By Julie Cobos, RN

Speaking truth to teenagers is no easy task. Especially when it involves talking about their choices ... choices about drinking, driving, drugs, about safe living.

But as a trauma nurse at John C. Lincoln North Mountain Hospital, every week I see the desperate need to do something meaningful to keep kids alive until they reach common-sense adulthood.

That’s why I was thrilled when North Mountain’s Level I Trauma Services Department asked me to present safety seminars for area teens.

Teenagers are the highest risk takers, and they know it. But they don’t want anyone telling them what to do, even if the advice may save their lives. So I don’t tell them what to do.

Instead, with humor punctuated with stark reality, I talk about choices and consequences.

I don’t tell them to wear helmets when they get on a motorcycle. I just show them photos of our trauma patients who wrecked their bikes without helmets. Graphic reality (sometimes!) gets their attention.

I don’t tell them not to drink. Instead, I bring a couple of pairs of “drunk goggles” and ask for volunteers to test them. The glasses impair balance and vision the same way a .08 blood alcohol level does.

Teens wearing the goggles are asked to toss balls back and forth, walk across the room and do other simple things requiring coordination. They’re amazed at how impaired they’ve become.

One of our most dramatic events was scheduled with support from the American Automobile Association in preparation for last year’s Sunnyslope Senior Prom. With help from Phoenix Police, Fire and ambulance companies, we depicted an alcohol-related auto crash requiring fire department extrication and ambulance flights to our Trauma Center. Students with dramatic ability were made up—moulaged—with blood and injuries typical of trauma victims.

I was able to recount, in graphic detail, what it’s like to be a trauma patient. It’s amazing how seeing becomes believing.

We chose Sunnyslope High to trial “Battle of the Belt,” also sponsored by AAA to promote seat belt use.

On-the-spot checks were done before and after school. Not surprisingly, we found a significant decrease in seat belt use in the afternoon when it was hotter and kids were tired or distracted.

During the year, the student council sponsored a campaign to encourage seat belt use at all times. While morning use averaged 80-90 percent from the beginning and did not substantially change, by the end of the campaign, afternoon seat belt use paralleled morning rates, so we felt we’d achieved major success.

We’re continuing our outreach efforts with teenagers this year; anyone who wants us to talk to their school or youth groups should call Trauma Services at 602-870-6060 ext. 6210 to schedule our programs. We’re always looking for opportunities to save more young lives.

Julie Cobos, RN, is part of John C. Lincoln’s Level I Trauma Services Department staff, working as Injury Prevention/Outreach coordinator. She can be reached at 602-870-6060, ext. 6210.