C-STARS: Training confident and capable medics Published Feb. 25, 2009 By Airman 1st Class Andrew Davis 375th Airlift Wing Public Affairs SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- It's utter chaos: a child injured by a roadside bomb is wheeled into surgery, another woman with half of her face charred black comes flying in on a stretcher, and a small boy with his bone sticking through his pant leg comes hobbling into the room. Who do you treat first? Who can help out? What medical supplies are on hand? These are the questions that deployed medical personnel from Air Mobility Command and throughout the Air Force are constantly asking themselves. To help answer those questions and to help lifesaving medical personnel perform their jobs more efficiently and effectively, the Air Force partners with Saint Louis University for a 14-day hands-on trauma course called C-Stars, which stands for Sustainment of Trauma and Readiness Skills. A partnership between the Air Force and a local university, the Emergency Medicine Trauma Simulation Lab at SLU was revamped recently to provide a more realistic training environment with a dedication ceremony held Feb. 17. "The lab can simulate multiple patient trauma and help medical personnel make the decision on what to do with a patient, whether it be airlift them out, perform surgery or come up with an alternative plan," said Capt. Scott Fallin, C-STARS administrator. The new lab features life-like mannequins and provides an urban warfare training environment. "The mannequins can simulate physiology, blood pressure, heart rate and other various vital signs," said Captain Fallin. "Through a centralized computer system, the trainers can change the vital signs of the patient to simulate a digression in health." The mannequin has the replicated anatomy of a human being. Because of the technology built in the human patient simulator, it comes to life and can die too. It can breathe, talk, choke and scream. The eyes dilate and blink. The heart beats. It even has bodily functions such as urination. The mouth can drool and the eyes and ears can secrete fluid. As an added enhancement to the scenarios, the instructor can control the mannequin's voice and even follow the vital signs of the patient. When treatment is correct, the mannequin's condition improves. If incorrect, the patient's condition will worsens. Medication (made of water) can also be injected and a computer will tell if the correct medication was prescribed. Added chest tubes, IV hookups and hundreds more conditions and capabilities, the lab makes for a graphic, realistic and emotional simulation. Maj. Eric Burdge, a student attending the course, raved about the advances in technology and how it will help him when he deploys. "Floating between patients and learning how to delegate tasks in a trauma situation, I believe, is invaluable training," he said. "This simulation is much more advanced than normal. I think this will help me gain the necessary skills and experience I need for my upcoming deployment." Physicians, physicians assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses and medical technicians scheduled to deploy are identified and then are selected to train in the hospital. The program pairs Air Force medical personnel with SLU Hospital trauma doctors and hospital nurses to help the team care for real patients with injuries. "Simulation is a great thing but there is nothing that can match up the real thing, and that is a majority of what students do here," said Captain Fallin. To further enhance the quality of the training, many of the instructors have first-hand experience performing medicine in a deployed environment. "The great thing we offer is that a majority of our instructors have been to either Iraq or Afghanistan," said Captain Fallin. "This gives the students a chance to train for what they will see in a deployed environment." The goal of C-STARS is to produce "ready medics," according to the Air Force Medical Service. The workload and clinical experiences sharpen and refresh medics' trauma care currency, increase the knowledge base and help them become even more competent and confident medics. Some information courtesy of Tech. Sgt. Phyllis Hanson "Diverse trauma training saves lives."