The Gateway

I first used the MC4 system while deployed to Iraq with the 3-320th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Division from 2007 to 2008. While my platoon received some hands-on training prior to deployment, the majority of our experience came from on-the-job training.

In my current position at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center (JMRC), I help prevent future rotations from having to learn as they go. One of the training objectives is to help medical personnel gain a better understanding and familiarity of the MC4 system during mission rehearsal exercises (MREs). Here, clinicians document patient notes with the same computer systems they'll utilize in theater.

Leading up to MREs, units conduct situational training exercises (STXs). For a medical company, an STX includes patient treatment, mass casualties and medical evacuations. We focus on a unit's execution of medical functional areas. Units typically need assistance with electronically documenting and tracking patient care due to a lack of focused training in these areas.

My team augments the classroom instruction a unit received at their home station, as well as systems use during previous deployments. During MREs, my team reviews the electronic notes to ensure accuracy, as well as the unit's patient tracking numbers. With the MC4 system, I monitor the number of patients entered compared to the simulated injuries designated at the start of the scenario. When we find discrepancies, we use this as a teaching point to help medical personnel avoid similar mistakes in theater.

Moving forward, my goal is to integrate a dedicated block of MC4 training into the STX schedule. The instruction will better prepare medical personnel to use the systems mandated for patient documentation throughout theater. I believe that additional classroom preparation, plus the experience gained from using MC4 in garrison aid stations, will help clinicians to alleviate many of the issues that occur during field scenarios.

Capt. Daniel Tenhagen, Medical Observer and Controller, Joint Multinational Readiness Center (JMRC), Hohenfels, Germany