

Use medical equipment as training aids to develop muscle memory. Enlist Soldiers from other sections or companies to be the actors in training scenarios in order to eliminate familiarity. They require problem-solving and the spontaneous development of contingency plans. Soldiers will never face situations like those presented in static skills stations, so why train with them? Medical emergencies are complex, evolving, and stress-evoking. It is not realistic and will create bad habits. Switch between classroom training (static) and lanes training (dynamic) to balance out your training plan, and keep the static psychomotor training to a minimum. This will keep skills fresh for more experienced medics and give leaders an opportunity to gauge the proficiency of junior medics who are new to the platoon. This formula should be cyclical and follow a crawl-walk-run progression throughout the training year. But what inexperienced medics need is dynamic training preceded by phased cognitive and psychomotor exercises. Static training fills a purpose: it checks a box. If you have to do it, why not make it good?įOCUS ON DYNAMIC TRAINING. Additionally, MOS 68W is unique in that it requires Soldiers to train to retain that MOS. However, medics are a smart bunch who yearn for training and mentorship, and they will respond positively. This is caused by a combination of factors, including lack of time, lack of training resources, lack of experienced subject matter experts, and complacency.Īs the medical field becomes more technical, training requirements are sure to become more demanding. Often this type of training, a biennial requirement, becomes a watered-down, static exercise, devoid of the combination of environmental stressors and problem-solving required to create competent and confident medics.

Conditions should be tough and realistic as well as physically and mentally challenging." However, many of them have lost touch with the following statement from the TC's introduction: "To be effective, training must provide Soldier medics with opportunities to practice their skills in an operational environment. This mass casualty exercise allowed the medics to use their medical training in a.Īny military occupational specialty (MOS) 68W (health care specialist) noncommissioned officer (NCO) can tell you about Training Circular (TC) 8-800, Medical Education and Demonstration of Individual Competence. Combat medics from Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 153rd Infantry Regiment, simulate a mass casualty event at Fort Bliss, Texas, on Jan.
