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EMS Education Tips

Moulage for EMS Scenarios and Simulations

Taking pictures of actually injured or ill patients is logistically difficult and often requires a lot of luck to encounter the specific patient for the specific situation you are describing in a lesson. Thus I do a lot of custom or staged photography of injured or ill patients to use in e-learning lessons.

Moulage is a process of applying makeup and prosthetics to simulate illness or injury. A few general principles I follow for moulage application include:

  • needs to be appropirate to the patient’s mechanism, complaint, and history
  • aim for realism and subtlety
  • don’t over apply
  • only moulage what is important for the learning points
  • moulage what you are likely to photograph
  • leave some wounds for discovery during the patient assessment

What are your moulage application and design tips?

By Greg Friese

Greg Friese, Stevens Point, Wisconsin, is an author, educator, paramedic, and marathon runner.

Greg was the co-host of the award winning EMSEduCast podcast, the only podcast by and for EMS educators. Greg has written for EMS1.com, JEMS.com, Wilderness Medical Associates, JEMS Magazine, EMSWorld.com and EMS World Magazine, and the NAEMSE Educator Newsletter.