2RHPZ
06-18-2004, 12:55 AM
Training Special Forces
VCU Medical Center is one of four hospitals in the country training Special Operation Combat Medics.
Sgt. First Class Chris Ecklund treats a patient in VCU Medical Center's emergency department
http://images.richmond.com/images/storyimage/6-16-04medics_story.jpg
Polly Roberts
Richmond.com
Thursday June 17, 2004
The staff at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center is accustomed to training medical residents who will treat patients in a hospital setting.
But now the medical center is one of four hospitals in the country that is working with Special Operations Combat Medic trainees to help them gain as much medical experience as possible before they are deployed around the world.
The elite group of 25 trainees come from the Joint Special Operations Medical Training Center in Ft. Bragg, N.C. Their units include Army Special Forces, Navy Seals and Army Rangers.
The JSOMTC chose VCU Medical Center as a training site because as the only Level 1 trauma center in Central Virginia, the facility treats a high volume of trauma and critical care patients.
"This is definitely preparation for the types of injuries they’re going to see," said Marsh Cuttino, the director of the Virginia Disaster Readiness Center who works directly with the trainees in the emergency department. "We get all the sickest trauma patients and that’s what they’re looking for."
For five months, the Special Forces medics have studied core courses such as physiology and anatomy. But they only had performed medical procedures on mannequins and each other.
"This is their first chance to work on sick patients," Cuttino said. "It’s a very intense and rigorous program."
The trainees will work 12-hour shifts, six days a week through the end of the month in the emergency department and they will also rotate through the surgical trauma intensive care unit, the operating rooms, the Evans-Haynes Burn Center and labor and delivery.
"It’s really fast-paced and the stress is there and that’s part of our training," said Sgt. First Class Chris Ecklund, 30. "It’s definitely upped my confidence and my ability."
The goal of the training is for the medics to be able to stabilize and maintain a critically injured comrade or civilian for 72 hours, which is considered enough time for other medical services to arrive or to transport the patient to the closest hospital.
"The skills these folks learn are above what a street medic will learn," said Keith Cox, paramedics instructor.
Those skills include learning how to treat advanced wound care, suturing, intravenous access, emergency airway management and other procedures designed to save lives.
Large urban medical centers are often used as the training ground for the military medics because they treat more gunshot wounds than other hospitals. The other training hospitals are located in three Florida cities: Tampa, St. Petersburg and Jacksonville.
The medics are the second Special Forces group to be trained at VCU Medical Center. The first training took place in March, and the hospital plans to have two to three more groups before the end of the year.
"We’ll keep doing it as long as they’re able to come," Cuttino said. "It’s our patriotic duty."
VCU Medical Center is one of four hospitals in the country training Special Operation Combat Medics.
Sgt. First Class Chris Ecklund treats a patient in VCU Medical Center's emergency department
http://images.richmond.com/images/storyimage/6-16-04medics_story.jpg
Polly Roberts
Richmond.com
Thursday June 17, 2004
The staff at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center is accustomed to training medical residents who will treat patients in a hospital setting.
But now the medical center is one of four hospitals in the country that is working with Special Operations Combat Medic trainees to help them gain as much medical experience as possible before they are deployed around the world.
The elite group of 25 trainees come from the Joint Special Operations Medical Training Center in Ft. Bragg, N.C. Their units include Army Special Forces, Navy Seals and Army Rangers.
The JSOMTC chose VCU Medical Center as a training site because as the only Level 1 trauma center in Central Virginia, the facility treats a high volume of trauma and critical care patients.
"This is definitely preparation for the types of injuries they’re going to see," said Marsh Cuttino, the director of the Virginia Disaster Readiness Center who works directly with the trainees in the emergency department. "We get all the sickest trauma patients and that’s what they’re looking for."
For five months, the Special Forces medics have studied core courses such as physiology and anatomy. But they only had performed medical procedures on mannequins and each other.
"This is their first chance to work on sick patients," Cuttino said. "It’s a very intense and rigorous program."
The trainees will work 12-hour shifts, six days a week through the end of the month in the emergency department and they will also rotate through the surgical trauma intensive care unit, the operating rooms, the Evans-Haynes Burn Center and labor and delivery.
"It’s really fast-paced and the stress is there and that’s part of our training," said Sgt. First Class Chris Ecklund, 30. "It’s definitely upped my confidence and my ability."
The goal of the training is for the medics to be able to stabilize and maintain a critically injured comrade or civilian for 72 hours, which is considered enough time for other medical services to arrive or to transport the patient to the closest hospital.
"The skills these folks learn are above what a street medic will learn," said Keith Cox, paramedics instructor.
Those skills include learning how to treat advanced wound care, suturing, intravenous access, emergency airway management and other procedures designed to save lives.
Large urban medical centers are often used as the training ground for the military medics because they treat more gunshot wounds than other hospitals. The other training hospitals are located in three Florida cities: Tampa, St. Petersburg and Jacksonville.
The medics are the second Special Forces group to be trained at VCU Medical Center. The first training took place in March, and the hospital plans to have two to three more groups before the end of the year.
"We’ll keep doing it as long as they’re able to come," Cuttino said. "It’s our patriotic duty."