Football Doctor Education Programme: course in Rome co-organised by FIGC and FSGC

On the first two days of July, at the Villa Pamphili hotel in Rome, the Football Associations of Italy and San Marino jointly organised one of the courses dedicated to the UEFA Football Doctor Education Programme. Opening the event on the morning of Friday 1 July were Professor Andrea Ferretti, Medical Officer of the Italian national team, and Loïc Noirat, representing the UEFA Medical Committee. They were followed by Dr Labianca and Dr Santoriello, who alternated in presenting the Football Doctor Education Programme (FDEP), as well as the assessment criteria and management procedures in the event of collapse and cardiac arrest during sporting activity. These are extreme situations, fortunately rare, but ones in which it is crucial – as we also saw at the last European Championship – to know exactly what to do, and to act without delay. Next up was Dr Simone Grana: the FSGC Vice-President, an orthopaedic surgeon at the Hospital of San Marino and doctor to the national team, spoke about trauma affecting the upper and lower limbs and the pelvic girdle. Before lunch, his colleagues Labianca and Guzzini addressed the management of cervical spine trauma and delivered a specific focus on women’s football. The first day of the FDEP in Rome concluded with a presentation by Dr Maria Beatrice Manca on invasive airway management, before the organisation of working groups dedicated to: cervical collar; use of the spinal board – log roll maneuver; wound management; and invasive airway management. These sessions also involved standardised scenarios with role players. Saturday’s programme resumed with similar working groups and a lecture on BLS-D (the Basic Life Support protocol including the use of a defibrillator). The FIGC Technical Coordinator, Maurizio Viscidi, then spoke about the crucial synergy between the technical staff and the medical staff of the teams. The topic of BLS-D was revisited later in the morning, culminating in a practical test that also involved the Giorgio Castelli Foundation. The course concluded with a final test for all participants.

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