Photo By Maj. Chad Nixon | Capt. Deanna Ruder, a registered nurse assigned to Detachment 1, Alpha Company, 801st...... read more read more
PEORIA, Ill. – Reserve Soldiers with Detachment 1, Alpha Company, 801st Combat Support Hospital, 807th Medical Command received hands-on training in a medical skill lab at the Saint Francis College of Nursing during battle training assembly Feb. 7, 2015.
For the past several years, the Peoria-based detachment has partnered with the university in order to utilize medical equipment and train in an authentic hospital environment.
“I want to help anyway I can,” said Dr. Valentina Fillman, assistant professor at Saint Francis. “All the resources are reusable, it’s only a 20 minute drive for Soldiers and this is at zero cost to the Army Reserve.”
Fillman, once a nurse in the Army Reserve, understands the importance of providing Soldiers hands-on training at little to no cost for the government.
“All I had to do was ask our university president for permission and we were on our way,” said Fillman. “With a little networking, you could be surprised to see what civilian agencies are willing to do to help.”
With shrinking budgets and a reduction of active component Soldiers, innovative training ideas like this might just be what the Reserve needs to draw prior service personnel to the Reserve.
“Officers can’t be afraid to reach out to their civilian employers and universities to ask for support,” said Capt. Lewis Griffith, officer in charge of Detachment 1. “Hands-on training is always going to interest Soldiers and keep them wanting to come back.”
And hands-on training is just what Saint Francis provided. With the help of Fillman and unit noncommissioned officers, Soldiers were broken down into three teams and practiced different medical techniques.
“We have a variety of stations set up today,” said Griffith. “We have everything from basic wound care to computer-controlled medical mannequins that generate different scenarios, forcing our medics to react according to the patient’s needs.”
At the end of the day, Soldiers gathered to thank Fillman for her support and provide feedback on the training received.
“I am a hands-on person, and today’s training helped me understand things better,” said Pfc. Sarah Hansen, a surgical technician or 68D. "I haven’t worked in surgery since 2014, and working today in a simulated hospital has really helped bring it back, keeps it fresh in my mind.”
It wasn’t just medical Soldiers getting their hands dirty, everyone in the unit had a chance to be involved.
“I’m a computer guy,” said Spc. Sean Mountjoy, an information technology specialist for the unit. "Leaders here make sure we get the kind of training that every Soldier should have. ... They keep it interesting by getting us out of the office and teach by using their own experiences as examples. ... These are the reasons I keep coming back.”
| Date Taken: | 02.07.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 02.11.2015 15:12 |
| Story ID: | 154218 |
| Location: | PEORIA, IL, US |
| Web Views: | 716 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Army Reserve Soldiers and university team up for training, by MAJ Chad Nixon, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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