he
Chirurgeonate is the first-aid arm of the Society for Creative
Anachronism.
It is a group of volunteers who provide first-aid at SCA activities,
such
as tournaments, feasts, and camping events. Membership includes real
world
first-aiders, nurses, physicians, and Emergency Medical Technicians of
all levels. Together, they make up the Chirurgeonate, or
Chirurgeon’s Guild.
n
the early days of the Society, someone usually kept a first-aid kit
around
for the occasional injury. Over the years the Society has grown and the
need for organized first aid has grown with it. There are several
events
each year which draw more than a thousand participants for up to two
weeks
at a time. The main thrust of Chirurgery has become organizational in
an
effort to coordinate the Chirurgeons at an event along with the
supplies
they will need and coordination with the other functionaries (marshals,
autocrats, heralds, and water-bearers) they will be working with.
he
good chirurgeon focuses on the most basic issues: being supportive and
doing no harm medically while stabilizing immediate problems with
breathing,
bleeding, and shock. The chirurgeon then ensures that a patient obtains
the most appropriate level of care as quickly as possible.
ne multimedia
first aid course, in and of itself, cannot adequately equip a person
with
no previous interest or experience, but most people who enroll in such
a course bring significant interest and life experience with them so
that
course content is largely a means of organizing, formalizing and
reviewing
material with which they are already familiar as caregivers.
Based on introductory articles in The Compleat Anachronist #42, Issues in Chirurgery
Return to the Chirurgeons' Point