This past week I got the opportunity to visit the CAMLS (Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation) in Tampa and learned about how advanced the training of doctors has become. It’s just an incredible process with almost human-like practice dummies, so-new medical devices that they’re literally proto-typed there in the 3D lab and tested by doctors instantly, and simulation rooms where doctors can practice complicated procedures with hundreds of variables over and over again before they ever have to do it to a real human-being.
In one of the Operating Rooms, all of the latest and greatest technology is built in movable pieces so depending on the procedure, a team can easily put in place what the patient will need in a couple of minutes, with the patient never leaving the bed they were originally put on when they arrived in the Emergency Room. Also, in order to put the patients at ease, as well as the doctors, ambient light has been installed with different kinds of complimentary soft music, depending on what the desired affect is. We walked into this room and it was like walking into a yoga den, with a pastoral scene projected on the wall and blue light clinging to the top of the walls and ceiling.
Then, the tour facilitator changed the environment to simulate how they can replicate an Operating Room in a war zone. Incredible. The wall projection showed the roof tops of the Green Zone, the ambient light became red, and the sounds were of helicopters and missile/gun fire. After we left the room, I was walking with another member of Leadership Orlando who is in the Navy and had to perform these kinds of drills in another simulation facility that the military uses. He said that while this was a nice touch, he had to simulate in 110 degree heat, with the floors rumbling, and the noises so loud it was some times deafening. I told him that they were just taking it easy on us civilians. Going from zen to crisis would have sent our nerves packing for the day.
I have a great respect for the men and women that are currently in the trenches. I’ve had the pleasure of Facebook messaging a friend from high school who is a Captain in Afghanistan. He’s keeping pretty positive. But when I asked how his day was, he didn’t respond with good or bad, just a matter of factly, “Currently waiting for a rocket attack to be cleared. Had eight yesterday.. lasted a few hours. Very detrimental to work. The day was alright, prepared inital counselings for my Platoon Leaders, inventoried some more equipment, and got a few more things read to take command of this unit.”
Good luck out there, my friend. I’ll be thinking about you.
More on CAMLS, and what else I learned at Leadership Orlando, in an upcoming post.
Patti is still learning 