The training at the lifeboat station follows a visit by Galway RNLI crew to the Clinical Simulation and Interprofessional Education Facility at the University’s College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences at the end of 2025.
Dr Cara Egan, lecturer in Clinical Skills and Simulation at University of Galway said, “For the RNLI crew visit to our facility last year, we designed a real-life scenario that enabled the crew to apply their casualty care training, along with using the first aid equipment they carry on the lifeboat.”
“This time, we were able to observe casualty care training in the lifeboat environment. This was an excellent opportunity for our students to see how their medical training will be used in the event of caring for casualties who are brought to shore by RNLI crew either as a result of an injury while on the water or having entered the water.”
This visit was also part of the Simulation and Medical Education module for the students, which is designed to demonstrate learning in the community.
Nurse Olivia Byrne, who is also a volunteer RNLI crew and leads out on first aid exercises at the lifeboat station, said, “The medicine students got to experience how RNLI crew assess and manage casualty care in a very different environment from hospital-based care.”
“We were able to show how we care for casualties on the lifeboat and the challenges that varying sea conditions pose when getting a casualty onto the lifeboat and then back onto land to hand over to the ambulance service if they require ongoing medical care.”
“As part of the visit, we also demonstrated the first aid equipment that our crew are trained to use. And the visit included an overview of technical capabilities of our lifeboat and the communications and other technology used to coordinate a search and rescue operation.”
“It was a very positive experience for our crew to meet these students as they begin their medical studies and we hope that what they learned here this evening will benefit them in their future careers.
She added that, “Every day is a learning day for us as crew and hopefully the same for the students.”
“We are all volunteers here in Galway RNLI and we depend on the support of our community to be able to provide a 24/7 search and rescue service.”
“We are very appreciative of the support from the University of Galway and the opportunities that our ongoing engagement has given us to enhance our casualty care and first aid training.”
