Nursing fellows take on trauma training

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class James Hensley
  • 56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  Nurses from the 56th Medical Group, in partnership with the Critical Care and Emergency Trauma Nursing Fellowship, headed to Scottsdale to help train incoming officers aspiring to become nurses during a 12-month long military training program.

The fellows, nurses in training, must complete three phases of training, the first consisting of five weeks of advanced classroom education with lectures and simulations while utilizing mannequins. The lectures are given by personnel at Scottsdale Healthcare. The second and third phases consist of having the fellows rotate through different sections for training and to gain experience in intensive care units such as the burn and pediatric ICUs along with prehospital care. This program's goal is to prepare soon-to-be nurses for real-world scenarios. Upon completion of the program, the nurses will be competent in their professions to care for patients.

"This program is phenomenal," said Maj. Susie Everly, 56th MDG critical care and emergency trauma nursing fellowship director. "It's a yearlong program and we have a fantastic foundation and a great partnership with the community. Many of the nurses who help train the incoming officers are volunteers from the local community. They do not get paid and still they come out to help train our people to become knowledgeable in their field."

Capt. Patrick Nugent, 56th MDG clinical nurse, Capt. Weston Winn, 56th MDG clinical nurse, and 1st. Lt. Katrina Chu, 56th MDG clinical nurse, completed the program on Aug. 7.

"The program was incredibly hyper and very intense," Winn said. "It was very high-paced and difficult, but we had a lot of help along the way. They threw a bunch of scenarios at us to prepare us for anything. The scope of the training taught us about everything from intensive care to trauma."

The students must study hard and work harder to make sure they are exceeding standards because people's lives will be in their hands.

"We couldn't have accomplished so much without the help of the volunteer nurses and instructors," Winn said. "Major Everly helped us throughout the duration of the program, making sure we kept up and removed the option for failure. She was the key to our success along with the instructors' help."