About the course
The European Trauma Course
The European Trauma Course (ETC) is an internationally recognised, simulation-based course for the initial care of critically injured patients. It combines evidence-based medicine with human factors, crisis resource management and realistic simulation – so teams don't just learn what to do, they practise doing it together under pressure.
The course concept
The ETC puts the trauma team, not the individual clinician, at the centre. In realistic scenarios, participants train the structured assessment and management of critically injured patients in those first, decisive minutes – from handover and the prioritisation of life-saving interventions through to decisions about definitive care.
No ETC course ever exceeds a ratio of two participants per instructor, and in practice it is often closer to 1:1. No one is left watching: everyone trains hands-on at every station and receives individual, immediate feedback.
Before every course, the faculty rehearses the entire course together – hands-on, station by station. By the time participants arrive, content, roles and details are aligned, so the course time belongs entirely to learning.
The curriculum
The curriculum follows the internationally standardised ETC programme and includes:
- Primary survey – structured initial assessment using the ABCDE approach
- Airway management in trauma patients
- Shock management and haemorrhage control
- Thoracic trauma
- Traumatic brain injury
- Team communication and handover
- Human factors and crisis resource management
- Simulation training in realistic scenarios
Who the course is for
The ETC is aimed at healthcare professionals who care for critically injured patients or want to extend their trauma management skills:
- Doctors in acute and emergency medicine
- Anaesthesia and intensive care teams
- Surgery and trauma surgery
- Emergency and intensive care nursing
- Pre-hospital emergency teams
Certification and recognition
The European Trauma Course is endorsed by the European Resuscitation Council (ERC), the European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care (ESA/ESAIC), the European Society for Emergency Medicine (EuSEM) and the European Society for Trauma and Emergency Surgery (ESTES). Graduates receive an internationally recognised certificate issued by these societies.
The white paper of the German Trauma Society (DGU) recommends the ETC as part of trauma centre certification. Austrian physicians earn DFP credits through the Academy of Physicians of the Austrian Medical Chamber.