Virtual Orthopaedics: Plastering Skills

The first RVTS workshop of the year was held as a virtual event during April. Registrars are located all over Australia, and were able to join the workshop from their homes or practices, joining in for high quality training without the risks of travel in our current climate. The 3 day event for the 3 cohorts covered various topics including GP Emergencies, Dental Emergencies, Obstetrics, Paediatrics, Palliative Care, Ophthalmology, Care Plans and more.

The virtual workshop program was creatively designed to include small group discussions, video demonstrations of skills followed by Q&As and case discussions, opportunities to share stories and experiences, and network with other registrars working in rural, remote and First Nation communities.

In one of the sessions -“Orthopaedics: Managing Fractures”, Trish Evans demonstrated essential Plastering Skills. Trish is a senior plaster technician with over 30 years experience. She has extensive experience in teaching casting courses using plaster and synthetic materials, and is involved in teaching at the undergraduate and postgraduate level.

In this short video excerpt, Trish demonstrates the techniques for:

• Short arm slabs
• Thumb spica
• Short leg back slab

Trish shares tips on performing these essential skills in such a way that you can implement what is learned immediately.

You can listen to the excerpt here (17min 30sec):

You may want to review the following resources for further information:

1. Fracture Education : Management Principles
2. A better way to get plastered • LITFL • Plaster cast templates
3. Principles of Casting and Splinting – American Family Physician