Those studying on the Media Make-Up & Character Design course used casualty make-up techniques to replicate real-life injuries, providing Paramedic Science students with an insight into the diagnosis and training they will need to implement when encountering various medical emergencies on the job.

This collaborative project focused on visible injuries and diseases, to give the students an indicator of how to treat and assess a patient when dealing with real-life scenarios – as well as helping the Media Make-Up students get a chance to see their casualty simulation make-up come to life!

Allan Sunderland, Senior Lecturer in Paramedic Science, and Jenny Poulton, Tutor in Media Make-Up, teamed up to provide this interactive learning experience for students. As a former casualty simulation make-up artist to the military and emergency services, Jenny was keen to provide students with a realistic working environment on campus to practice their skills.

Speaking about the project, Jenny said: “It was clear that Allan and I both shared a vision that this collaborative process would be a huge benefit to our students. The opportunity gave my students confidence and belief that make-up can make a difference in the working environment as they had the chance to observe the paramedic students in various scenarios.”

Allan added: “Working with the University’s make-up students has, in simple terms, allowed for the paramedic course to take simulation to the next level. Yes, we will still utilise manikins or actors, but now we have a new point of visual reference for the student paramedic that has proven to enhance their learning experience.”

Following this successful project which was met by great feedback from partaking students, the Schools of Arts & Creative Industries and of Society, Community & Health plan to collaborate again on something similar in the near future.

For the creative students in particular, the project allowed them to showcase their industry skillset for their portfolio, as many Make-Up & Character Design students go on to work in television or film, where creating realistic injuries in a fast-paced environment is part of their everyday work.

FdA Media Make-Up & Character Design student, Jessica Bots, commented: “Having the opportunity to take part in a work experience like this had not only made me more motivated but also given me more confidence in myself and my work. It was such a good challenge to do make-up in a fast-paced environment and on people you are not familiar with. I learned so much from the collaboration and this will definitely help me during the rest of my course and in the future.”

Meanwhile, for the student paramedics, they were able to immerse themselves in the treatment of the simulated patient in a realistic scenario, allowing them to work seamlessly together and embrace this learning opportunity while giving the teaching staff an insight into their progress and development.

A second-year Paramedic Science student said: “The make-up was fantastic, very realistic. It was a big part of the decision making process because if it wasn’t there and we were just imagining these injuries, we most likely would have shrugged it off and not dealt with it in the most timely and sensitive way, so it was a massive benefit of the simulation.”