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Replacing Animals in Advanced Trauma Life Support Courses

Across the United States and Canada, 99% of surveyed Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) programs use only human-relevant training methods, but one program—taught by Sanford Health staff at North Dakota State University in Fargo—continues to use live animals.

The use of live animals—mostly dogs, goats, and pigs—in ATLS courses was once common. Today, nearly all of these programs train without using animals.

ATLS courses teach surgical skills designed to respond to acute trauma injuries. Procedures include cricothyroidotomy (an incision in the neck to relieve an obstructed airway), pericardiocentesis (removing fluid from the sac that surrounds the heart), and chest tube insertion (draining blood, fluid, or air to allow the lung to fully expand). When animals are used, they are killed at the end of the training sessions.

In 2001, the American College of Surgeons, which developed ATLS courses, stated that “wherever feasible, alternatives to the use of live animals should be developed and employed” and endorsed the use of Simulab’s TraumaMan System for use in its courses. TraumaMan is a high-fidelity, human-patient simulator with lifelike skin, subcutaneous fat, and muscle, and its replaceable tissues provide each trainee with a first-cut experience. As of Jan. 1, 2015, the U.S. Department of Defense prohibited the use of animals for ATLS courses, concluding that “sufficient simulation models [are] available to meet medical education and training needs.”

In 2007, the Physicians Committee began a survey of facilities in the U.S. and Canada that offer ATLS courses. The survey is ongoing, but there is currently only one program known to still use live animals.

Virtually all ATLS programs use human-relevant methods, which provide the best, most accurate training available today. Failure to keep up with modern standards is a disservice to physicians and their patients.

John Pippin, MD, FACC, Director of Academic Affairs, Physicians Committee

Take Action

Please take a moment to urge Sanford Health and North Dakota State University to replace animals with human-relevant methods.

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