Bournemouth University's Godzilla Drill: Realistic Training

0:00On March 27, Bournemouth University recently held a disaster training drill for medical students using a mock Godzilla attack. Paramedic, nursing, and mental health nursing students responded to a giant inflatable dinosaur doll and a red t-shirt that it caused mass casualties in an underground car park. The setup included actors with realistic injuries like severe head wounds, gut injuries, and heavy bleeding created by makeup students. The car park was divided into three zones for paramedic response, physiotherapy, and mental health care to simulate a full major incident. Organizers chose the fun-master theme over realistic scenarios like terrorist attacks or train crashes to ease student stress. The university has run similar playful exercises before, such as alien invasions and zombie apocalypsees while keeping injury patterns authentic. Full air ambulance services from Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire, and Bath plus a hospital trust partnered on the event.

1:00Staff praised first-year students for mastering basic triage after shaking off nerves and third-year students for handling high-pressure-like pros. These drills build skills in sorting patients, making quick calls, and teaming up under chaos all without overwhelming anyone, so students are ready for the real thing when it counts.