Tripler Army Medical Center  –   As military medical residents assigned to Tripler Army Medical Center  approach their Graduate Medical Education graduation and prepare for their next assignments, they have one final hurdle: the GME Trauma Capstone.
 
Seventy-three graduating resident physicians participated this month in this year’s Trauma Capstone, held at the Medical Simulation Training Center, Schofield Barracks.
 
This three-day exercise is unique to military medical residents, providing valuable hands-on experience and preparing physicians to perform medical missions in a deployed environment. Residents were divided into small teams to rotate through the various stations to practice treating and managing trauma patients.
 
“The GME Trauma Capstone event helps residents understand what it means to be in a hostile environment, and how field medicine is different from hospital-based medicine,” said Maj. Zachary Bevis, Family Medicine residency program director. “Trauma Capstone provides didactics and hands-on experience to help prepare the resident physicians for the roles they will fulfill in both the hospital and field environments.”
 
The capstone event aims to bridge the gap between medical training and real-world combat scenarios by providing a comprehensive and immersive training experience to prepare military medical personnel to handle complex trauma cases and save lives in combat situations.
 
“The goal of the GME Capstone is to ensure the residents are well-rounded and that they are able to meet the units missions by getting soldiers healthy on and off the battlefield,” said Sgt. 1st Class Edward Laurant, enlisted advisor for the Directorate of Academics, Research.. 
 
Maj. Freeman Condon, a general surgery resident, said that the exercise helped prepare him for the real-world dynamics of practicing medicine in a combat situation.
 
“This type of training will assist us to speak the same language with our medics and providers so that we can accurately assist casualties on the scene and to communicate with each other as we move forward to provide the patients with the best possible care” Condon said.
 
Tripler supports 264,000 active duty and retired military personnel, their families, and veteran beneficiaries. In addition, the referral population includes 171,000 military – personnel, family members, veteran beneficiaries, residents of nine U.S. affiliated jurisdictions and forward-deployed forces in more than 40 countries throughout the Pacific.

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