Courtesy Photo | Capt. Erickson Shuler and Capt. Rebecca Rosales asses and treat a patient (mannequin)...... read more read more
Salt Lake City – It’s hard to get a soldier into Flight Nurse training in any given year, especially hard if you’re in the Army Reserve. The U.S. Army School of Aviation Medicine (USASAM), Ft. Rucker, Ala., is the Army’s center for training Flight Surgeons, Aeromedical Physician Assistants, Flight Medics, Flight Nurses, and Aeromedical Evacuation Officers. The Flight Nurse course is offered four times a year, but generally, only one slot is available for an Army Reserve soldier to attend.
Capt. Erickson Shuler and Capt. Rebecca Rosales, 228th Combat Support Hospital (CSH), is scheduled to deploy with their unit to Kuwait later this summer. Not only were they able to get into the program, but they were also able to train together as a two-person rescue team and complete all of the course requirements. The course has two phases. After completing the first phase of the training, which is done online, phase two challenges the students by hands-on training – an intense simulation that includes the timed test to prepare a patient for medical treatment and transport via Blackhawk, Blackhawk patient prep during a blackout, and underwater survival techniques in a dunk tank.
“Never give up on training that you want,” said Schuler, an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Nurse, “It took a lot of hard work and studying to accomplish, but I cannot wait to use this and save more lives.”
The first training required the two-person team to prep a patient, in this case, a mannequin, for transport by Blackhawk helicopter. Blackhawk noise simulation was a critical part of the training, making it hard to successfully hear your buddy and complete tasks. Realistic drills ensure trainees understand what obstacles need to be overcome if they’re going to succeed in the field. This demanding exercise had to be completed within a 20-minute window to pass.
“You can never get tunnel vision - look at everything around you, mostly your patient, and trust your partner,” said Rosales, an Emergency Room (ER) Nurse, and Volunteer Firefighter. “You have to rely on each other to complete the mission as a team, and this is why you always keep up to date with your protocols.”
Schuler and Rosales passed the first scenario, holding one of the fastest times in the class at 19:30. Like all military training, every task is a building block for the next level of challenges.
The second scenario was the Black Out, which simulates a night mission where no lights are used and where pilots would use night-vision goggles to navigate if it were a real-world event. As a team, Schuler performed the medical assessment primarily by feel only. Rosales conducted her portion of the examination using a cell phone to create a short flash of light - just enough to provide a snapshot of the patient and identify what steps to take next.
“It is amazing how you can just start working on a patient and know what you need to do,” said Rosales, “You have a job, and your partner has a job, and the two of you make it work to save lives; as one.”
The final set-up that trainees must complete is the dunk tank. Conducted as an individual event, the dunk tank is a cage structure with a single seat. The trainee is strapped in, flipped upside down, and submerged. Remaining calm, they have to release the harness and escape out of a small hole. This simulates a crash over water where the key to survival is emotional control and a clear head.
Before getting into the tank, like all soldiers facing a daunting task, Schuler resolutely told himself, “I can do this!” And, again, like all soldiers who complete adrenaline-pumping challenges, immediately afterward wanted to know when he could do it again!
Originally joining the military to pay for college and share a military bond with his father, a Vietnam Veteran, Shuler joined the U.S. Army in July 1992 as a Hawk missile crew member and served till 1996.
In September 2001, he rejoined the U.S. Army Reserve as a 68WM6, a Combat Medic, Licensed Vocational and Practical Nurse (LVN/LPN), a path that crosses over into his civilian career. He had no idea how much he would enjoy the journey from medic to LVN and LPN to being a Registered Nurse (RN).
“This course was amazing!” said Schuler, “Assessing and packaging a patient appropriately while providing life-saving measures quickly was one of the best things about being here.”
Rosales first joined the U.S. Army in March 2008 after completing RN school and has been an RN for the Army Reserve for 12 years.
She joined the medical field to help people and wanted a stable place to call home and raise her children with strong values.
Speaking about her favorite part of the training, Rosales said, “Taking care of them [patients] in flight and getting them to a higher level of care so they can go home.”
She reflected that honed skills and fast response, almost a reflex, allows a medical professional to think outside the box when it comes to saving another person’s life. “Knowing the signs before they happen allows you always to be two steps ahead and never behind,” said Rosales.
Both Schuler and Rosales completed the course on May 29, 2020, and credited the 228th CSH training Non-Commissioned Officer, Master Sgt. Jimmie Kellum, with being instrumental in getting into the course before their deployment.
| Date Taken: | 06.12.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 06.12.2020 15:51 |
| Story ID: | 372047 |
| Location: | SALT LAKE CITY, US |
| Hometown: | EL CAMPO, TEXAS, US |
| Hometown: | SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, US |
| Hometown: | SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 661 |
| Downloads: | 3 |
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