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CAMP HERO, Afghanistan - The North Atlantic Treaty Organization Role 3 Multinational Medical Unit continues their support of Operation Enduring Freedom and their Afghan counterparts as they finish another familiarization training course at Kandahar Regional Military Hospital, Kandahar, Afghanistan, Feb. 11, 2014.
Two MMU personnel took a 10-hour electrocardiography class and condensed it down into a two and a half-hour course, covering to a variety of topics and skill levels to teach to different proficiencies within the KRMH staff.
“We had a couple of different levels of clinicians, we had several physicians and a number of physician assistant students,” Cmdr. Sean Bryant, NATO Role 3 MMU emergency physician, said.
The course was designed to be as complex or as simple as the KRMH staff needed.
“The intent was to reach the entire crowd,” Bryant said. “Since we had a mix of clinicians in the room, for some this might have been very new material but we had others who were well versed in EKG, and I think this was a nice refresher for them.”
An EKG is a medical device that interprets the electrical activity of the heart over a period of time.
“We presented the basic EKG lecture, we focused on the essential element what a EKG is and where it comes from,” Bryant said.
Bryant co-taught the course with Lt. Justin Fulkerson, NATO Role 3 MMU trauma bay nurse. Each focused on different aspects of the EKG.
“All the students were engaged, and you could tell some of the physician assistants in the room were brand new but still very interactive; eyes on and hears open the whole time we were talking,” Fulkerson said.
Fulkerson explained how even though some of the material was review for some of the staff, they were able to hit on new information for everyone.
“One of the biggest tenants of medical care is constantly teaching others, so being able to go out and actually see other side of the care for a lot of our patients that is pretty amazing,” Fulkerson said. “Seeing how (KRMH) operates was a really rewarding experience.”
Lieutenant Colonel Mohammed Sadiq, chief surgeon of KRMH, explained how that KRMH is one of the busiest hospitals in all of Afghanistan and they are responsible for taking care of all Afghan military patients.
“Despite being very busy due to the large number of casualties, each week we have two days of academic teaching.” Sadiq said.
Sadiq along with other head staff members, is responsible for the classes that take place one to two times a week.
“The care in this hospital, I think sets the standard for care in Afghanistan,” he added.
Having bi-weekly classes helps the staff at KRMH keep that standard high.
“This is very beneficial for all staff because this is a refresher course for everybody. This will benefit each staff (member),” Sadiq said. “We are doing this regularly one or twice a week from the coalition force side and sometimes myself and my other colleague, we take responsibility to talk about any topic that would be beneficial for our staff.”
Sadiq explain that although KRMH is a trauma hospital, it is still important to know the main point of taking an EKG and how to take care of people who have heart disease.
“This was very beneficial for us and we can say this was one of the best classes (we’ve had) during this last month,” Sadiq said.
Bryant and Fulkerson agreed that the class and overall experience for them was a progressive one.
“It was overall a very positive experience. Everyone was very attentive; we had really good questions from the group and Dr. Sadiq was quite helpful to interpret and translate messages,” Bryant said.
Keeping the partnership flourishing is something the MMU and staff at KRMH look forward to.
“I would favor going over anytime a course is desired or needed,” Bryant said. “I think this partnership of education would be just as important as our clinical partnership - for the betterment of our patients in general.”
Bryant realizes that keeping a flow of interaction and information between hospitals is critical for both establishments’ success.
“I felt like we were very welcome, and we were honored to be there,” Bryant said. “It was apparent that this partnership is something that is quite important for our relationship and ability to train each other to work together for a common good.”
| Date Taken: | 02.12.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 02.22.2014 04:27 |
| Story ID: | 121000 |
| Location: | KAPISA PROVINCE, AF |
| Web Views: | 277 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, EKG training brings confidence to KRMH staff, by SGT Mariah Best, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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