The programme is designed for doctors who do not treat victims of major trauma regularly and who many not have immediate access to sophisticated emergency facilities.

Doctors treating trauma patients in emergency or surgical departments also benefit from the course training. The programme emphasises the first hour of initial assessment and primary management of the injured patient, starting at the point in time of injury and continuing through initial assessment, life-saving intervention, re-evaluation, stabilisation, and when needed, transfer to a facility in which the patient can receive specialised care.

Based on well-established principles and objectives of trauma management, the course is intended to provide doctors with one acceptable method for safe, immediate management and the basic knowledge necessary:

- Assess the patient's condition rapidly and accurately.
- Resuscitate and stabilise the patient on a priority basis.
- Determine if the patient's needs will likely exceed a .facility's capabilities.
- Arrange for the patient's interhospital transfer.
- Assure that optimum care is provided each step of the way.