Supporting trauma training at Aberdeen Hospital

New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, Friday, July 10, 2026, …. At Aberdeen Hospital’s emergency department, trauma simulations help health care teams prepare for some of the most critical moments in patient care. Thanks to support from the Aberdeen Health Foundation, staff took part in a specialized training course delivered by Trauma Nova Scotia last year.

Trauma Nova Scotia is operated under Nova Scotia Health. The organization provides education and simulation training across the province to help health care professionals strengthen trauma care skills, critical thinking and teamwork in high-pressure situations. The one-day course at Aberdeen Hospital was based on the Rural Trauma Team Development program and focused on a team-based approach to trauma resuscitation and care.

A Trauma Nova Scotia instructor leads participants through the Provincial Trauma Course at Aberdeen Hospital. Funded by the Aberdeen Health Foundation, the training helps health care teams strengthen trauma care skills, communication, and coordinated responses in high-pressure situations.

“It promotes a team-based approach to trauma resuscitation and trauma patients,” explained Matthew Vaughan, assistant health services manager in the emergency department.

Participants worked through simulations in small groups and practiced procedures like chest tube insertion, decompression, and emergency airway management using life-like mannequins.

One of the most memorable parts of the training arrived on wheels – Trauma Nova Scotia brought a specialized simulation truck to the site, with a realistic ambulance environment on one side and a trauma room set up on the other.

Trauma Nova Scotia’s mobile simulation unit brings realistic training directly to communities across the province. The specialized vehicle features both an ambulance environment and a trauma room, allowing participants to practice responding to emergencies in settings that mirror real-world conditions.

The course combined classroom learning in the hospital’s boardroom with simulation exercises inside the truck and in other spaces throughout the hospital.

The training brought together emergency physicians, paramedics, registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, respiratory therapists, and critical care staff from across the hospital.

According to Vaughan, one of the biggest benefits of the course was the opportunity for rural health care teams to learn directly from clinicians who regularly work in higher-volume trauma centres. “It brings clinicians from areas where there are higher volumes of trauma, from the tertiary trauma centre in Halifax, to regional and rural sites across the province.”

The simulations included scenarios involving multi-trauma patients, blunt force trauma, penetrating trauma, and airway emergencies, giving teams the opportunity to practice responding together in a controlled environment.

Participants work through a trauma simulation using a life-like training mannequin. The course helps health care providers like physicians, nurses, paramedics, and respiratory therapists practice the teamwork and communication skills needed during real-life emergencies.

The response from staff was overwhelmingly positive. “We had a full classroom session for it,” said Vaughan. “Those who attended the course could then go back and talk to their colleagues that they work with every day and discuss what they learned. That learning gets passed on and communicated to other colleagues.”

He said programs like this ultimately help strengthen care for patients across the region, and training opportunities like this would not be possible without community support. “The Foundation plays a huge role in being able to offer programs like this.”

Board chair of the Aberdeen Health Foundation Heather MacDonald said supporting continuing education is an important part of strengthening health care in Pictou County.

“Ensuring local health care teams have access to the latest training not only benefits patients but helps staff build confidence and strengthen skills. We’re proud to support opportunities that help our health care teams continue to learn and grow, and we’re always inspired by the number of health care professionals who choose to advance their training each year. Their commitment to ongoing learning ultimately translates into stronger care for patients across our community.”

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The Aberdeen Health Foundation is the leading charity for enhancing health care in Pictou County. In 2025, the Foundation invested over $3 million to fund medical equipment and enhance health programs at the Aberdeen Hospital and in the community. Your contribution can be the catalyst for even greater change — find out how you can make an impact here.