Founder’s Feature: Nola Pearce

From St John Cadet to the Founder of TraumaSim

TraumaSim founder Nola Pearce didn’t begin her journey with a business plan or a product idea.
It began decades earlier, with a teenager in Adelaide who wanted to help people and learn how to save lives. That curiosity — sparked in the St John Cadet program in the 1970s — would quietly shape a path that eventually led to the founding of TraumaSim in 2008.

Growing up in Adelaide, Nola Pearce joined the St John Cadet program while planning a future career in nursing. The program provided early training in first aid, leadership, and teamwork, but it also introduced her to something that would stay with her for years: simulation and moulage.

At the time, mock injuries were simple — playdough, fake blood, and basic makeup — but they made training scenarios feel real. Cadets also acted as role-players during mass-casualty exercises for St John Ambulance, gaining early exposure to the realities of emergency response. Although Nola didn’t realise it then, these experiences laid the foundation for everything that followed.

Early passion for first aid and realistic training

After completing a full nursing career, Nola returned to training and education in 2008 as a first aid and medic instructor. It was here that she became increasingly concerned by what she saw in the training environment.

Simulation was limited. Moulage was rarely used in Australia, and learners were often shielded from realistic injury imagery because it might be “upsetting”. From experience, Nola knew this approach could do more harm than good. When people encounter serious injuries for the first time without preparation, it can lead to hesitation, distress, and poor performance.

Realistic training doesn’t overwhelm learners — it prepares them.

From nursing to simulation and moulage

At the time, the United States was leading the way in moulage education, so Nola travelled to Nevada and Virginia to undertake specialised training. These experiences confirmed what she had long believed: realistic, well-designed simulation plays a critical role in building confidence, competence, and emotional readiness.

Not long after returning to Australia, Nola and a friend launched TraumaSim. Initially, it existed simply to support the medic courses they were running by providing realistic moulage materials.

Demand grew quickly.

Within a year, TraumaSim had expanded beyond its original purpose. Nola began running the company independently and stepped away from medic training entirely to focus on developing TraumaSim.

TraumaSim founder Nola Pearce and the founding of TraumaSim in 2008

Founded in 2008, TraumaSim was created to address a clear gap in emergency medical training: the lack of realistic, clinically accurate simulation tools. TraumaSim reflects the experience and values of TraumaSim founder Nola Pearce, shaped by decades of nursing, training, and simulation work.

As TraumaSim grew, so did its influence. When the company developed some of its early haemorrhage control training aids, nothing like them existed at the time. As the Emergency Tourniquet Trainer gained traction, copies began appearing across the market — some well made, others lacking realism or durability.

This pattern continued as new tools were introduced, reinforcing the importance of thoughtful design, clinical accuracy, and products created for genuine educational purpose.

Growing a global simulation company

Seventeen years on, TraumaSim is now in its 18th year, supplying simulation and moulage products to customers around the world. Over this time, the simulation industry itself has expanded rapidly, with both high-quality innovation and a growing number of low-quality alternatives entering the market.

Throughout this growth, TraumaSim has remained focused on:

• clinical accuracy
• durability
• realism
• meaningful educational outcomes

As TraumaSim founder Nola Pearce reflects on the company’s growth, the focus has always remained on realism, clinical accuracy, and meaningful training outcomes.

The company’s success has never been the result of one person alone. TraumaSim has brought together artists, clinicians, production experts, simulation specialists, and military and clinical collaborators, each contributing essential expertise to ensure products are realistic, credible, and fit for purpose.

A full-circle moment

Recently, TraumaSim supplied a full range of simulation and moulage materials to a St John youth program. That interaction prompted reflection on just how much of TraumaSim’s story began within St John. What started decades earlier in a cadet hall in Adelaide had, in many ways, come full circle.

“Supplying moulage materials to a St John youth program brought back a lot of memories. I never imagined, as a cadet, that those early experiences would eventually lead to TraumaSim. It really did feel like a full-circle moment.”

— Nola Pearce, Founder, TraumaSim

As TraumaSim continues into its 18th year, it remains deeply rewarding to see its products used in training environments around the world. Knowing that these tools may help someone feel more prepared, more confident, or better able to respond in a critical moment is what continues to drive the work forward.

For TraumaSim founder Nola Pearce, the company is not just a business, but the continuation of a path that began with first aid training, curiosity, and a desire to prepare people for real-world emergencies.

Nola’s early training through the St John Cadet program with St John Ambulance Australia played a formative role in shaping her approach to emergency training.

If you’d like to learn more about TraumaSim and our approach to realistic simulation, visit our About us page.