Wendi Butler’s Medical Technology class isn’t just about book work. On December 15 and 17, MedTech students at Foothill participated in the fifth annual multiple casualty triage simulation.

Before the simulation began, students were split into two groups: victims and responders. The facsimile was an earthquake, tables were upturned and fake blood was smeared on limbs and faces. Each group was given specific instructions: victims lay on the ground or walked around, some suffering from anxiety related problems, depending on their injury.

Junior Dillon Patel, a victim in the simulation, said, “I’m going to be a victim, I’ll make a hard time for everybody else. My job is to be hard and cruel.”

Meanwhile, the student responders waited anxiously outside, all of them agreeing that they were excited rather than scared.

Responder Nick Herson said, “There’s going to be six injured and we have to see who to treat first, how, and saving as many people as you can.”

Assessors graded the students on the levels of first aid such as how neatly the bandages are wrapped, dealing with bleeding, pressure points, their diagnoses, etc.

Butler added, “They are evaluated on the efficiency of their care.”

Eleanor Guzik. a volunteer for the Ventura County Chapter of the Red Cross, was one of the assessors for the class. She said that she taught the class CPR and AED to the class in the weeks prior to the simulation. She described the three things a responder must do in an emergency situation.

“Check if it is safe to go in. Decide who needs help the most. Call for help if you can. Check, call, care.”

The job of a responder is “to perform preliminary first aid to keep the victims alive so they can get to the hospital,” according to senior assessor Glenn Wasden.

The point of the simulation is to practice everything they had learned throughout the semester. Butler said “I don’t like book work.”

The class teaches real life applications and many students benefit from the knowledge they’ve gained in this class.

Butler even revealed that “one student saved her grandma’s life.”

Butler and Guzik had little negative to say about the care that was given to the victims, although the victims themselves had another opinion.

Jong In, a victim with internal bleeding, said “I wasn’t treated very well. They left me alone and I was going into shock.”

As for her performance, Butler described her as actress of the year and as drama teacher Jennifer Kindred walked past she commented that the students should “receive an award for their great acting.”

Photo Credit: Bill Grundler and Maya Morales/The Foothill Dragon Press