446th AES treats annual medical requirements with innovation

Published April 1, 2012
By Staff Sgt. Rachael Garneau
446th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

MCCHORD FIELD, Wash. -- Every two years, Reservists from the 446th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron and 446th Aeromedical Staging Squadron must fulfill emergency medical technician training requirements for the Air Force. Typically this means a few days in a classroom with only a little bit of hands-on training.

Last year, a group of members from both squadrons created a unique type of EMT refresher training that changed the way they do business, giving participants a more realistic picture of what they can expect should they need to apply their training in a real-world situation.

Instead of viewing multiple slideshows while sitting at desks, Reservists are thrust into new hands-on, field-based scenarios that include training in Madigan Army Medical Center ambulances, or aboard an Army Reserve helicopter.

"In the past, when we'd get EMT refresher course critiques, the responses were always the same," said Tech. Sgt. Jaunita Elliott, 446th AES medical technician. "They wanted more hands-on training that simulated different situations, creating a more realistic scenario."

Not only was the training hands on, it also enabled the medical units to use people to simulate patients and create a more realistic scenario.

"The type of training at Leschi Town is very unique from the way tan EMT refresher is traditionally done," said Senior Airman Andrew Davis, 446th ASTS medical technician. "There is an interactive approach in this training with real people playing out the roles of patients instead of the traditional way with mannequins as patients and an instructor telling you what the scenario is with it."

The Air Force Reserve medical teams also teamed up with their counterparts in the Army Reserve and Air National Guard. Army Reserve unit B Company, 1-214th General Support Battalion Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., brought their CH-47 Chinook helicopters each day of the training. This allows the Airmen to practice loading and unloading patients onto the aircraft under a variety of simulations. They also witness and learn how the Army performs patient evacuation and stabilization.

"The opportunity I had to be trained using a radio to call in an Army helicopter is one of those skills not too many ASTS personnel know how to do," said Davis. "Being that the 446th ASTS is usually responsible for moving patients on the ground to aircraft and AES is responsible for the patients on the aircraft, this was a great opportunity for both units to understand each other's roles more thoroughly. The ASTS was able to gain a 'hands-on' understanding of AES's role on an aircraft and they understood our's on the ground."

The motivation to train in a joint environment is two-fold, according to Elliott. It introduces them to aircraft they might encounter in a deployed environment in addition to familiarizing them with techniques their Army partners use.

Doing something a little different keeps the training fresh and exciting for Senior Airman Kyle Knox, a 446th AES operations scheduler participating in the refresher course.

"Flying on a helicopter is an incentive for me and keeps things from getting repetitive," he said.

Participants have also found that moving the training to Camp Leschi, a training area on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, also made the training more realistic for them last October.

"The training is now comparable to what civilian EMTs receive and is made even more special due to the interoperability with the Army," said Maj. Kristy Forbes, 446th AES Clinical Management Flight commander. "Because of the joint environment, the Airmen get a different point of view as EMTs while they facilitate each other's training."

"We all work with each other and learn from one another," said Forbes. "So, it's great to have that collaborative effort."

The 446th AES and ASTS are the only units in the Air Force with such a robust hands-on training curriculum to update their EMT skills, according to Elliott.

"Normally we don't get to see authentic scenarios we might experience as an EMT," Elliott said. "It was taught in a classroom and before, we didn't get to see it firsthand; now we do."