It’s Trauma Rodeo time and health science students are getting ready for the ultimate test through a practical, live-scenario featuring trauma situations from the front lines of emergency medicine to the operating room.

On April 10, Building 17 will transfer into a mock hospital, featuring a trauma unit that consists of nursing, radiography, and respiratory therapist students who will treat patients in the Emergency Department after being transported by EMS and EMT students in an ambulance or rushed in through a flight team off a helicopter.

RCC administrators, law enforcement, and rescue personnel will hold a briefing at 8:30 a.m. and the event will start at 9:00 a.m.

This year’s event will be a little different than what you may have seen during the previous Trauma Rodeos.

“This will be a multiple casualty event instead of multiple small incidents,” stated Brady Lawson, the EMS coordinator for RCC in a press release. “It will be an ongoing event, not like in the past where the scenarios are redone multiple times.”

It will also be an opportunity for students from all health programs to work together, and they will even get a chance to work with the physicians in residency at UNC Southeastern.

“This collaboration between several medical disciplines provides a realistic event for students to experience teamwork and an appreciation for all medical disciplines,” continued Lawson in a press release. “This experience should allow the student to see the individual knowledge gained from their time in their program of study and their ability to make critical decisions and function as part of a team.”

Students agree, saying it’s a great learning experience.  

“You definitely get nervous,” Jenea Hicks, a 2023 graduate of the Emergency Medical Science program, said in an interview last year as she took part in Trauma Rodeo.

“It gave us that exposure and it helped to alleviate some of the nerves,” Hicks said. “Practice always makes perfect.”

“It’s a great experience because everyone gets to learn, where there is not as much pressure,” Lekeya Grissett said. Lekeya graduated in 2023 with an associate degree in nursing, but had already obtained her licensure as an LPN and a paramedic.

“Trauma Rodeo is an advantage for the student,” Grissett said. “You get to have a learning experience without harming the patient. You get to collaborate with interdisciplinary teams, with the attendees and the residents, radiology students, paramedic students and you get to see everyone’s part in patient care.”

So, as you’re traveling down I-95 or on Fayetteville Road on April 10, you can expect to see emergency vehicles, law enforcement, and a helicopter touching down at Robeson Community College. Don’t be alarmed – it’s just a training exercise to give students at RCC more experience and training that they can draw from as they enter the workforce.