Since 1995, the Open Medical Institute has partnered with the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia to provide fellows from around the world with state-of-the-art pediatric knowledge, offering six seminars per year.
32 fellows from 25 different countries gathered in Salzburg from October 3 to 9, 2021, to participate in the 25th Pediatric Emergency Medicine seminar. This course included 20 academically enriching lectures by faculty, a spectacular simulation workshop, and several impressive fellows’ case presentations.
Dr. Manoj K. Mittal, Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania and Attending Physician, Division of Emergency Medicine at CHOP, assumed the role of course director during his second participation with the OMI. The Austrian co-course Director was Dr. Burkhard Simma, Head of the Department of Child and Adolescent Medicine at the University Teaching Hospital Feldkirch, who attended for the eleventh time. They were joined by Dr. Mirna M’farrej, who was partaking for the third time. Dr. Keri Cohn and Dr. Eva M. Delgado participated for the first time this year.
A highlight of the seminar was the hands-on training on Tuesday afternoon, run by Laerdal. It provided fellows with five stations, each focusing on a different pediatric emergency. The first station represented major trauma, the second station included respiratory arrest with seizures, and the third station included CPR for cardio-respiratory arrest. The fourth station presented a particularly challenging emergency, causing fellows to place intraosseous lines, perform rapid IV pushes, and practice intubation using a video laryngoscopy. An audio-visual feedback CPR station, including a life-sized mannequin, was the fifth station. This incredible experience was chaperoned by Michael Grabner and Christian Fröhlich, who provided excellent guidance and support. A special thank you to both, who spent many months coordinating this workshop with us!
This week’s seminar also featured a vast array of social and cultural activities, starting with a welcome reception and dinner on Sunday evening, offering faculty and fellows a chance to meet each other. Wednesday afternoon, the faculty had the opportunity to visit the local Salt Mines in Hallein, a source of Salzburg’s medieval wealth. The evening was concluded with a faculty dinner. On Thursday evening, a Chamber Music Concert took place in Schloss Arenberg, featuring a string concert with music by W.A. Mozart. The seminar ended with a farewell reception and graduation dinner, where fellows received their graduation certificates.
