University Hospital staff observes AES training program

  • Published
  • By Stacy Vaughn
  • 445th Public Affairs
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  Seven staff members from The Ohio State University Medical Center Perioperative Services spent the afternoon Dec 2 at the 445th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron learning about their training program to determine if they can mirror it in their work environment. The group is looking at applying principals of aircrew operations, checklist discipline, training, and evaluation to the operating room environment.

Jeff Ward, OSU charge nurse, education and training, is very familiar with the 445th AES' training program because he was assigned to the unit in 1986 followed by an assignment in the 445th Operations Group aircrew standardization/evaluation office before leaving the service.

"AES offers a great in-house training program that I wanted our group to see. We are adapting our training program at University Hospital to the system utilized by aeromed to train its aeromedical crewmembers," Mr. Ward said.

Maj. Todd Mulhorn, 445th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron operations officer, was pleased when he got the call that OSUMC was interested in learning about their program.

"I believe a lot of principals and techniques that we use are very adaptable to their environment," Major Mulhorn said.

Some of the areas the group wanted to learn about include the set up of training folders; checklists; operational risk management; evaluation guidelines; ground training process; and instructor and examiner training.

"We have a very well established training program here. This was a great opportunity to share with someone outside of our organization the training program we have in place. I hope they will be able to use some of the information we discussed and apply it to their program," Major Mulhorn said.

Major Mulhorn spent some time going over training records with the group. He explained that like a lot of career programs, the key to success is getting a good match between career field and personal skill set. But not everyone has the unique skill set to be in it. Some individuals are just not suited for the environment. He went on to say that the best way to find out is to let them experience the job first hand; in AES' case, experiencing a launch, recovery, or flight. In the case of the operating room, that may come from observing a case in the OR.

"Let them 'fly a sortie' in the OR. And as an instructor or interviewer, you must be prepared to tell that person that they may not be suited for that particular career field. Sometimes that's the tough part of the job," Major Mulhorn said.

During their visit, the group also spent time discussing the principals of crew resource management and operational risk management. Major Mulhorn said both programs have a lot of impact on aircrew operations and seemingly are adaptable to the operating room environment. Aircrews are multidisciplinary teams (pilot, loadmaster, engineer, medical technician, and flight nurse) just as operatory teams (physician, nurse, operating room technician, and anesthetist). Working on the communication and risk mitigation are essential to success in both arenas.

Linda Petty, director of perioperative education, policy, and process improvement, enjoyed her visit with the 445th AES and said they have already been using some of the methods covered but found out that there are some tools they can take back with them to try.

"One of the reasons we came out today was to learn how we can work more as a team and be prepared for that mind set. We also learned about the importance of communicating effectively as a team, including any risks involved. Recognizing the risks and potential safety hazards of not communicating effectively in the operating room is very important to recognize," she said.

At the end of the day, the group spoke with AES crews that were preparing for a training mission. They were able to talk with the crew about the different kinds of equipment used on missions and they were able to sit in on their mission briefing.

"The response to the visit was very positive. We have already implemented some of the training programs used by the AES. We really enjoyed seeing the checklist's, hearing the briefings, and learning about the operational risk management process that Major Mulhorn covered. Our next step is to sit down and discuss how we plan to adapt our existing program," Mr. Ward said.