SECURING A CASUALTY AND TOURNIQUET DEPLOYMENT: EFFECTIVE FIELD AND LAB SAFETY SKILLS FOR GEOSCIENTISTS

The idea of working outdoors attracts many students to the geosciences. Geoscience programs attempt to integrate Lab and Field Safety into the curriculum, but workplace safety culture in academia is generally weak. Some geoscience programs post safety statements online or in hallways. Others provide ad hoc safety policy manuals. Some geoscience courses require students to endorse statements of understanding of safety policies. ABET accreditation for Geology includes “applicable safety practices in laboratory and field work” in the Program Specific Criteria. But even this formalized accreditation does not require demonstrable skills and proficiency in Lab and Field Safety.

In the bigger picture, 20 years of war in the Middle East taught an important lesson: Bleeding-out from extremities is a leading cause of death. Selected by the National Academies to serve as a Jefferson Science Fellow, I was placed with the State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS) for a one-year immersion in the culture, training, and operations of foreign service agents who operate in some of the most lawless places on Earth. During my tour of duty, I attended SEALFIT Sheepdog training. Naval Special Warfare instructors taught me how to defend myself and those around me from acts of violence, natural disasters, and accidents. Armed with lessons-learned from DS and SEALFIT, I returned to academia with a plan for implementing safety skills that can be explicitly assessed and deployed in the geoscience curriculum.

Accidental injury is the leading cause of death among college-age adults. More than any other discipline, the geosciences by their nature invite field injuries. Skills for moving an injured person to safety and stopping the bleed directly address this problem. The GSA audience will participate in three activities: (1) Move a casualty to safety. People do not have handles. How can we effectively move a non-responsive adult? (2) Deploy a tourniquet. Can you stop the bleed from a wound simulator? (3) No tourniquet? No problem. These skills provide effective techniques that lead to a safety mindset for careers in geoscience. They may not be pretty, but they get the job done. More importantly, it teaches our next generation of geoscientists how to keep themselves, or their colleagues, alive in the field.