Gap Analysis to Identify Clinical Education Needs of Aeromedical Evacuation Clinicians.

Background: The Air Force has unique challenges in ensuring clinical proficiency for en route care clinicians. These challenges pertain to existing care environments, training opportunities, and the spectrum of training needed to care for patients with polytrauma and complicated medical conditions while being transported between medical treatment facilities.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify the clinical education needs of students entering the United States Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine Flight Nurse (FN) or Aeromedical Evacuation Technician (AET) course and Air Force FNs and AETs assigned to active duty aeromedical evacuation units.

Psychiatric Aeromedical Evacuations of Deployed Active Duty U.S. Military Personnel During Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, and New Dawn.

Introduction: The primary objective of this study was to describe the demographic, clinical, and attrition characteristics of active duty U.S. military service members who were aeromedically evacuated from Iraq and Afghanistan theaters with a psychiatric condition as the primary diagnosis.

An Occupational Paradox: Why Do We Love Really Tough Jobs?

Background: Sometimes we come upon unexpected or counterfactual results during research that make us wonder and lead us into unknown territory. Such was the experience of a team of Air Force researchers exploring aeromedical evacuation crew members' experiences of safety and patient care concerns throughout the en route care system.

Objective: To explore what it is about the aeromedical evacuation crew members' occupation that generates a strong motivation to the mission despite the demands it places on its workers.

Factors That Affect Pain Management in Aeromedical Evacuation: An Ethnographic Approach.

Background: Pain management is a challenge in the transport setting, but actual factors that influence pain have not been assessed systematically.

Objective: To describe the environmental factors and social context that affect pain management in military aeromedical evacuation.

Methods: Field notes were taken throughout flight, including observational measures of pain, environmental factors, and interactions between the patient and crew.

Pressure Injury Development in Patients Treated by Critical Care Air Transport Teams: A Case-Control Study.

Background: The US Air Force transports critically ill patients from all over the world, with transport times commonly ranging from 6 to 11 hours. Few outcome measures have been tracked for these patients. Traditional methods to prevent pressure injuries in civilian hospitals are often not feasible in the military transport environment.

Experiences with Regional Anesthesia for Analgesia During Prolonged Aeromedical Evacuation.

Introduction: There is much debate regarding the appropriate analgesic management of patients undergoing medical evacuation following combat trauma. Our primary objective was to review the utility of regional anesthetic techniques in patients undergoing aeromedical evacuation following surgical limb amputation as treatment for combat trauma.

Methods: This study was conducted as an observational retrospective cohort whereby acutely injured amputee patients were identified via the U.

Understanding Post-Deployment Reintegration Concerns Among En Route Care Nurses: A Mixed-Methods Approach.

The objective of this study was to better understand the post-deployment behavior health symptoms and readjustment/reintegration experienced by military nurses who provided en route care while serving in Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom. Employing an exploratory, concurrent, mixed-methods design with an electronic survey consisting of several valid instruments and single, face-to-face interviews; data were gathered from 119 surveys and 22 interviews. Four qualitative themes aligned with the Post-Deployment Readjustment Inventory items.

Clinical Experience and Learning Style of Flight Nurse and Aeromedical Evacuation Technician Students.

Background: The clinical experience and preferred learning style of U.S. Air Force flight nurses and aeromedical evacuation technicians are unknown.

Investigation of Self-Reported Musculoskeletal Injuries on Post-Deployment Health Assessment Forms for Aeromedical Evacuation Personnel.

Musculoskeletal injuries (MSIs) are a concern for the military community because of medical expenses, possible disability, and separation from the military. This study investigated the prevalence of MSIs in deployed aeromedical evacuation (AE) populations reported on Post-Deployment Health Assessment (PDHA) forms. A secondary aim was to examine the relationship between the occurrence of self-reported MSIs on PDHAs and a subsequent medical diagnosis.

Assessment of pain in less severely ill and injured aeromedical evacuation patients: a prospective field study.

Pain management is vitally important to injured patients being evacuated from the warzone. A prospective assessment of real-time ratings of pain acceptability, intensity, and satisfaction of a convenience sample of 114 less severely ill and injured U.S.

Finishing what was started: an analysis of theater research conducted from 2010 to 2012.

The Joint Combat Casualty Research Team (JC2RT) is part of the human research protection regulatory system implemented in 2005 to oversee the conduct of research in a deployed military combatant command. In 2010, SharePoint, a web-based tool, was established to track study documents. This study conducted by JC2RT no.

Records review of musculoskeletal injuries in aeromedical evacuation personnel.

Background: Aeromedical evacuation providers care for patients during air transport. By applying standard medical practices, oftentimes developed for ground care, these practitioners perform their mission duties under additional physical stress in this unique medical environment. Awkward postures and excessive forces are common occurrences among personnel operating in this domain.

Chapter 3 innovations in the en route care of combat casualties.

The en route care environment is dynamic and requires constant innovation to ensure appropriate nursing care for combat casualties. Building on experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan, there have been tremendous innovations in the process of transporting patients, including the movement of patients with spinal injuries. Advances have also been made in pain management and noninvasive monitoring, particularly for trauma and surgical patients requiring close monitoring of their hemodynamic and perfusion status.

En route care patient safety: thoughts from the field.

The purpose of this study was to describe the patient safety culture of en route care in the United States Air Force aeromedical evacuation system. Almost 100,000 patients have been transported since 2001. Safety concerns in this unique environment are complex because of the extraordinary demands of multitasking, time urgency, long duty hours, complex handoffs, and multiple stressors of flight.

Occurrence of secondary insults of traumatic brain injury in patients transported by critical care air transport teams from Iraq/Afghanistan: 2003-2006.

Traumatic brain injury patients are susceptible to secondary insults to the injured brain. A retrospective cohort study was conducted to describe the occurrence of secondary insults in 63 combat casualties with severe isolated traumatic brain injury who were transported by the U.S.

Use of local anesthesia for arterial punctures.

Background: Except for intravenous therapy, arterial access is the most common invasive procedure performed on critically ill patients. Arterial puncture is a source of pain and discomfort. Intradermal injection of lidocaine around the puncture site decreases the incidence and severity of localized pain when used before arterial puncture.