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.