3rd Annual Safar Symposium
June 23, 2005

Register Here

The third annual “Safar Symposium” is planned to be held on Thursday, June 23, 2005 on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. This symposium is being held in honor of Dr. Peter Safar, Distinguished Professor of Resuscitation Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and pioneer in the development of both modern-day cardiopulmonary resuscitation and the field of Critical Care Medicine. The symposium has two components, including a morning session devoted to “Advances in Resuscitation Research” and an afternoon session focused on “The Use of Simulation in Medical Education and Research.”

These two areas of focus for the symposium are both of great relevance to the USAMRMC mission. The morning session on advances in resuscitation addresses novel approaches to cardiac arrest, hemorrhagic shock, head injury, spinal cord injury, and multiple trauma. These conditions, taken together, contribute most of the mortality and morbidity from combat casualties. Dr. Safar’s investigative approach during his career stressed both clinical relevance and therapeutic application. In that spirit, this conference directly links basic scientists and clinicians–including representatives at all points in the continuum of resuscitation and trauma care-- from the field to the emergency department to the ICU and operating room and ultimately to the rehabilitation center. This year’s focus will be on “the inflammatory response in resuscitation.” The afternoon session on simulation in education and research similarly has considerable relevance to the USAMRMC. The development of clinically relevant resuscitation (and other) scenarios is best achieved through the use of human simulation. In addition, the current use of human simulation in the training of military personnel in field resuscitation also provides a substantial opportunity on which to directly apply new methods and approaches in this area. Finally, the strong link between the Safar Center for Resuscitation Research and scientists and clinicians working in the area of combat casualty research and care maximizes the potential for direct interaction, testing of new ideas and ultimate application of promising new approaches. This is again reflected directly in the content of the symposium.

The second “Safar Symposium,” was held on November 20, 2002, at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and was attended by scientists, physicians (from a wide spectrum of clinical departments including emergency medicine, anesthesiology, surgery, critical care medicine, rehabilitation medicine, and pediatrics), emergency medical technicians, hospital administrators, and related individuals. We anticipate similar attendance at the third symposium.