#field training

We have spent this entire training cycle beating into the cadre and the students’ heads that there will be NO simulated behavioral health emergencies in the MS4 class. Any abnormal behavior that is exhibited by an MS4 is real world and should be responded to as such.

Naturally, one of the colonels yesterday decided to go off book. I wasn’t there when it happened, but walked right in after and I was LIVID when the PGY3 told me what had happened. They were going to address the issue with the course director and BH supervisor, but felt uncomfortable doing anything more than that. I, on the other hand, am a salty old PGY4 who doesn’t give a shit when people screw around with mental health in the field.

So, I briefed my team leadership, the BH supervisor, the former BH course director while the 3 talked with the current course director and the current BH course director. No fucks. No punches spared. When I was an MS1 there was a really fucked up training simulation that “faked” a real world BH emergency in one of the MS4s. I saw what that was like, and even though I didn’t understand all of what was happening, I knew it was bad practice and not something that I wanted to be part of. 

Almost instantaneous responses—BH leadership on and off the training site were all informed. The COL who decided it would be a good idea to go off book came back and apologized…kind of. He definitely didn’t take all of the wrong and there were some excuses, but he acknowledged it. And most importantly, the entire platoon of MS4s saw that their training cadre was behind them. They trusted us, in part because I had worked with some of them as med studs on the wards, and we showed them that the trust was warranted.