Future Psychologists Participate in Emergency Situations Medical Aid & Rescue Competition

In middle September 2016, an annual competition in emergency situations medical aid and rescue took place at the Gazprom Dobycha Astrakhan, which is the largest gas-recovering enterprise in our Region. Students of the Department of Psychology of Astrakhan State University took part in it as members of a youth team of the Russian Union of Rescuers.

The competition participants were to pass seven stages that included checkup of rescuing equipment operability and examination of skills to apply it, work in the area of a nuclear explosion, on a site of partial deactivation and partial sanitary treatment, within an area affected by chemical agents, on a partial degassing and partial sanitary treatment site, and on a site affected by an infectious disease. Main attention was paid to saving lives in water, from under ruins, provision of first medical aid, search for wounded people in a dark premise, etc.

Although the competition required excellent skills of rescuing and first medical aid, the participants confess that it would be much more difficult for them to contest without a good psychological training that they had got during their studies.

Our team of young rescuers proved to be worthy contestants. Unfortunately, it lacked several scores to gain a victory. The referees highly appreciated its good performance and its real prospects to participate in such events in the future.