Ask Tulane’s Dean to End the Use of Live Pigs in Trauma Training Courses

Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine

Please take a minute to let Tulane University School of Medicine senior vice president and dean Benjamin Sachs, M.B., know that you want the medical center to stop its use of live pigs in Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) courses.   Feel free to use one of the two SAMPLE LETTERS below, or modify, or write your own, here are some talking points:

1. Please replace the use of animals in Tulane’s ATLS courses.
2. Human-based alternatives have been approved to teach these procedures by the American College of Surgeons (ACS).
3. Tulane already owns the TraumaMan System, a simulator approved by ACS, and uses it for other courses.
4. 95 percent of ATLS courses in the U.S. use the TraumaMan System or other human-based methods.

WHERE TO SEND YOUR LETTER:
bsachs@tulane.edu

SAMPLE LETTER ONE
Dear Dean Sachs,

I am disturbed after discovering that Tulane University School of Medicine uses living pigs during Advanced Trauma Life Support courses. I would respectfully request you to acknowledge that, although the pigs may be anesthetized, this subjects them to immense suffering. Pigs are marvelously intelligent and sentient beings, capable of thought, love, pain, and fear, and to expose them to this archaic method of training is alarming. In a recently conducted survey, it has been determined that in greater than 90% of similar programs, the TraumaMan System has been utilized (PCRM). The TraumaMan System has been proven a superior model to the live pig model, and I fear any student not trained on the most advanced method will have a diminished learning experience. This should be concerning to any potential patient.

Additionally, since pigs cannot be substituted for human beings, subjecting them to this process reflects a blatant disregard for life; how can we teach our future medical professionals ethics while enforcing a course that maims and kills a live being? This represents a conflict of interest as well as a contradiction in both morals and actions: if pigs are deemed similar enough to humans physiologically, then you must acknowledge that, as sentient beings, pigs should not be exploited and killed either. Any other conclusion would be considered a discord and would serve as a detriment to the learning process, especially in such a critical field of study.

It would be regrettable not being able to recommend your fine institution; however, because I value the most sophisticated and innovative learning techniques, it would be irresponsible of me to consider Tulane University School of Medicine based on your reliance of such an obsolete method of study. As such, I respectfully ask that you please accept the superior model of study, the TraumaMan System, for your university and students, and make yours an institution of credibility and honor.

I know that your time is limited, and I want to thank you for your attention and consideration.

NAME
ADDRESS

SAMPLE LETTER TWO (courtesy of PCRM)
Dear Dean Sachs,

I am writing to ask that you immediately end the use of live pigs in Tulane’s Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) courses. The use of live animals in ATLS courses is cruel and outdated. Tulane is among only 5 percent of U.S. institutions using animals for these courses. The American College of Surgeons has approved simulators such as the TraumaMan System, which Tulane owns and already uses to teach ATLS surgical skills. Given the availability of such alternatives, there is no justification for the continued use of live animals. Please end this cruel and unnecessary practice immediately.

NAME
ADDRESS