NMOTC Hospital Corpsman Trauma Training Sites Fully-Operational, Accredited, Ready for Students

Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew R Herbst | GREAT LAKES (March 4, 2021) - Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Anson Nguyen, a Hospital Corpsman Trauma Training (HMTT)-Great Lakes student, prepares to perform a cricothyrotomy on a training manikin. HMTT is a detachment of Navy Medicine Operational Training Command and is an immersive, 7-week trauma program that gives hospital corpsmen who are on their first tour and have orders to an operational command or those experienced corpsmen returning to second or third operational tours, such as a Marine Corps unit or Navy ship, the chance to expand and fine-tune their trauma skills. U.S. Navy photo by Cmdr. Colleen Abuzeid (Released).  

PENSACOLA, FL, UNITED STATES

04.09.2021

Story by Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew R Herbst 

Navy Medicine Operational Training Command

PENSACOLA, Fla. (April 9, 2021) Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the Navy Medicine Operational Training Command (NMOTC) Hospital Corpsman Trauma Training (HMTT) course is fully operational and ready for the safe training of hospital corpsmen looking to further their trauma skills, with American Council of Education (ACE)-accredited training locations spread across the country.

The course is an immersive, 7-week trauma program that gives hospital corpsmen who are on their first tour and have orders to an operational command or those experienced corpsmen returning to second or third operational tours, such as a Marine Corps unit or Navy ship, the chance to expand and fine-tune their trauma skills.

“The goal of HMTT is to achieve maximum future life-saving and survivability capabilities along the continuum of care through training and educational programs, leveraging civilian partnerships, in association with level-one trauma centers,” said Capt. Matthew Hebert, commanding officer of NMOTC. “HMTT has been extremely advantageous for the target groups of hospital corpsmen, providing them with exposure to injuries not normally encountered in day-to-day military treatment facilities and to develop muscle memory and medical life-saving skills that are not used routinely. The development of these additional skills will allow corpsmen to respond to initial injuries experienced by warfighters when attached to forward-deployed units."

During HMTT, hospital corpsmen complete two weeks of hands-on trauma skill verification and didactic presentations followed by five weeks of clinical rotations. HMTT consists of training centers across the country with partnerships with local level-one trauma centers in Jacksonville, Fla., Raleigh, N.C., Cleveland, Ohio and Great Lakes, Ill. Future training sites are in the early stages of development.

“The experience of the initial field trauma immersion can come as a shock,” said Senior Chief Hospital Corpsman Justin Rains, the senior enlisted program coordinator of HMTT. “I have experienced that shock in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as onboard the USS Mesa Verde. The opportunity for training and exposure at a world-class level-one trauma center is invaluable in preparing our hospital corpsmen for exactly that. HMTT can decrease the initial shock of the trauma and increase the skillsets needed to effectively treat patients. “

HMTT is an American Council of Education (ACE)-accredited course. Therefore, graduates can receive college credits for their participation in the program while gaining hands-on trauma experience caring for acutely ill patients. The experiences will be beneficial and utilized during their future operational tour.

“HMTT directly aligns with the Navy Medicine Surgeon General's 4 Ps: People, Platforms, Performance and Power,” said NMOTC Command Master Chief, Master Chief CJ Eison. “HMTT ensures our active duty corpsmen are organized, trained and equipped with the knowledge, skills and assessments to support the warfighter on various platforms. The operationally-focused training provided during HMTT allows our corpsmen to harness the necessary power to produce a medically-ready force and a ready medical force.”

Students attend clinical rotations including emergency department and trauma units, surgical intensive care unit, perioperative and post-anesthesia care units, operating room and wound care.

"HMTT provides the exposure to real-world trauma that improves the social and emotional readiness of a hospital corpsman, improving the survivability of those under their care,” said Capt. Justice Parrott, executive officer of NMOTC. “It decreases the difference between when a hospital corpsman thinks that they are ready and when they are actually ready to care for a warfighter in harm's way."

Interested and eligible corpsman are encouraged to contact the HMTT program directors: Cmdr. Colleen Abuzeid and HMCS Justin Rains at [e-mail]

“It is a lot different treating a real person than it is treating a manikin,” said Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Jordan Hayes, an HMTT graduate. “This has definitely given me the confidence and the ability to go out onto a battlefield and do what you need to do to save someone’s life.”

More information can be found at https://www.med.navy.mil/sites/nmotc/hmtt/Pages/default.aspx

• Date Taken: 04.09.2021
• Date Posted: 04.09.2021 14:07
• Story ID: 393465
• Location: PENSACOLA, FL, US