FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas - Formal MC4 training on the electronic medical record (EMR) system is now available on a quarterly basis to physician assistants (PAs) as part of the Basic Officer Leader’s Course (BOLC) PA track at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. The BOLC PA track is coordinated and managed by the Interservice Physician Assistant Program (IPAP) within the Army Medical Department Center & School (AMEDDC&S) and offers PAs the opportunity, they may not receive otherwise, to learn how to document care electronically downrange.
PAs typically receive MC4 training far in advance during new equipment training (NET) or immediately prior to deployment along with other just-in-time training. The institutionalization of MC4 training in BOLC will provide PAs the chance to receive as much application-based training on the MC4 system in an academic setting, so additional training conducted during NET, at the CONUS Replacement Center (CRC) or in training exercises remain opportunities for honing their skills in MC4.
After completing Phase II of the Interservice Physician Assistant School, graduating PAs are commissioned and assigned to a unit and are often deployed; they aren’t guaranteed a chance to use the MC4 system before deploying. The new 16-hours of MC4 training are aimed at closing a gap for PAs and their EMR knowledge, since many PAs don’t have an opportunity to train on the MC4 system in garrison.
“We heard from PAs and many said that when they were deployed, getting caught up with MC4’s latest and greatest modalities was the hardest part,” said Col. Pauline Gross, the AMEDDC&S branch chief for the IPAP. “Now, when they get out there, they know what to do, they’ve seen [the system] in action and already know how to use it.”
During the two-day course that was offered in December 2011, PAs received functional training using applications such as AHLTA-T, Theater Medical Data Store (TMDS), Medical Situational Awareness in the Theater (MSAT) and DMLSS Customer Assistance Module (DCAM). The training also included a scenario-based training that tied together all of their previously learned skills.
“What we can give them here will help them sooner than later,” Gross said. “They might even be the MC4 subject matter experts now based on what they have learned in this course that their unit downrange may not yet be aware of.”
Capt. Nolan Wright, the BOLC PA track coordinator and full-time National Guard instructor assigned to the IPAP within the AMEDDC&S graduate program echoed Gross’ comments. He said the new training helps ensure “PAs are ready to function fully as PAs upon arrival at their unit; they essentially are packaged and ready to go.”
The next scheduled BOLC IPAP MC4 training will occur March 15 and 16. The AMEDDC&S is receiving positive feedback about the new training. MC4 Product Manager Lt. Col. William Geesey is hopeful new doors may open.
“Institutionalizing MC4 focused training in BOLC is part of the program’s instructor and key personnel training program,” Geesey said. “This type of training is critical in helping the school become autonomous in educating PAs on the system. We look forward to working with the AMEDDC&S in the future to identify where there are other opportunities to help reduce the EMR learning curve.”