An introductory meeting of the project entitled "Utilization of Glottic and Extra-glottic Airway Methods for Airway Management" partly sponsored by the University of Amasya and Provincial Healthcare Office in Amasya. Pointing out that interventions such as unsuccessful stomach intubation resulting from lack of experience and knowledge; difficulties in performing an intervention because of unsuitable conditions at the place of incident; stress resulting from taking actions in presence of the patient's family and friends, and attempts to perform endotracheal intubation, which is a difficult process, in a moving ambulance prevent rapid and successful oxygenation, Aslı Aydoğan said: "These factors lead to consequences such as hypoxia, brain damage, myocardial damage, and death as a result of late oxygenation. Many new and alternative airway equipment have been developed in order to ensure that such incidents are prevented. Thus, using alternative methods (supraglottic equipment such as laringeal mask - LMA, intubation larengeal mask airway E-LMA, esophageal tracheal mask airway - Combitube; video supporting methods such as Video Laryngoscope; and glottic methods such as fiberoptic laryngoscope) in case of a difficult airway condition rather than insisting on and repeating the same methods would significantly reduce complications and mortality. These alternative methods provide less cervical and vertebral movement because they can be easily applied; they can be applied faster than endotracheal intubation procedures; high success ratios; reliability, and their use as a saver in unsuccessful intubation interventions; they can be blindly placed within the mouth; do not require imaging of vocal cords and thus moving the jaw strongly upward and forward. The fact that these methods can be applied more easily and within a shorter period also by inexperienced people means that its rate of success is higher and make the challenging airway management much more safer. Alternative methods other than endotracheal intubation are, however, rarely used for airway management because many of the new practices are, not used training in airway management offered by universities in Turkey and most of those equipment are not available in ambulances and hospitals."
Noting that they would carry out transnational mobility activities because of the intensive use of those innovative methods in European countries, Aydoğan went on to say: There will be a total of five mobility activities in collaboration with our all partners. The first activity will be carried out in Turkey and a situation analysis will be done regarding airway methods used at a meeting with our overseas partners and national partner and various additional activities, including field analyses and visits to emergency services and emergency medical service stations providing pre-hospital services, will be carried out. After that, all partners will carry out four daily transnational mobility activities, including two in Hungary and two in Romania, and a situation analysis will be conducted regarding innovative alternative methods used by institutions offering emergency medical services in those countries.
The partners will use these mobility activities for developing curriculum and a booklet entitled "Utilization of Alternative and New Methods Used for Airway Management". Finally, 10 students attending the first and emergency aid program will join a seven day mobility activity to Hungary and 10 others will go to Romania. Each group will be accompanied by two academics who lecture in the same program. Our students will attend language training and a Europe motivation course prior to the mobility activities. Our students will work as an intern at institutions offering emergency medical services and hence be able to observe how alternative airway equipment is used by institutions offering emergency medical services in Europe. They will also attend practical training to be organized by local partners in order to acquire knowledge and skills while improving their capabilities.
These transnational visits will serve as a cultural activity for our students. An Europass certificate will be issued to all participants and students so that skills and capabilities acquired by the participants within the mobility period will be recorded by means of this standard certificate to be used throughout Europe." Emphasizing that a training module and a curriculum would be developed as a result of those works to be undertaken with national and transnational partners as part of the project with a view to revealing the most current, innovative, and relevant information on alternative methods used for airway management, Aydoğan went on to say: "This curriculum to be developed is planned to be incorporated into the course entitled 'Emergency Patient Care" which forms a part of First and Emergency Aid Program of Healthcare Services Vocational Junior Colleges. In addition, a booklet that we are going to draw up as a project final output will be sent to the Higher Education Council and the Ministry of Health in order to raise awareness on this issue.
Training courses will be organized for employed paramedics and other healthcare staff based on data and skills resulting from the project and the trainees will provide services by employing more efficient, innovative, and relevant methods based on knowledge gained and skills developed after the training, hence preventing damage and fatalities resulting from lack of knowledge and failure to employ the appropriate method and healthcare services of higher quality will be offered to the public in a more informed manner." The meeting was attended by Prof. Metin Orbay, Ph.D., President of the University of Amasya; Öner Nergiz, MD, head of Provincial Healthcare Office; Deputy President Prof. Kemal Polat, Ph.D.; Prof. Arzu Cansaran, Ph.D., Dean of Medical Sciences Faculty; Ass. Prof. Murat Şahin, Ph.D., Head Physician of Education and Research Hospital of the University of Amasya; lecturer Arslan Say, and other officials.