March 5, 2022 • 32 mins
How do you do medical Sim Wars in a pandemic? Listen to LtCol Rod Fontenette talk about creating a virtual Sim Wars the past two years for GSS. We are excited to welcome back our top teams from each service for the in person final round at GSS 2022 in Orlando this April 8-10.
Join us for the best military emergency medicine conference in the world. Amazing speakers, world class labs, Sim Wars finals, and the best networking in the military medical services.
Register today! https://www.gsacep.org/aws/GSACE/pt/sp/conference_home_page?utm_source=Realtime+Email+Digest&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=website
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Episode Transcript
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Torree McGowan (00:00):
My name is Torree McGowan, and I am part of
(00:02):
the conference committee forgovernment services ASAP. And we
are planning government servicessymposium 2022, we are super
excited to be back together inperson. Last year, we had an
actually a really good virtualconference. But there is nothing
like sitting down and tellingold stories. Which is very
obvious, because I've just spentabout the last hour chatting on
(00:26):
zoom with Rod Fanta net, who isone of my very favorite people.
And he and I have been talkingabout all of the wonderful
things about deployments and anopportunity to serve this
country. So he has also beenreally involved in creating the
GSS this year, and I was hopingthat you would share, first of
(00:48):
all, who are you Where are youand what's happening in your
life? And then tell me aboutwhat you've been doing for GSA
Sep?
Rod Fontenette (00:55):
Yes, definitely.
So right funds and that, glad tobe here tonight. So thanks for
inviting me. So I am one of theair forces for Emergency
Medicine Residency ProgramDirectors. I'm stationed here at
Travis Air Force Base in lovelysunny Northern California. And I
work clinically and yes, it isour clinically at UC Davis
(01:17):
Medical Center. The Air Force isessentially leased me to UC
Davis. It's actually two of us,as Lieutenant Colonel Rory
Stewart, and I, the two APDS areassociate program directors for
the Emergency Medicine ResidencyProgram. We have a total of 15
in residence was 16. I guessright now, military em residents
(01:38):
partnered with UC Davis 60residents total. So yeah, so
it's been here since it's a oneof the Air Force's newest
residency programs. We startedthe summer of 2017, which is
when I PCs here from Cincinnati,I was one of the sea stars cadre
there in Cincinnati for threeand a half years. And then I
came here, so it's beenabsolutely amazing. But as you
(02:00):
and I were talking about before,my time in the Air Force is
coming, unfortunately to an end,as I'm retiring this upcoming
summer, so one July, I'll betransitioning to the civilian
side of things. So I will havebeen in and served my country
for 21 years total. So it's beenan absolutely amazing ride right
to go from airman basic fighternet. to Now here I am retiring
(02:22):
as Lieutenant Colonel physicianFontenot. So it's been
absolutely amazing. And it'sbeen a great ride. So and with
my residents, and all the otherresidents that I see coming up,
it's going to be left in verycapable hands. Right. So it's
very exciting times. So what amI doing? Yeah, so it's been it's
been great. And my residents areabsolutely amazing. I love them.
So they're going to do greatstuff. So what am I doing now
(02:44):
for GS a second GSS. So I'mdoing the sim wars competition,
like the chair of the SIM warscommittee. And so we did a
virtual similar as last year,which was unique in and of
itself. And I must say, right,so I have to give kudos to all
the programs that participatedlast year, because they did
something that was unique,right, so having a virtual sim
(03:06):
was competition. And so whatthey did was they actually ran
the Sims at their homeinstitutions, recorded all of
them. And then we showed themdoing the civil wars
competition, right. And so itwas it was it was fun. It was a
lot of fun. It was challenging,to do virtually but just like
everyone else had to do, becauseof the pandemic we had to adapt.
(03:26):
Right. And as you know, wealways say in the Air Force
Flexibility is the key airpowerwith that was no different than
last year with the s'morescompetition. So and So this
year, fortunately, we have an inperson civil wars competition
conference in Orlando, the veryfirst portion of the conference
will be done virtually. So the Iguess the first round or the
(03:48):
semi finals round, will be donevirtually you grow, record the
initial Sims at home, just likewe did last year. And then the
judges who will be the threeconsultants, right, so the Air
Force, the Army, the Navyconsultant will be the judges,
and they will pick a team torepresent their service in
Orlando for the life sim warscompetition. And same thing,
(04:09):
right. Yeah. So somebody askedme amazing, right, so yeah, so
I've already have tapes comingin recordings coming in from the
different programs, right. Sofrom the army side of things,
we'll have samsi and mamsa.
Madigan Army Medical Center willbe the two representing the
army. On the Air Force side,we'll have Travis Air Force
(04:31):
Base, David grant Medical Centerslash UC Davis Medical Center
will have the team out of NellisAir Force Base. And then we'll
have the team out of WrightPatterson Air Force Base. And on
the Navy side, we'll havePortsmouth and the program out
in San Diego. So it's gonna be agreat time, right? So we'll have
all these programs competingagainst each other, but there
could only be one right sothere'll be crowned. Yes, yes.
(04:54):
Yes. Yes. So and I'm very happyto say right there, my team was
actually crowned the champion.
PN have the 2021 GSS and was
Torree McGowan (05:04):
compact they were. And they did a great job.
They were awesome.
Unknown (05:08):
As my team, of course they did, right so my residents.
So a title to defend, right? Wedon't take this lightly. Right.
And so we recorded our virtualsession this past week. And I
think they did a very good job,right. And so the judges,
though, they will decide, andwe'll see who represents the Air
Force in Orlando. So I feel verygood about my team this year,
just like we did last year. Soit should be a lot of fun. And
(05:30):
I'm excited. So and again,thanks to all the folks that are
participating, and all the POCsout at their respective
programs, they happen to putthis thing together, because
this is a, this is a big lift,right. And so it requires
everyone's to kind of carry,carry the load and carry the
burden. And I think the POC isthat each of these programs has
done a great job in helping towrite the Sims, helping to run
(05:51):
the Sims at their homeinstitutions. And then I think
plus all of us are going toOrlando to kind of help put this
thing together in person, whichI think is gonna be a lot of
fun. A lot of fun. So, so we'llsee about so yeah.
Torree McGowan (06:05):
So tell me a little bit more, because
obviously, we are allreinventing the world right now
as things are strange. And weare figuring out new ways to do
this. So I actually haven't seenanybody else doing a virtual
similar apps. Did everybody dothe same case? Or did everyone
create their own case?
Unknown (06:25):
Yeah, so the team and I, the committee, and I, we like
we wrote the cases, right?
Because so that when you'redoing a sim competition in
person person, it's a biteasier, right? Because it's
easier to standardize everythingbecause you can go environment,
right? You control the cases,you control the flow of the
cases, right? And everything cankind of head in the same
direction. So it's everyone hasthe same supplies, right? The
(06:46):
timing is about the same, thescenarios, the wording of the
scenario is the same, becauseyou kind of controlling it. All
right, when it's virtual, right.
And you have I think, last year,we had nine programs, right?
It's, I think we had eight ornine programs. So having all
these different programs runthese scenarios, like they each
take on their own like flavor,right? So it makes it a little
(07:08):
bit challenging, right. Like, Imay run a case, right, that may
be 20 minutes, right? So forinstance, it's a TBI sim, my TBI
said maybe 20 minutes, right?
Madigan may run the exact samesim that maybe 25 minutes
postgame. If we do the exactsame sim, that's 35 minutes,
right? And it's just like, howdo you keep getting longer? What
do you add? was different?
(07:30):
Right? And so it makes it reallyhard to standardize it right?
And then when you record it,like, I like for the audience to
feel like they're part of thescenario, right? So I like for
the audience to be able to seethe vital signs, right and see
all the data that GRC, right.
And so being able to record itand show that information, so
that way, the audience knowsyou're not just doing it,
because they like go, Well,what's happening now, what are
(07:51):
they doing? Now? Why did they dothat? Right? They don't have,
they don't have the hemodynamicsin front of them, like you would
in some place to be like, Oh,Baba hypotensive. Let's see how
long it takes them to catch thatthey're hypotensive. Right. And
so all those things are a littlebit tricky when doing it
virtual, because again, I can'tcontrol the way all the
information is put out there. Sobut I will say that all the T's
(08:13):
because we met like weekly rightbefore folks started recording.
And so we were able to kind ofhash through like, at this time,
like a two minutes into the SIM,this should happen at seven
minutes into the SIM, if theyhaven't done this, this should
happen, right? And if they do,because another thing with Sims
is that you may plan for thelearners to do one thing and
then the veer left. Right. Andso it's like, okay, well, if
(08:36):
they completely go off, they gooff the rails, and they do this,
how to cover the seminar giventhe answer, right? And so,
again, it's easy if I'mcontrolling it, but not so much
if you have all these otherdifferent like people
controlling it right. And sojust being able to standardize
that standardize that. And Ithink another thing that helped
us out tremendously, virtually,is that everyone that like all
(08:57):
the POCs of the programs, theywanted to be there, right? And
they all had done stuff in Sims,right? So they kind of knew the
language of what we're trying toaccomplish right with Sims. The
exact same thing is holding truefor this year, right? Like
Jillian Phelps, right? So she'slike, she's on it, right? They
know what they know how to runSims, I have Danielle Whitman
(09:19):
out in San Diego, right? Theyknow how to run Sims, right? And
so it makes it really, reallyeasy. If we all come together,
we plan it out. We've kind ofrun through the cases quite a
bit. That Okay, let's make ithappen. Right. And so then they
call out, and they make ithappen. And it's an amazing
product. Right? The thing is,though, is that you it still
seems it is still being recordedand still virtual. So one of the
(09:40):
teams contacted me, she waslike, Hey, we recorded our
session. The session went great.
But then we listened looked atthe video, and there was no
sound like Ah I'm so sorry. Thatsounds painful. Like yeah, There
was no sound at all. And I waslike, that's kind of hard for me
(10:03):
to judge. Like, she was like,yeah, now I have to because you
know how hard it is to get allthese residents together at one
time to go over and record theSims. She was like, now I have
to find a completely differentteam. I can't use it.
Torree McGowan (10:19):
Because they already know.
Unknown (10:25):
So we recorded I was this past, I think, Tuesday. And
I like right before we startedrecording like the guy Aaron
who's like an amazing guy withSims. And he does amazing like
videography and like, likeputting stuff together to make
it look good putting the vitalsso that everyone is just he does
an amazing job. Right. So aswe're getting ready to call the
(10:46):
team, and I was like, yeah, soit's about sound right? But make
sure you have really good soundand
Torree McGowan (10:54):
your iPhone.
Unknown (10:58):
You gotta have sound please do cuz I gotta get them
back all together again. They'regonna kill me. So maybe you have
to have some. Ah, but yeah, butit all it's all coming together
nicely. So he should have thevideo to me here soon. Madigan
just sent me their video a fewdays ago. So yeah, so thanks,
samsi. With Jimmy Webb, andthose folks, they're about to
(11:18):
record there. So it's like theteams have just been doing an
absolutely amazing job. So andit's all coming together, right?
And the watch it all cometogether and be like, we pull
this off, and we're even in thesame place. It's absolutely
amazing. It's just great to workwith something that you and I
was talking about before, right?
Like all the different teams,because you have Army, Air
Force, Navy, all coming togethertogether to make this thing
happen. And I think that's theuniqueness of GSA set, right is
(11:40):
that we're so used to like, justmaking things work no matter
where we are. And that's theessence of what's happening with
symbols, right? We all cometogether and just make it work.
Right? I'm working with the armyand working with the Navy,
right? And we all just speak thesame language, right? Because
these cases are meant to be kindof like enough for forward
resource limited right?
(12:01):
environment. It was like, Oh, Ispeak that language. Let's do
resource limited, right? It'severy day for me, right? Let's
just make it happen. Right. Andthat's what we do with symbols.
And it's
Torree McGowan (12:10):
well, and I think you're pointing out
something that's reallyimportant too, because I mean,
we're doing this for aconference. And and it's fun and
interesting to watch thathappen. And it's kind of fun to
have the competition between theresidents. But in a year or two,
those residents who are going tobe out there forward in these
bases. So having them have anopportunity to see those types
(12:30):
of environments. And to thinkthrough those resource limited
areas is a tremendous trainingtool for our residents. Yes, but
the other thing that's reallyinteresting, as I'm listening to
you talk about creating this andreaching across all of these
miles. I'm curious what youthink's going to happen in the
future of training medics andtraining, not just emergency
(12:53):
medicine physicians, but all ofthe rest of our team that is so
important in that entire chainof evacuation. Because you and I
were talking earlier about howimportant it is that we are all
playing off that same sheet ofmusic, and that, that leveraging
that simulation that maybe, youknow, maybe a small base doesn't
have a simulation team, because,you know, the the hospital that
(13:17):
I work at on the civilian sidedoesn't have sim, but somewhere
else that does if they're ableto support that. And to do that
virtually the creation of thecases and the knowledge that is
part of the creation of a simcurriculum is huge. Right? What
an absolutely fan fascinatingarea that you guys that you are
(13:38):
starting to lean into that maybeyou didn't even realize, yeah.
Unknown (13:41):
Yeah, I know. Right. So this is it is challenging,
right. And so And the beauty isthat some like it's similar and
of itself I love right, becauseit allows us in a controlled,
safe environment environment towork through a bunch of these
issues. And getting seems likefor instance, when we recorded
our sim Tuesday, we had a Dnurses, like from our EDI plan,
(14:02):
the nurse role, right? So itgets us coming together, right.
So it adds a bit more realism tothe case, right, versus taking
the resident and putting them inthe nurse role where like, I
don't really know what to do inthis role, because this isn't
what I normally do, right? Butit allows to add realism by
saying, Okay, this is the notionof department and this is how
this looks and how do you guyswork together? And then we
(14:23):
debrief right. And so one of thethings that we did in this
debrief session, after Irecorded on Tuesday, was I asked
the nurses like, Well, how doyou think your weight and how do
you think it went? He's like,the closed loop communication
was awesome, right? And sothat's the thing, like, you
don't even think about it, butthat's what you're doing, right?
It's like, Hey, I'm gonna give15 Mike's offense, no, okay, I'm
gonna give 15 Mike's offense andjust kind of working through
that thing, right? Because theway we train is how we fight.
(14:46):
And so that's what SIMS I think,does it get everybody together?
It allows us to work throughthese things in a safe
environment, and then go out anddeploy whatever we have to
deploy to around the world andfall back on our training.
Right. And so, and that's thebeauty with Sam's that's what I
really doing this. And anotherthing that I like was seems to
especially with what we're doingwith GSA seven, some was
competition is that is gettingeveryone out of their silo,
(15:08):
right? It's getting the AirForce out of just training with
the Air Force getting the Navyout of just running the Navy.
And the same thing with the Armyis putting all of us together,
right. And so all of mydeployments, right, I've been
deployed with other services.
Right? When I was inAfghanistan, my very first
deployment I was with, I waswith dustoff, right? I was the
1/10. I was with the at first Iwas with I was when I was 10th.
Mountain, right? I was with allthese people, and I was the only
(15:30):
Air Force person on this file,right? And so learning to speak
that lingual the lingo wasextremely important, because I'm
not used to doing things the waythe army do it, right. My
deployment when I was in East inthe Horn of Africa, and in
Djibouti, I was with the Navy,right, so I had to learn to
speak the lingo of the Navy.
Right. And so I think that's thebeauty of GSA service that we
(15:51):
interact with all of thesedifferent folks that we normally
don't see everyday on Travis AirForce Base, right, David grant
Medical Center, right. And so itgets us all together to share
experiences. And it's okay inour enrol care platform. So many
different people will touch thispatient as they move through the
system. Right? It's nice if weall can train together, right?
(16:13):
It's nice if we are consideringthe same resources, right from
the very beginning of thisthing, because we get to speak
the same language and train andfight the same way. So and I
think that's what the sim wascompetitions are doing is like,
Okay, this patient has x, howwould the Navy handle this? If
they were far forward in theirenvironment? How are the army
handling how the Air Forcehandling? And so when we talk
(16:34):
about these cases, right,because the Sims and of itself
allows us to work throughthings, but I think the money of
Sims is the debrief, right?
That's where the education comesin. So when we do the debrief of
The Sims at in Orlando, what Ihope and see happening is the
Navy reps will speak up and belike, well, you know, for for
for us, we would have handledthis differently. Because of x,
(16:54):
the army will speak up right inthe debrief and say, Well, you
know, in the army environment,it would be this. And these are
some things that we need tothink about. Same thing with the
Air Force, right. And so theseresidents are they're just kind
of soaking it all up. Right. Andso, a lot of this stuff like for
my very last deployment, I wasin Germany, and one of the
things I'm going to talk aboutsome given a 30 minute talk at
GSS. What is I'm going to talkabout is how do we move patients
(17:15):
right? In this type ofenvironment, right? So we train
for certain things, but then thelife happens, world happens,
right? And we and thenAfghanistan happened, and we had
to evacuate a lot of really sickkiddos, right? So how do we flex
to be able to pivot and flythese kids? My smallest at two
was a six. So I transported akid that was two and a half
years old, but nine kilos,right? That six is not going to
(17:37):
work for that kid. So how do wehow do we flex and accommodate
this right? And so that's why weall have to speak the same
language and be able to lean onone another when these things
happen in GSA cell brings us alltogether. So we can tap into
resources. Right. And that's,that's the beauty of it. And
that's what I love about it. So
Torree McGowan (17:56):
I am 100% with you. And that's one of my
favorite things about why I'vebeen involved for as long as I
have and why I'm still involved.
And you know, you and I haveshared our our worries about
after we retire what GSA SEP ishome, and it always will be. So
unfortunately, you guys aren'tgetting rid of me salary.
Unknown (18:19):
But you're
Torree McGowan (18:22):
in San Antonio, I got to know the army pretty
well. So doing that residencythat was joint was was huge, and
understanding how the other sideworks. But having had the
opportunity to get to know someNavy personnel and to understand
those unique challenges, and howyou're exactly right, bringing
it back to how do we worktogether as a patient advocate?
(18:46):
And how do we take the very bestcare of patients because when I
was in Afghanistan, we weretaking patients from Kandahar
who weren't being cared for byNavy, coming into Bagram, which
was an Air Force hospital,sending them to alarm C which is
mostly staffed by our VA thatthey're being cared for, you
know, Army and route to US AirForce and route to alarm See,
(19:08):
how does that all work. And thenwe usually handed back off to an
army hospital with an Air Forcein between. And one of the we
talked about it earlier, one ofthe reasons that works is the
CPGs. Having those clinicalpractice guidelines to say this
is how we do the business ofmedicine in the military. But
taking those CPGs and actuallyworking through them together
(19:30):
and saying this is what myresource constraint is. And this
is why this makes it difficult.
Or this is how we approach that.
I absolutely agree with youthere. It's so important. And I
think Linda Lawrence was the onewho shared the story about being
at the GME selection board andwatching all of the different
(19:53):
specialties you know, they'd sitsit in their little air force,
specialty and army specialty andnavy specialty and sometimes
they'd talk amongst them. Andthen there would be this group
in the back, which was a purplegroup. And it was all of the
different services all intermixtogether. And that was emergency
medicine. And that's the powerof what GSA set brings is
(20:13):
because we got to know eachother through GSA CEP. And so
they don't be sitting in theback together, talking about
emergency medicine, not airforce, or army or navy. But how
do we make that militaryemergency medicine work better.
And I think that this similarsis such an amazing way to bring
that together and make it alittle bit more accessible.
(20:37):
Because right now, I mean, let'sbe honest, the money isn't
exactly flowing from the centralfunding, and we're still in
continuing resolution. Sothey're still paying paychecks.
I don't know, at this point,they've messed up my pay again,
because I've moved units with myguardian. And so I haven't been
paid in a couple of months. It'sguard, thankfully. So it's not
(20:58):
nothing paid for a couple ofmonths active duty. But you
know, it's just what happens inthe military. Having that
opportunity to do this virtuallyso that people can be involved,
even if they don't end up goingto Orlando, just that experience
is huge, and making that moreaccessible to more places. So
(21:21):
even if you can't travel, tohave that experience, and then
it's also a little bit easier toget the the boss to pay for it
if you're like, but I'm thechampion. I'm representing the
military. I'm representing theNavy. You gotta send
Unknown (21:34):
me you gotta send me Yes. So essentially exciting to
see how many teams show just tohave an act, I tell the
residents, right, I mean, comingto GS s and attending the
conference, as a great way foryou to kind of one getting some
amazing CME, right, because allthe lectures that we're going to
be having is gonna be onmilitary specific topics, right.
(21:54):
And so just to see, as aresident, what you're heading
into, I think is absolutelyawesome, right? And the network
in there, right? It's absolutelyamazing as well, right? Because
you will be there with the Army,the Air Force, the Navy, and
folks that you don't haveexposure to on a regular basis.
And then you hear some of thesewar stories, right. And again,
seeing what it is that you gothrough that you're heading
(22:15):
into, right, just hearing aboutSeacat, and all these different
things about emails, and what isthat and it's just, it's just a
set, right brings all thattogether. And that's what's so
so fun about it. And why askedus to stay around and stuck
around for so long and plan onsticking around much longer,
right? Because it's thenetworking, right, and just
knowing about what's going on isgreat. And the consultants are
(22:38):
there right at GSA said, or GSS,kind of talking about the lay of
the land and write theenvironment for the Air Force,
and Brian for the Navy, theviolent army and where we're
headed, and just kind of again,see what things are going. And
it's just, it's exciting. Andthat's why I love attending the
conference. So
Torree McGowan (22:55):
it's really a lot of fun. And, interestingly,
this far end of my career,because I remember going and I
love to talking with theconsultants and that was huge
for me. Now I'm old. But one ofthe things that was really
awesome for me through GSA SEPis when I was looking at getting
out and going into the guard, Ihad Julio, the rate that was
(23:17):
available to say, Okay, what isthe garden look like? Because
there's a whole notheropportunity to continue serving.
And that was amazing to havethat network built in. And to
have access to those. ACEPleaders, the, you know, we have
the current president of ASAPand the president elect of ASAP
(23:38):
who are primary or secondarymembers of GSA Sep. How many
state chapters can say that?
Unknown (23:45):
Yeah, yep.
Torree McGowan (23:47):
There's a tremendous amount of horsepower
and going to GSS. It tends to bea fairly small conference, which
some people say is Oh, it's notthat huge. But I actually really
like these smaller conferences,because you have so much
opportunity to get to sit downand have a cup of coffee with
these people that you've neverhad a chance to interact with. I
(24:10):
have to say, I'm going tototally fangirl with rich lava
tan and the whole airway thing.
Unknown (24:17):
Yes, he's gonna be there doing the airway course,
which, you know, I have not goneto his airway course. But
Torree McGowan (24:23):
I never have either because I can't afford
it. Right.
Unknown (24:27):
When I read, it's amazing. So I'll definitely be
there for that. We're gonna haveultrasound there as well. So
Torree McGowan (24:34):
you're and I'm so excited about that one, too.
Yes, ultrasound. The ultrasound.
This is an embarrassing story,but I have to share it. So 2018
was the 50th anniversary ofASAP. And I put together the
history of military emergencymedicine project. Oh, it was so
much fun. And I'm such a historynerd. It was so neat to see all
(24:56):
of this come together and soMany residents who are now
attendings out there doingamazing things were part of that
project and brought thattogether, which by the way is
going to be, we are donating allof that to the National Museum
of health and medicine. And sothat's going to be part of their
permanent collection, which isamazing. But one of the things,
or one of the pieces that wedid, or one of the focus areas
(25:20):
was the history of portableultrasound, because that all
started with the military. AndSonosite was incredibly gracious
to share with us one of theirSonoSite 180s. And then a PDF
printout of the actual DARPAletter. That was the grant that
gave them the please develop,you know, a portable ultrasound
(25:41):
unit for the, you know, for themilitary. And anyway, the
SonoSite rep said, Okay, we'llgive you one of those old
Sonosite one ATS to display andyou can use it as part of this,
and then it will donate it asbasically a museum piece. And
they drop it off with me and Ikind of sat there and I said,
(26:02):
Wow, this is what I learned
Unknown (26:07):
to use as a resident.
This is what I trained on.
Torree McGowan (26:12):
Wow, it is solidly a museum piece at this
point. My, my ultrasound skillsneed a little bit of polishing.
Andrea's so every time I workwith her, she's so kind and
she's such a lovely, absolutelylovely human. And she's always
just like, let me help you. SoI'm really looking forward to my
(26:37):
skills getting a little bitbetter, because they are pretty
sketchy, that little tiny screenthat was, you know, like the
size of an ATM screen. So that'swhere my skills are and helping
they're going to get a littlebetter.
Unknown (26:51):
Yeah, so and you know, ultrasound is crucial to what we
do downrange, right, because wedon't have like, there's no CT
scans at like row twos, right.
So most of these places haveonly ultrasounds plus or minus a
portal chest X ray if someonethere knows how to use it. So
ultrasound even see cat, right,all Seacat teams have ultrasound
machines, right? So ultrasoundis huge. And what we do in in
round care. And so yeah, sohaving it at the conference, and
(27:14):
folks like Andrew Wright, whocan sit back and talk about like
how to clinically use this thingand apply this thing in a
downrange setting in our uniqueenvironment is crucial. Right.
So So yeah, so having that therebut trying to get reborn, but
we're going to be discussingreboa there because again in a
fall forward setting, right. AndRay can definitely talk more
(27:35):
about this than anybody else,right? Because she's probably
thrown in more boys than any emdie in the US. Right? So having
these folks there, not only talkabout how to use the thing, but
talk about like real world,like, I use this thing down
range, right and make itclinically relevant is huge,
right? And so we'll have a boythere a GSS, as well. So it's
(27:56):
just all these different things.
And then someone like thekeynote speakers that will be
speaking at GSS I think it's ananimal and the Navy, that'd be
there's going to be talking aswell. And it's just the amount
of power and resources that theypour into GSS to make this a
very valuable conference, Ithink cannot be overstated. So
and then I went along to bethere. Right. So I mean, when I
(28:18):
first met Linda Lawrence, I waslike that spindle. Right?
Because I was like she was a setpresident and she's in Jesse
seven is just like all thesefolks that are there to learn
from. It's just It's absolutelyamazing. So yeah, so come to the
conference, it's gonna be wellworth it. I promise you. Well,
well worth it.
Torree McGowan (28:36):
Well, Ron, I have had so much fun talking
with you today, and I cannotwait to buy your drink in
Florida. I hope everybody joinsus April 8 through the 10th in
Orlando, Florida. We are at theEmbassy Suites. And if you click
on the link in the show notesthat will take you to the
registration page. The otherthing that we didn't talk about
(28:57):
at all, but there's great CMEand it's actually some of the
cheapest CME you will find outthere. All of the labs that
we've just been talking aboutthe airway lab, the ultrasound
lab and the operational skillslab are included in the price.
So if you want to take theairway course from merch
Levitan, like I said, this is,this is how it's fitting into my
(29:17):
budget. And I cannot wait forthe opportunity to to be with
these folks. So please join usand again, Rod, thank you so
much for all of the work thatyou've done creating this
amazing sim program, and foryour incredible contributions to
(29:40):
this chapter. Because you justlike all of the people bring so
much amazing stuff in.
Unknown (29:45):
They had to be come support your favorite team and
cheer on your team at GSS thoughit'd be much appreciated, so
come cheer him on.
Torree McGowan (29:54):
I'm not sure who I'm cheering for more because
that's where I grew up.
Unknown (29:58):
That's Travis Air Force Base.
Torree McGowan (30:00):
That's where I separate it out of. So Travis.
Unknown (30:03):
Yes. Come on. I'll bring you a t shirt. We have 10
T shirts. We're the winners.
Don't forget that right CMC andall these other programs that
going down. So come cheer us on.
Torree McGowan (30:15):
CMC Navy, you guys are hearing this and you
want to come to this podcast andtalk some trash. Email me and we
will be happy to get you on hereand talk some trash. So Ron
again, thank you so much foryour time and I can't wait to
have a chance to raise a glasswith you.
Unknown (30:36):
Let's do it. Let's do it. Can't wait to see
My name is Torree McGowan, and I am part of
(00:02):
the conference committee forgovernment services ASAP. And we
are planning government servicessymposium 2022, we are super
excited to be back together inperson. Last year, we had an
actually a really good virtualconference. But there is nothing
like sitting down and tellingold stories. Which is very
obvious, because I've just spentabout the last hour chatting on
(00:26):
zoom with Rod Fanta net, who isone of my very favorite people.
And he and I have been talkingabout all of the wonderful
things about deployments and anopportunity to serve this
country. So he has also beenreally involved in creating the
GSS this year, and I was hopingthat you would share, first of
(00:48):
all, who are you Where are youand what's happening in your
life? And then tell me aboutwhat you've been doing for GSA
Sep?
Rod Fontenette (00:55):
Yes, definitely.
So right funds and that, glad tobe here tonight. So thanks for
inviting me. So I am one of theair forces for Emergency
Medicine Residency ProgramDirectors. I'm stationed here at
Travis Air Force Base in lovelysunny Northern California. And I
work clinically and yes, it isour clinically at UC Davis
(01:17):
Medical Center. The Air Force isessentially leased me to UC
Davis. It's actually two of us,as Lieutenant Colonel Rory
Stewart, and I, the two APDS areassociate program directors for
the Emergency Medicine ResidencyProgram. We have a total of 15
in residence was 16. I guessright now, military em residents
(01:38):
partnered with UC Davis 60residents total. So yeah, so
it's been here since it's a oneof the Air Force's newest
residency programs. We startedthe summer of 2017, which is
when I PCs here from Cincinnati,I was one of the sea stars cadre
there in Cincinnati for threeand a half years. And then I
came here, so it's beenabsolutely amazing. But as you
(02:00):
and I were talking about before,my time in the Air Force is
coming, unfortunately to an end,as I'm retiring this upcoming
summer, so one July, I'll betransitioning to the civilian
side of things. So I will havebeen in and served my country
for 21 years total. So it's beenan absolutely amazing ride right
to go from airman basic fighternet. to Now here I am retiring
(02:22):
as Lieutenant Colonel physicianFontenot. So it's been
absolutely amazing. And it'sbeen a great ride. So and with
my residents, and all the otherresidents that I see coming up,
it's going to be left in verycapable hands. Right. So it's
very exciting times. So what amI doing? Yeah, so it's been it's
been great. And my residents areabsolutely amazing. I love them.
So they're going to do greatstuff. So what am I doing now
(02:44):
for GS a second GSS. So I'mdoing the sim wars competition,
like the chair of the SIM warscommittee. And so we did a
virtual similar as last year,which was unique in and of
itself. And I must say, right,so I have to give kudos to all
the programs that participatedlast year, because they did
something that was unique,right, so having a virtual sim
(03:06):
was competition. And so whatthey did was they actually ran
the Sims at their homeinstitutions, recorded all of
them. And then we showed themdoing the civil wars
competition, right. And so itwas it was it was fun. It was a
lot of fun. It was challenging,to do virtually but just like
everyone else had to do, becauseof the pandemic we had to adapt.
(03:26):
Right. And as you know, wealways say in the Air Force
Flexibility is the key airpowerwith that was no different than
last year with the s'morescompetition. So and So this
year, fortunately, we have an inperson civil wars competition
conference in Orlando, the veryfirst portion of the conference
will be done virtually. So the Iguess the first round or the
(03:48):
semi finals round, will be donevirtually you grow, record the
initial Sims at home, just likewe did last year. And then the
judges who will be the threeconsultants, right, so the Air
Force, the Army, the Navyconsultant will be the judges,
and they will pick a team torepresent their service in
Orlando for the life sim warscompetition. And same thing,
(04:09):
right. Yeah. So somebody askedme amazing, right, so yeah, so
I've already have tapes comingin recordings coming in from the
different programs, right. Sofrom the army side of things,
we'll have samsi and mamsa.
Madigan Army Medical Center willbe the two representing the
army. On the Air Force side,we'll have Travis Air Force
(04:31):
Base, David grant Medical Centerslash UC Davis Medical Center
will have the team out of NellisAir Force Base. And then we'll
have the team out of WrightPatterson Air Force Base. And on
the Navy side, we'll havePortsmouth and the program out
in San Diego. So it's gonna be agreat time, right? So we'll have
all these programs competingagainst each other, but there
could only be one right sothere'll be crowned. Yes, yes.
(04:54):
Yes. Yes. So and I'm very happyto say right there, my team was
actually crowned the champion.
PN have the 2021 GSS and was
Torree McGowan (05:04):
compact they were. And they did a great job.
They were awesome.
Unknown (05:08):
As my team, of course they did, right so my residents.
So a title to defend, right? Wedon't take this lightly. Right.
And so we recorded our virtualsession this past week. And I
think they did a very good job,right. And so the judges,
though, they will decide, andwe'll see who represents the Air
Force in Orlando. So I feel verygood about my team this year,
just like we did last year. Soit should be a lot of fun. And
(05:30):
I'm excited. So and again,thanks to all the folks that are
participating, and all the POCsout at their respective
programs, they happen to putthis thing together, because
this is a, this is a big lift,right. And so it requires
everyone's to kind of carry,carry the load and carry the
burden. And I think the POC isthat each of these programs has
done a great job in helping towrite the Sims, helping to run
(05:51):
the Sims at their homeinstitutions. And then I think
plus all of us are going toOrlando to kind of help put this
thing together in person, whichI think is gonna be a lot of
fun. A lot of fun. So, so we'llsee about so yeah.
Torree McGowan (06:05):
So tell me a little bit more, because
obviously, we are allreinventing the world right now
as things are strange. And weare figuring out new ways to do
this. So I actually haven't seenanybody else doing a virtual
similar apps. Did everybody dothe same case? Or did everyone
create their own case?
Unknown (06:25):
Yeah, so the team and I, the committee, and I, we like
we wrote the cases, right?
Because so that when you'redoing a sim competition in
person person, it's a biteasier, right? Because it's
easier to standardize everythingbecause you can go environment,
right? You control the cases,you control the flow of the
cases, right? And everything cankind of head in the same
direction. So it's everyone hasthe same supplies, right? The
(06:46):
timing is about the same, thescenarios, the wording of the
scenario is the same, becauseyou kind of controlling it. All
right, when it's virtual, right.
And you have I think, last year,we had nine programs, right?
It's, I think we had eight ornine programs. So having all
these different programs runthese scenarios, like they each
take on their own like flavor,right? So it makes it a little
(07:08):
bit challenging, right. Like, Imay run a case, right, that may
be 20 minutes, right? So forinstance, it's a TBI sim, my TBI
said maybe 20 minutes, right?
Madigan may run the exact samesim that maybe 25 minutes
postgame. If we do the exactsame sim, that's 35 minutes,
right? And it's just like, howdo you keep getting longer? What
do you add? was different?
(07:30):
Right? And so it makes it reallyhard to standardize it right?
And then when you record it,like, I like for the audience to
feel like they're part of thescenario, right? So I like for
the audience to be able to seethe vital signs, right and see
all the data that GRC, right.
And so being able to record itand show that information, so
that way, the audience knowsyou're not just doing it,
because they like go, Well,what's happening now, what are
(07:51):
they doing? Now? Why did they dothat? Right? They don't have,
they don't have the hemodynamicsin front of them, like you would
in some place to be like, Oh,Baba hypotensive. Let's see how
long it takes them to catch thatthey're hypotensive. Right. And
so all those things are a littlebit tricky when doing it
virtual, because again, I can'tcontrol the way all the
information is put out there. Sobut I will say that all the T's
(08:13):
because we met like weekly rightbefore folks started recording.
And so we were able to kind ofhash through like, at this time,
like a two minutes into the SIM,this should happen at seven
minutes into the SIM, if theyhaven't done this, this should
happen, right? And if they do,because another thing with Sims
is that you may plan for thelearners to do one thing and
then the veer left. Right. Andso it's like, okay, well, if
(08:36):
they completely go off, they gooff the rails, and they do this,
how to cover the seminar giventhe answer, right? And so,
again, it's easy if I'mcontrolling it, but not so much
if you have all these otherdifferent like people
controlling it right. And sojust being able to standardize
that standardize that. And Ithink another thing that helped
us out tremendously, virtually,is that everyone that like all
(08:57):
the POCs of the programs, theywanted to be there, right? And
they all had done stuff in Sims,right? So they kind of knew the
language of what we're trying toaccomplish right with Sims. The
exact same thing is holding truefor this year, right? Like
Jillian Phelps, right? So she'slike, she's on it, right? They
know what they know how to runSims, I have Danielle Whitman
(09:19):
out in San Diego, right? Theyknow how to run Sims, right? And
so it makes it really, reallyeasy. If we all come together,
we plan it out. We've kind ofrun through the cases quite a
bit. That Okay, let's make ithappen. Right. And so then they
call out, and they make ithappen. And it's an amazing
product. Right? The thing is,though, is that you it still
seems it is still being recordedand still virtual. So one of the
(09:40):
teams contacted me, she waslike, Hey, we recorded our
session. The session went great.
But then we listened looked atthe video, and there was no
sound like Ah I'm so sorry. Thatsounds painful. Like yeah, There
was no sound at all. And I waslike, that's kind of hard for me
(10:03):
to judge. Like, she was like,yeah, now I have to because you
know how hard it is to get allthese residents together at one
time to go over and record theSims. She was like, now I have
to find a completely differentteam. I can't use it.
Torree McGowan (10:19):
Because they already know.
Unknown (10:25):
So we recorded I was this past, I think, Tuesday. And
I like right before we startedrecording like the guy Aaron
who's like an amazing guy withSims. And he does amazing like
videography and like, likeputting stuff together to make
it look good putting the vitalsso that everyone is just he does
an amazing job. Right. So aswe're getting ready to call the
(10:46):
team, and I was like, yeah, soit's about sound right? But make
sure you have really good soundand
Torree McGowan (10:54):
your iPhone.
Unknown (10:58):
You gotta have sound please do cuz I gotta get them
back all together again. They'regonna kill me. So maybe you have
to have some. Ah, but yeah, butit all it's all coming together
nicely. So he should have thevideo to me here soon. Madigan
just sent me their video a fewdays ago. So yeah, so thanks,
samsi. With Jimmy Webb, andthose folks, they're about to
(11:18):
record there. So it's like theteams have just been doing an
absolutely amazing job. So andit's all coming together, right?
And the watch it all cometogether and be like, we pull
this off, and we're even in thesame place. It's absolutely
amazing. It's just great to workwith something that you and I
was talking about before, right?
Like all the different teams,because you have Army, Air
Force, Navy, all coming togethertogether to make this thing
happen. And I think that's theuniqueness of GSA set, right is
(11:40):
that we're so used to like, justmaking things work no matter
where we are. And that's theessence of what's happening with
symbols, right? We all cometogether and just make it work.
Right? I'm working with the armyand working with the Navy,
right? And we all just speak thesame language, right? Because
these cases are meant to be kindof like enough for forward
resource limited right?
(12:01):
environment. It was like, Oh, Ispeak that language. Let's do
resource limited, right? It'severy day for me, right? Let's
just make it happen. Right. Andthat's what we do with symbols.
And it's
Torree McGowan (12:10):
well, and I think you're pointing out
something that's reallyimportant too, because I mean,
we're doing this for aconference. And and it's fun and
interesting to watch thathappen. And it's kind of fun to
have the competition between theresidents. But in a year or two,
those residents who are going tobe out there forward in these
bases. So having them have anopportunity to see those types
(12:30):
of environments. And to thinkthrough those resource limited
areas is a tremendous trainingtool for our residents. Yes, but
the other thing that's reallyinteresting, as I'm listening to
you talk about creating this andreaching across all of these
miles. I'm curious what youthink's going to happen in the
future of training medics andtraining, not just emergency
(12:53):
medicine physicians, but all ofthe rest of our team that is so
important in that entire chainof evacuation. Because you and I
were talking earlier about howimportant it is that we are all
playing off that same sheet ofmusic, and that, that leveraging
that simulation that maybe, youknow, maybe a small base doesn't
have a simulation team, because,you know, the the hospital that
(13:17):
I work at on the civilian sidedoesn't have sim, but somewhere
else that does if they're ableto support that. And to do that
virtually the creation of thecases and the knowledge that is
part of the creation of a simcurriculum is huge. Right? What
an absolutely fan fascinatingarea that you guys that you are
(13:38):
starting to lean into that maybeyou didn't even realize, yeah.
Unknown (13:41):
Yeah, I know. Right. So this is it is challenging,
right. And so And the beauty isthat some like it's similar and
of itself I love right, becauseit allows us in a controlled,
safe environment environment towork through a bunch of these
issues. And getting seems likefor instance, when we recorded
our sim Tuesday, we had a Dnurses, like from our EDI plan,
(14:02):
the nurse role, right? So itgets us coming together, right.
So it adds a bit more realism tothe case, right, versus taking
the resident and putting them inthe nurse role where like, I
don't really know what to do inthis role, because this isn't
what I normally do, right? Butit allows to add realism by
saying, Okay, this is the notionof department and this is how
this looks and how do you guyswork together? And then we
(14:23):
debrief right. And so one of thethings that we did in this
debrief session, after Irecorded on Tuesday, was I asked
the nurses like, Well, how doyou think your weight and how do
you think it went? He's like,the closed loop communication
was awesome, right? And sothat's the thing, like, you
don't even think about it, butthat's what you're doing, right?
It's like, Hey, I'm gonna give15 Mike's offense, no, okay, I'm
gonna give 15 Mike's offense andjust kind of working through
that thing, right? Because theway we train is how we fight.
(14:46):
And so that's what SIMS I think,does it get everybody together?
It allows us to work throughthese things in a safe
environment, and then go out anddeploy whatever we have to
deploy to around the world andfall back on our training.
Right. And so, and that's thebeauty with Sam's that's what I
really doing this. And anotherthing that I like was seems to
especially with what we're doingwith GSA seven, some was
competition is that is gettingeveryone out of their silo,
(15:08):
right? It's getting the AirForce out of just training with
the Air Force getting the Navyout of just running the Navy.
And the same thing with the Armyis putting all of us together,
right. And so all of mydeployments, right, I've been
deployed with other services.
Right? When I was inAfghanistan, my very first
deployment I was with, I waswith dustoff, right? I was the
1/10. I was with the at first Iwas with I was when I was 10th.
Mountain, right? I was with allthese people, and I was the only
(15:30):
Air Force person on this file,right? And so learning to speak
that lingual the lingo wasextremely important, because I'm
not used to doing things the waythe army do it, right. My
deployment when I was in East inthe Horn of Africa, and in
Djibouti, I was with the Navy,right, so I had to learn to
speak the lingo of the Navy.
Right. And so I think that's thebeauty of GSA service that we
(15:51):
interact with all of thesedifferent folks that we normally
don't see everyday on Travis AirForce Base, right, David grant
Medical Center, right. And so itgets us all together to share
experiences. And it's okay inour enrol care platform. So many
different people will touch thispatient as they move through the
system. Right? It's nice if weall can train together, right?
(16:13):
It's nice if we are consideringthe same resources, right from
the very beginning of thisthing, because we get to speak
the same language and train andfight the same way. So and I
think that's what the sim wascompetitions are doing is like,
Okay, this patient has x, howwould the Navy handle this? If
they were far forward in theirenvironment? How are the army
handling how the Air Forcehandling? And so when we talk
(16:34):
about these cases, right,because the Sims and of itself
allows us to work throughthings, but I think the money of
Sims is the debrief, right?
That's where the education comesin. So when we do the debrief of
The Sims at in Orlando, what Ihope and see happening is the
Navy reps will speak up and belike, well, you know, for for
for us, we would have handledthis differently. Because of x,
(16:54):
the army will speak up right inthe debrief and say, Well, you
know, in the army environment,it would be this. And these are
some things that we need tothink about. Same thing with the
Air Force, right. And so theseresidents are they're just kind
of soaking it all up. Right. Andso, a lot of this stuff like for
my very last deployment, I wasin Germany, and one of the
things I'm going to talk aboutsome given a 30 minute talk at
GSS. What is I'm going to talkabout is how do we move patients
(17:15):
right? In this type ofenvironment, right? So we train
for certain things, but then thelife happens, world happens,
right? And we and thenAfghanistan happened, and we had
to evacuate a lot of really sickkiddos, right? So how do we flex
to be able to pivot and flythese kids? My smallest at two
was a six. So I transported akid that was two and a half
years old, but nine kilos,right? That six is not going to
(17:37):
work for that kid. So how do wehow do we flex and accommodate
this right? And so that's why weall have to speak the same
language and be able to lean onone another when these things
happen in GSA cell brings us alltogether. So we can tap into
resources. Right. And that's,that's the beauty of it. And
that's what I love about it. So
Torree McGowan (17:56):
I am 100% with you. And that's one of my
favorite things about why I'vebeen involved for as long as I
have and why I'm still involved.
And you know, you and I haveshared our our worries about
after we retire what GSA SEP ishome, and it always will be. So
unfortunately, you guys aren'tgetting rid of me salary.
Unknown (18:19):
But you're
Torree McGowan (18:22):
in San Antonio, I got to know the army pretty
well. So doing that residencythat was joint was was huge, and
understanding how the other sideworks. But having had the
opportunity to get to know someNavy personnel and to understand
those unique challenges, and howyou're exactly right, bringing
it back to how do we worktogether as a patient advocate?
(18:46):
And how do we take the very bestcare of patients because when I
was in Afghanistan, we weretaking patients from Kandahar
who weren't being cared for byNavy, coming into Bagram, which
was an Air Force hospital,sending them to alarm C which is
mostly staffed by our VA thatthey're being cared for, you
know, Army and route to US AirForce and route to alarm See,
(19:08):
how does that all work. And thenwe usually handed back off to an
army hospital with an Air Forcein between. And one of the we
talked about it earlier, one ofthe reasons that works is the
CPGs. Having those clinicalpractice guidelines to say this
is how we do the business ofmedicine in the military. But
taking those CPGs and actuallyworking through them together
(19:30):
and saying this is what myresource constraint is. And this
is why this makes it difficult.
Or this is how we approach that.
I absolutely agree with youthere. It's so important. And I
think Linda Lawrence was the onewho shared the story about being
at the GME selection board andwatching all of the different
(19:53):
specialties you know, they'd sitsit in their little air force,
specialty and army specialty andnavy specialty and sometimes
they'd talk amongst them. Andthen there would be this group
in the back, which was a purplegroup. And it was all of the
different services all intermixtogether. And that was emergency
medicine. And that's the powerof what GSA set brings is
(20:13):
because we got to know eachother through GSA CEP. And so
they don't be sitting in theback together, talking about
emergency medicine, not airforce, or army or navy. But how
do we make that militaryemergency medicine work better.
And I think that this similarsis such an amazing way to bring
that together and make it alittle bit more accessible.
(20:37):
Because right now, I mean, let'sbe honest, the money isn't
exactly flowing from the centralfunding, and we're still in
continuing resolution. Sothey're still paying paychecks.
I don't know, at this point,they've messed up my pay again,
because I've moved units with myguardian. And so I haven't been
paid in a couple of months. It'sguard, thankfully. So it's not
(20:58):
nothing paid for a couple ofmonths active duty. But you
know, it's just what happens inthe military. Having that
opportunity to do this virtuallyso that people can be involved,
even if they don't end up goingto Orlando, just that experience
is huge, and making that moreaccessible to more places. So
(21:21):
even if you can't travel, tohave that experience, and then
it's also a little bit easier toget the the boss to pay for it
if you're like, but I'm thechampion. I'm representing the
military. I'm representing theNavy. You gotta send
Unknown (21:34):
me you gotta send me Yes. So essentially exciting to
see how many teams show just tohave an act, I tell the
residents, right, I mean, comingto GS s and attending the
conference, as a great way foryou to kind of one getting some
amazing CME, right, because allthe lectures that we're going to
be having is gonna be onmilitary specific topics, right.
(21:54):
And so just to see, as aresident, what you're heading
into, I think is absolutelyawesome, right? And the network
in there, right? It's absolutelyamazing as well, right? Because
you will be there with the Army,the Air Force, the Navy, and
folks that you don't haveexposure to on a regular basis.
And then you hear some of thesewar stories, right. And again,
seeing what it is that you gothrough that you're heading
(22:15):
into, right, just hearing aboutSeacat, and all these different
things about emails, and what isthat and it's just, it's just a
set, right brings all thattogether. And that's what's so
so fun about it. And why askedus to stay around and stuck
around for so long and plan onsticking around much longer,
right? Because it's thenetworking, right, and just
knowing about what's going on isgreat. And the consultants are
(22:38):
there right at GSA said, or GSS,kind of talking about the lay of
the land and write theenvironment for the Air Force,
and Brian for the Navy, theviolent army and where we're
headed, and just kind of again,see what things are going. And
it's just, it's exciting. Andthat's why I love attending the
conference. So
Torree McGowan (22:55):
it's really a lot of fun. And, interestingly,
this far end of my career,because I remember going and I
love to talking with theconsultants and that was huge
for me. Now I'm old. But one ofthe things that was really
awesome for me through GSA SEPis when I was looking at getting
out and going into the guard, Ihad Julio, the rate that was
(23:17):
available to say, Okay, what isthe garden look like? Because
there's a whole notheropportunity to continue serving.
And that was amazing to havethat network built in. And to
have access to those. ACEPleaders, the, you know, we have
the current president of ASAPand the president elect of ASAP
(23:38):
who are primary or secondarymembers of GSA Sep. How many
state chapters can say that?
Unknown (23:45):
Yeah, yep.
Torree McGowan (23:47):
There's a tremendous amount of horsepower
and going to GSS. It tends to bea fairly small conference, which
some people say is Oh, it's notthat huge. But I actually really
like these smaller conferences,because you have so much
opportunity to get to sit downand have a cup of coffee with
these people that you've neverhad a chance to interact with. I
(24:10):
have to say, I'm going tototally fangirl with rich lava
tan and the whole airway thing.
Unknown (24:17):
Yes, he's gonna be there doing the airway course,
which, you know, I have not goneto his airway course. But
Torree McGowan (24:23):
I never have either because I can't afford
it. Right.
Unknown (24:27):
When I read, it's amazing. So I'll definitely be
there for that. We're gonna haveultrasound there as well. So
Torree McGowan (24:34):
you're and I'm so excited about that one, too.
Yes, ultrasound. The ultrasound.
This is an embarrassing story,but I have to share it. So 2018
was the 50th anniversary ofASAP. And I put together the
history of military emergencymedicine project. Oh, it was so
much fun. And I'm such a historynerd. It was so neat to see all
(24:56):
of this come together and soMany residents who are now
attendings out there doingamazing things were part of that
project and brought thattogether, which by the way is
going to be, we are donating allof that to the National Museum
of health and medicine. And sothat's going to be part of their
permanent collection, which isamazing. But one of the things,
or one of the pieces that wedid, or one of the focus areas
(25:20):
was the history of portableultrasound, because that all
started with the military. AndSonosite was incredibly gracious
to share with us one of theirSonoSite 180s. And then a PDF
printout of the actual DARPAletter. That was the grant that
gave them the please develop,you know, a portable ultrasound
(25:41):
unit for the, you know, for themilitary. And anyway, the
SonoSite rep said, Okay, we'llgive you one of those old
Sonosite one ATS to display andyou can use it as part of this,
and then it will donate it asbasically a museum piece. And
they drop it off with me and Ikind of sat there and I said,
(26:02):
Wow, this is what I learned
Unknown (26:07):
to use as a resident.
This is what I trained on.
Torree McGowan (26:12):
Wow, it is solidly a museum piece at this
point. My, my ultrasound skillsneed a little bit of polishing.
Andrea's so every time I workwith her, she's so kind and
she's such a lovely, absolutelylovely human. And she's always
just like, let me help you. SoI'm really looking forward to my
(26:37):
skills getting a little bitbetter, because they are pretty
sketchy, that little tiny screenthat was, you know, like the
size of an ATM screen. So that'swhere my skills are and helping
they're going to get a littlebetter.
Unknown (26:51):
Yeah, so and you know, ultrasound is crucial to what we
do downrange, right, because wedon't have like, there's no CT
scans at like row twos, right.
So most of these places haveonly ultrasounds plus or minus a
portal chest X ray if someonethere knows how to use it. So
ultrasound even see cat, right,all Seacat teams have ultrasound
machines, right? So ultrasoundis huge. And what we do in in
round care. And so yeah, sohaving it at the conference, and
(27:14):
folks like Andrew Wright, whocan sit back and talk about like
how to clinically use this thingand apply this thing in a
downrange setting in our uniqueenvironment is crucial. Right.
So So yeah, so having that therebut trying to get reborn, but
we're going to be discussingreboa there because again in a
fall forward setting, right. AndRay can definitely talk more
(27:35):
about this than anybody else,right? Because she's probably
thrown in more boys than any emdie in the US. Right? So having
these folks there, not only talkabout how to use the thing, but
talk about like real world,like, I use this thing down
range, right and make itclinically relevant is huge,
right? And so we'll have a boythere a GSS, as well. So it's
(27:56):
just all these different things.
And then someone like thekeynote speakers that will be
speaking at GSS I think it's ananimal and the Navy, that'd be
there's going to be talking aswell. And it's just the amount
of power and resources that theypour into GSS to make this a
very valuable conference, Ithink cannot be overstated. So
and then I went along to bethere. Right. So I mean, when I
(28:18):
first met Linda Lawrence, I waslike that spindle. Right?
Because I was like she was a setpresident and she's in Jesse
seven is just like all thesefolks that are there to learn
from. It's just It's absolutelyamazing. So yeah, so come to the
conference, it's gonna be wellworth it. I promise you. Well,
well worth it.
Torree McGowan (28:36):
Well, Ron, I have had so much fun talking
with you today, and I cannotwait to buy your drink in
Florida. I hope everybody joinsus April 8 through the 10th in
Orlando, Florida. We are at theEmbassy Suites. And if you click
on the link in the show notesthat will take you to the
registration page. The otherthing that we didn't talk about
(28:57):
at all, but there's great CMEand it's actually some of the
cheapest CME you will find outthere. All of the labs that
we've just been talking aboutthe airway lab, the ultrasound
lab and the operational skillslab are included in the price.
So if you want to take theairway course from merch
Levitan, like I said, this is,this is how it's fitting into my
(29:17):
budget. And I cannot wait forthe opportunity to to be with
these folks. So please join usand again, Rod, thank you so
much for all of the work thatyou've done creating this
amazing sim program, and foryour incredible contributions to
(29:40):
this chapter. Because you justlike all of the people bring so
much amazing stuff in.
Unknown (29:45):
They had to be come support your favorite team and
cheer on your team at GSS thoughit'd be much appreciated, so
come cheer him on.
Torree McGowan (29:54):
I'm not sure who I'm cheering for more because
that's where I grew up.
Unknown (29:58):
That's Travis Air Force Base.
Torree McGowan (30:00):
That's where I separate it out of. So Travis.
Unknown (30:03):
Yes. Come on. I'll bring you a t shirt. We have 10
T shirts. We're the winners.
Don't forget that right CMC andall these other programs that
going down. So come cheer us on.
Torree McGowan (30:15):
CMC Navy, you guys are hearing this and you
want to come to this podcast andtalk some trash. Email me and we
will be happy to get you on hereand talk some trash. So Ron
again, thank you so much foryour time and I can't wait to
have a chance to raise a glasswith you.
Unknown (30:36):
Let's do it. Let's do it. Can't wait to see
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