skills proficiency reviews
Quality EMS is likely the first EMS agency in the region to introduce cadavers into their skills proficiency reviews in an effort to simulate the real skin and bones paramedics will work with in the field.
While most programs rely on classroom education and practice on mannequins, Quality EMS introduced cadavers this year to practice incisions and simulate realistic fluid buildup that is not possible with mannequins.
“We want to be pros,” said Conrad Pfeifer, executive director of Quality EMS. “We don’t want to be volunteers that are doing that. We want these guys to be considered professional.”
Pfeifer said the cadavers also allow their paramedics to see real vocal cords and lung inflation, so they’re not seeing it for the first time when caring for a patient.
“We can do it with a mannequin all day long, but it’s a lot different (on skin),” Pfeifer said.
The paramedics can use different parts of the cadaver, such as the head, neck and shoulder, to practice techniques, such as creating an airway and drilling to place an IV when a vein isn’t accessible.
“I don’t think any EMS education institutes are doing cadaver-based learning. It’s like a very specialized training tool,” said Sarah Johnson, an instructor at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences and faculty member at the Center of Emergency Medicine of Western Pennsylvania.
Pfeifer said Quality EMS contacted a body donation center to begin the process. The cadavers were stored locally at McDonald-Aeberli Funeral Home in Mars, owned by deputy coroner John Hanovick, and taken back to the funeral home at the end of the Tuesday training to be cremated.
“These are people that gave their bodies to science and these guys are using it to benefit their community,” said Alan Martino, the EMS company’s liaison to UPMC.
He said with almost 38 years of experience, this is the first time he’s seen an EMS company practice with cadavers to better ensure patient care.
Pfeifer said each paramedic who practices with a cadaver must sign an agreement that they will treat the cadaver with respect and dignity.
“So far, everybody has said, ‘holy cow, it’s unbelievable that this little rinky-dink place in Mars is doing this,’” Pfeifer said.
He added he’s used cadaver labs before at UPMC and Allegheny Health Network as part of his detective training during his law enforcement career, but not in EMS.
Pfeifer said he’s unsure if it will fit into the Quality EMS budget to bring cadavers to next year’s skills proficiency review, but he’d like to get them again in the future once he hears feedback from the paramedics.
Pfeifer hopes the training method will eventually be adopted by other EMS agencies around the state, similar to its nitrous oxide pilot program in 2024. Using a nitrous oxide delivery system was also a part of the Tuesday skills review.
Quality EMS was the first EMS company in the state to allow EMTs to administer nitrous oxide for pain treatment.
The pilot program was prompted by a lack of paramedics in the field after the COVID-19 pandemic and has been adopted statewide.
Nitrous oxide, often referred to as laughing gas, is a nonnarcotic pain medication that a patient inhales. EMTs are allowed to administer the gas because it’s not classified as a controlled substance.
EMTs must still take classes and train with the gas before being qualified to administer it.
