The sessions will be held at Taree’s Rural Fire Service (RFS) unit from 2pm on Saturday, September 15 and Forster’s RFS unit from 2pm on Sunday, September 16.

Volunteers learn from highly experienced professional emergency specialists including doctors and intensive care paramedics.

Lifelike mannequins and a unique car crash rescue simulator aid in the recreation of a high pressure environment ensures the training is realistic.

CareFlight MediSim program manager Colin Brown said those first five or ten minutes can mean the difference between life and death for the patient.

“This is where the CareFlight MediSim program comes in. We send experienced paramedics and nurses to rural and remote areas, delivering world class trauma training to local first responders,” Mr Brown said.

“These first responders do an incredible job for their community and they could be at the scene of an accident before professional medical help arrives. In rural and remote areas, first responders can be on their own for a period of time so they need to be able to manage that situation appropriately.”

CareFlight’s MediSim was launched in 2011 and more than 4500 emergency service volunteers have been trained free of charge to date.

“That means more than 4500 first responders are in a better position to respond quickly and effectively to an emergency situation in their local community,” Mr Brown said.

“Probably the best endorsement of the MediSim program is when our volunteers tell us about all the times they’ve used the skills we’ve taught them and all the lives they’ve saved in the process.”

Health services in rural and regional Australia can be stretched in emergencies and often the first people to arrive at the scene of a serious incident are local rescue volunteers or remote workers.

CareFlight MediSim is delivered at no cost to participants thanks to donations from the community and corporate sponsorship.

CareFlight’s MediSim program was developed by its own Dr Ken Harrison and has won prestigious awards both nationally and internationally.

The face of NSW transport’s “Towards Zero” safety campaign Di McMurtrie will be speaking to the participants at the beginning of the course on the impact on families of the victims of trauma.

CareFlight is an aeromedical charity with the mission to save lives, speed recovery and serve the community.

Established in 1986, CareFlight provides the highest standard of care to our patients nationally.

Our critical care doctors, paramedics and nurses are specially trained to care for seriously injured people who need emergency treatment at the scene of an accident.

They also look after seriously ill people who need to be moved between hospitals for specialist care.

CareFlight medical teams use helicopters, turbo-prop and jet aircraft and road vehicles.