Today was day 1 of 2 attending a class called Tactical Emergency Casualty Care. The course was designed by the NAEMT and for the second time in Rochester it was hosted by the Brighton Fire Department. The instructors are a sergeant and a detective from NYPD’s ESU and let me tell you, this is no easy class to roll through. At times I felt like the drill instructor was beating us down.
The point of the class is to be able to insert medics into active shooter situations to save lives. Although some of the victims may perish, there are many more that just bleed out. We can save many of these lives by being proactive and getting training like this. I can safely say that anyone in emergency services should have and be able to quickly deploy and use a tourniquet on themselves and their brethren.
Additionally we acquired psychomotor skills in removing victims in all different manners, to use available resources, and manage bleeding, airway, circulation , in less than ideal conditions – think on your stomach keeping your head down, and constantly looking for the combatant. In a classroom setting it was manageable. In a real life scenario, I would dare say it would be a butt squeezing focus on getting your job done. nine hours in the book today, with the same tomorrow (although he made mention of paintball to keep us on our toes). I would say this is not for every medic on the street for sure, and it gives me new appreciation for Corpsmen and 68W in the Army.
It’s a sad day that in America these types of courses and training have been developed directly from the military for use in the civilian world. We discussed many of the mass shootings, and it is deeply depressing what our country has come to.
Check back tomorrow for the conclusion of this educational opportunity.
