ER Docs Get Dose of Pre-Hospital Perspective During ‘Doc Ops Day’
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The half-day program, now in its thirteenth year, has the medical students trading in their scrubs for a set of firefighter gear. With MFD’s guidance, they experience what it takes to rescue a patient from the field. These young professionals handled tools to cooperatively force open a door, strategically pull an automobile away from a pinned patient, and enter a fire-damaged building through an upper window for victim removal.
The goal of Doc Ops Day is to help medical students develop an understanding and appreciation for what happens before a patient is brought to the hospital.
“The day builds a foundation for fostering ongoing collaboration, team building, and communication between our Emergency Department (ED) providers and our pre-hospital providers so that they may have a mutual appreciation of the work that each
We asked the future emergency room doctors what lessons they gleaned from this physically demanding experience:
“Doc Ops was a phenomenal opportunity to experience some of the most demanding aspects of fire/rescue. We in the emergency department, and our first responders out in the field, share a common goal: ensuring the health and safety of the communities we serve. We accomplish this in very different ways, and to be able to have an immersive exposure to what our first responders do on a day-to-day basis is invaluable in promoting collaboration and mutual respect. Thank you to Madison Fire Department and Madison Technical College for putting this on for us!”
UW faculty assisting with the day were: Megan Gussick, MD; Michael Kim, MD; and Michael Spigner, MD, EMT-P.
City of Madison Fire Department personnel assisting with the day were the Fire Training Division, Ladder Co. 8 (‘A’ shift) for extrication, Engine Co. 14 (‘A’ shift) for fire attack, and the fire chiefs.
This blog was authored by Apparatus Engineer Lori Kneebone-Karst.
This content is free for use with credit to the City of Madison Fire Department.