NDMS Training Summit

Just got back from the NDMS Training Summit. If I hear from anyone at my work that I was "on vacation", I think I will remind them that I need a vacation from my "vacation". It wasn't by any means a vacation. This was work, pure and simple. Granted, it is work in Nashville, TN at the Gaylord Opryland (Right next to the Grand Ole Opry), but it was still work...

Day 1 - Travel to Nashville (Got up at 3:30AM to finish packing... left the house at 4:15. Went to work briefly to pick up my USB drive that I forgot, and turn in my parking pass from the day before. First flight at 6:00am. Got to the airport around 5:00am. Next flight was in Denver, CO. Got into Nashville around 2:00. Got to my hotel around 3:00. Checked in, then got over to the training summit to pick up my badge and switch some classes around.


Day 2 - Core Disaster Life Support class (4 hours). Then Electronic Medical Record training for the 3rd time (Longer story here). Butt is getting sore from sitting in hotel conference center chairs.


Day 3 - Basic Disaster Life Support class (8 hours). My butt is starting to get seriously numb.




Day 4 - Advanced Disaster Life Support class, day 1 (8 hours). Now, my legs are getting antsy too! I am drinking iced tea like it is going out of style. And my bathroom breaks have increased due to the iced tea! :-)

Day 5 - Advanced Disaster Life Support class, day 2 (8 hours). THIS IS THE FUN DAY! We had a mass casualty incident (MCI) training. Scenario was a bomb going off at a concert. And a second device went off. We found a third device on a patient. We also had training on patient simulators (These are like manikins, but they respond to what we do. Technically, you could kill them by doing something wrong, or if their injuries are too severe, they could "die". Their eyes blink, they have pupillary responses, they breathe, they have a heart rate and pulses. Its actually kind of eerie. You can push meds and they react. Really cool! Also Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) refresher (For some, it was a brand new experience suiting up). Last class was learning how to use Mark-1 kits (Atropine/Pralidoxime (PAM-2) combo), and how to give smallpox vaccine. All in all, this day made the rear-end trauma of the previous 4 days worth it.

Day 6 - Final general session at the training summit. Very informative presentation by the military on trauma care. Then, it was travel back to Sacramento. Flight left at 6:11pm CST. Next flight from Denver at 9:45. Got back in Sacramento at 11:15pm. After waiting for luggage and my ride, got home around 1:30am today. Crashed until 10:30am.

Now, you may ask, "Why would I take all of these classes?" Because I happen to be one of a group of people who see the writing on the wall. These trainings are an "All Hazards" medical training for mass casualty events. Basically, it puts all healthcare providers on the same page for dealing with MCIs. I see it coming as mandated training for healthcare personnel. And I want to teach it.

So, my next step is to take the instructor training.

Of course, I had "downtime", I went to the Grand Ole Opry and saw Carrie Underwood, Randy Travis, and Vince Gil all in the same night. I went to dinner one night with my team, DMAT CA-11, with our sister team CA-6 (All of us do this each year at the conference), and with some friends from other teams on another night. And yeah, I enjoyed a few drinks at night. But trust me, with what I learned, it was no vacation.

Honoring Our Veterans

Please take time today to honor those who serve, and who have served, to defend our country. Regardless of your political beliefs, they deserve our respect for their willingness to lay down their lives defending us.

I thought I would share a picture of my grandfather, Willard Dorsett, taken during World War II, that I found. I wish I had a picture of my other grandfather, Alfred Meyers, that I could show you. Both served in World War II with distinction. I am so proud of their service.













I have also added a picture of myself with two of my brothers, Josh and Daniel. They are both serving currently. Josh is in the Army reserves, and Daniel is active in the Air Force. Daniel is on the left, Josh on the right. Why am I in uniform? I am in a DMAT, part of the National Disaster Medical System. But I am not the focus of today, they are. This is just the only picture I have of them in uniform.

Firestorms

As I write this, I am preparing for possible deployment to Southern CA. I have already been contacted, and am awaiting a call saying I am going. Our mission: Provide medical care to the firefighters. There may also be other missions, as a hospital and skilled nursing facilities are also being evacuated with the other 250,000 people evac'd, but that is the primary one.

The firestorms in Southern CA provide sharp memories to a lot of us of 2003, when San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Bernadino counties had major firestorms. Our DMAT was on a deployment exercise with other CA teams, when our exercise became a "realtime" emergency. We got caught in fireborne winds that damaged equipment, and reminded us what nature can do. Team members deployed from the exercise to the fires.

The picture is a satellite image of the fires. The smoke is seen trailing off over the ocean.

Anyhow, I am tired and rambling and need to get a few hours sleep. Please pray for those affected by the fires, and for those fighting them.

(UPDATE: I was deployed at 11:45PM. I am reporting this morning, and will be gone for 3-5 days (possibly longer). So, as a result, I probably won't be updating here until I return.)