Tactics implemented on the battlefield now help care of civilians thanks to post-9/11 partnership
September 9, 2021 – After the tragic events of 9/11, the Gordon Center for Simulation and Innovation in Medical Education has collaborated with the U.S. Army to develop and implement life-saving training – impacting the ability to save lives on the battlefield. In the Army’s longest-running civilian partnership, the Gordon Center has served as a center for pre-deployment training of Army Forward Surgical Teams (FSTs), giving military healthcare professionals the clinical expertise, they require to help save lives.
“In the wake of September 11, 2001, we knew we had to band with the brave men and women of our military to provide them with the best medical simulation training available,” said Dr. Ivette Motola, Director of the Gordon Center’s Division of Prehospital and Emergency Training. And that’s what the Gordon Center did. During the first phase of the partnership, the Gordon Center focused on training FSTs to correctly don and doff personal protective gear and to respond appropriately to attacks using weapons of mass destruction, such as nerve and biological agents.
Now FSTs and Special Operations military teams are trained in a multitude of challenging scenarios. “During the two weeks the teams are with us, we intentionally replicate what they are going to experience downrange,” said Captain Xavier Jones, Commander, U.S. Army Trauma Training Detachment. “Each team member needs to be a jack-of-all-trades and ready for anything.”
Twenty years later, hundreds of learners have completed the training and many lessons have been learned. What was implemented on the battlefield has been translated successfully to the care of civilians. Some of the courses taught today for first-responders, such as the Gordon Center’s Active Shooter Hostile Events and Emergency Response to Terrorism courses, evolved from FST training. These courses teach the same skills to civilian providers – such as tourniquet application – and incorporate the same training techniques, simulations, and tactics that had been used previously in the military context.
The partnership also includes research. Recently the Gordon Center was tapped to conduct a research study sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense to evaluate whether complex procedures can be taught to trainees using telemedicine and augmented reality.
“Whether the medical teams are accompanying U.S. military contingents in Ukraine or Africa, or helping people impacted by domestic natural disasters, we will be committed to working hand-in-hand with the
U.S. Armed Forces to help save lives through simulation technology,” stated Gordon Center Director, Dr. Barry Issenberg, “for the next 20 years and beyond.”
About the Gordon Center:
As the world’s leading center for healthcare simulation education and research, the Gordon Center for Simulation and Innovation in Medical Education mission is to improve the training of health professionals, thereby enhancing patient outcomes and saving lives. Founded over 45 years ago, the Gordon Center – a University of Miami Miller School of Medicine Center of Excellence – develops, implements, and disseminates curricula, training programs and simulation technologies for educators, multi-professional clinical providers, and first responders worldwide.
