Deployed Course in Hamburg

Three MILMED COE nations, Germany, Hungary and The Netherlands identified the need for this new training. The core requirement of the creation was their joint participation in ISAF RC(N) where they work together in multinationally manned medical treatment facilities. The initial idea was to develop a pre-deployment training for the medical personnel appointed to positions in those Medical Treatment Facilities. However during the Course Design Workshop it was decided to make the course available for the whole Alliance with the following justification: “… Due to the growing number of Multinational formation of Medical Units ,differences in language, protocols and culture form an increasing challenge for medical key personnel to identify, prevent and resolve shortfalls in medical treatment in accordance with NATO directives and policies“

Work together during the simulation like in real life missions

A relatively short course development process was closed with a successful PILOT course with 11 participating students delegated by the MILMED COE’s sponsoring nations. The aim of the PILOT Course was to test the course curriculum and reach the goal set by  the organizers  for this pre-deployment training: “…To recognize and mitigate shortfalls arising from communicational, procedural and cultural differences in pre-clinical multinational medical cooperation. To gain practical tools and tips to handle cultural differences and to learn from national best practice”.

During the training the participants received lectures regarding NATO doctrines and policies; Crew Resource Management; Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS), Pre Hospital Trauma Life Support (PHTLS) principles; Team Communication; Cultural Differences, National Traditions from a multinational set of instructors. The blockbuster of the course was definitely the Team Training in simulated environment with the support of the Simulation Centre in the Bundeswehrkrankenhaus Hamburg. Small Multinational teams practiced different scenarios on High Fidelity (full scale) patient simulators in ambulance and Emergency Room setting. The training included 5 minutes jump-in sessions, 15-20 minutes simulation and 20-25 minutes back brief using recorded video. During this 5 day training the teams spent more than 3 days on scenario training.

During a hot wash up meeting the feedback of the students and instructors was assessed by those involved in the design and development of the course. The conclusion was that this PILOT course certainly achieved the defined course aim and objectives. The only change proposed was to modify the name of the course to fit to its aim from “NATO Multinational Pre-clinical Mission Readiness Training” to NATO Emergency Medical Pre-deployment Team Training. 

The next course will be organized on 12-16 November 2012 in Hamburg. For more information about the course and for registration please visit www.coemed.org.

AUTHOR:

Captain Peter Jagadics

Hungarian Armed Forces (HUN A). Training Branch Courses Staff Officer, NATO Centre of Excellence for Military Medicine (MILMED COE).

Address of the Author:

Centre of Excellence for Military Medicine
 Training Branch
 P.O. Box 113
 H-1255 Budapest, Hungary

Date: 08/27/2018

Source: Medical Corps International Forum 1/2012