We’ve all read stories about how video games can be beneficial. From hand-eye coordination to relaxation, to social networking, to learning how to kill hookers with your car. Apparently, there’s a new benefit that, until now, had gone previously unexplored. Video games can train you to be medics and firefighters! (I assume, by default, soldiers and cops as well).
Find out, after the jump, how one man’s claim of the benefits of video games, could actually have cost lives.
Recently, I read articles on several gaming blogs, as well as other mainstream media outlets such Wired, based on a forum posting on the America’s Army website. In this tale, Mr. Galvanek, a man from North Carolina, witnessed a car accident and stopped to help.
Mr. Galvanek decided, based on his video game medical training, that the people must be pulled from the car. He then noticed that one of the people has two severed fingers. According to his video game medical training, he applied a pressure dressing and had the person raise his hand over his head.
Mr. Galvanek told anyone who would listen that he learned all of this from playing America’s Army (PC version) and where he was able to receive medic training in the game. In the original forum posting, and nearly every other article I’ve read, it was claimed that Mr. Galvanek saved this person’s life… all thanks to video games.
What the stories failed to mention was that the accident victims could have been paralyzed, or killed simply by pulling them from the car in the first place.
Find out why, on the next page.
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8 responses so far ↓
1 NecrisJ1MM // Feb 12, 2008 at 3:06 pm
Good points, it’s good to see another point of view on this story. But all in all at least the guy is alive.
So cars don’t explode in awesome action-like fires? Hollywood be damned.
2 RAGNAROCK // Feb 12, 2008 at 6:17 pm
but video games do teach other important stuff,like myself for example,where I live we speck spanish but with video games,belive it or not,I learn how to talk an speak english(I mean not perfect english but I can have a normal conversation with anyone that speaks english).
3 RAGNAROCK // Feb 12, 2008 at 6:26 pm
sorry for posting again but I noticed two errors that I made on my comment.First I wrote speck when it should have been speak and second I wrote talk and speak when it should say speak an write english.
4 ummm, Yeah... // Feb 12, 2008 at 8:41 pm
What, do you not care about the entire situation? Here we have a potentially life threatening accident, and the only one around is a gamer who happens to know, or thinks he knows, that if immediate action is not taken was not taken, the people involved could have died. Thus, he did the only thing he knew how to, which was to imitate a game that claims to be ultra-realistic. In doing so, he possibly saved two lives, and isn’t that the important thing? This article does not call for every gamer to apply first aid when possible, nor does it say that people should play more videogames in order to do first aid. It’s just reporting the facts, and you are wrong to blast them for that.
5 Huckleberry // Feb 13, 2008 at 3:14 am
I am not trying to take anything away from Mr. Galvanek. I am grateful, as are the victims I assume, to Mr. Galvanek for what he did that day. It is the shoddy reporting on the part of the “legitimate” websites that I question. They ran a story that is sensationalist, based on a forum piece that sounds like a press release from the game manufacturer. The way those stories read sounds, to me, like a cheap attempt to get readers and encourages others to do the same as Mr. Galvenek did in the future because it was good.
The result was good. The intent was good. But the act was very, very dangerous. Anyone in emergency services will tell you that the appropriate thing to have done would have been to call 911 and followed the directions of the operator before running up to an accident scene. I’m sure Mr. Galvenek was just trying to help, but he did so based on a false sense of security. To do what Mr. Galvanek did was well-intentioned, but foolhardy. To report it the way Wired and others did was irresponsible.
6 Huckleberry // Feb 13, 2008 at 3:19 am
NecrisJ1MM -
No awesome action-like fires……but don’t stay in your burning truck just cause I said that……
…..apparently love don’t work the way it does in the movies either…..stupid Hollywood liars!!
7 Chayce // Feb 14, 2008 at 9:24 pm
Have you even PLAYED America’s Army??? No where in the game tells you to move an injured person. In fact, they told you NOT to since they may have a neck injury. Mr. Galvanek obviously did not score very high in the in-game medic test.
8 AStrangerWithCandy // Feb 16, 2008 at 5:32 pm
Cant agree with you enough. That guy was seriously lucky he didnt kill anyone on accident.
But I love how now the beloved jack thompson can use this as an example of games teaching people to properly do things…screwed no matter the outcome,how sad
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