PETA Fights Animal Trauma Labs—and Wins!
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Thinking about going to medical school? If so, chances are that you may be asked to inflict traumatic injuries on live dogs, pigs, or goats in the deadly “Advanced Trauma Life Support” (ATLS) surgery course.
However, with the development of the TraumaMan—a state-of-the-art human-patient simulator approved by the American College of Surgeons—progressive universities and medical centers are making the compassionate decision to end their use of animals in ATLS courses in favor of this humane and effective training system.
PETA is writing to medical centers that still conduct crude ATLS animal labs, asking them to switch to the TraumaMan system for ethical, educational, and scientific reasons.
On January 16, 2006, Scott & White Memorial Hospital—which ranks among the Solucient 100 Top Hospitals in the country—sent us this heartwarming response:
Your synopsis of the experiences of other organizations in the use of simulators is valuable. … [T]he Trauma Man System has been evaluated … and will be incorporated into our existing program as soon as possible. We are arranging the funding and curriculum revisions necessary to incorporate this technology to replace our … use of pigs in ATLS training. Every effort will be made to obtain rental equipment for our early February course. Again thank you for your attention to this important issue.
For sparing the lives of countless pigs, Scott & White was honored with PETA’s prestigious 2006 Lifesaver Award. Scott & White joins many others organizations that are choosing compassion over cruelty, including Iowa Health—Des Moines (Iowa’s largest private medical service provider).
On August 3, 2005, a top Iowa Health executive wrote to us and proclaimed:
I am pleased to tell you that TraumaMan will be used in our next ATLS classes which are scheduled for October 13 and 14, 2005. Animals will no longer be used for teaching ATLS at Iowa Health-Des Moines. Thank you again for taking the time to write us and share this important information. At Iowa Health-Des Moines, we are always looking for ways to improve our approach to teaching and TraumaMan is just such an example.
What You Can Do
If you attend a school where animals are currently being used in ATLS courses, please let us know, and be sure to file a complaint with the school’s administrator.
PETA has also been successful in replacing the use of animal labs in Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) courses, in which animals are often forcibly intubated. If your school uses animals in PALS courses, please let us know.
