You wouldn't want a doctor who had been trained using the antiquated methods of the past, would you? Well then, you may want to avoid the medical professionals participating in the Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) program at
Baystate Medical Center in Massachusetts.
They are one of only two ATLS training centers in the whole of Canada and the United States that still use animals like pigs to simulate human trauma. The trend has been going out of style for decades, but Baystate has yet to get with the times. They refuse to use more modern methods that are as good or even better than the archaic ways that involved
hurting innocent animals.
For one thing, pigs and human bodies are not the same, meaning using a pig for the ATLS program doesn't equip our medical professionals with the best tools available. In 2001, the American College of Surgeons gave the green light to a new technology that would replace the need to use animals — "an anatomical human body simulator, which features lifelike skin, subcutaneous fat, and muscle" known as the TraumaMan System. TraumaMan is so lifelike and realistic that most centers that offer ATLS programs have opted to use them or similar systems.
Most, but not all. Instead of leading the pack, Baystate seems to be content with lagging behind almost every other center when it comes to using modern cruelty-free tools to teach their students.
They seem to disregard the fact that 99 percent of 300 centers surveyed within the U.S. and Canada have found that they don't need to use animals for trainings. Please sign the petition and tell Baystate to join the 21st century. Ask them to stop using animals in their ATLS program.
Photo credit: TheAnimalDay.org
