141st ARW holds joint training with WSU Published Feb. 3, 2010 By Staff Sgt. Travis Metheny 141st Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. -- The newly opened Washington State University College of Nursing Riverpoint Campus located in Spokane teamed with the 141st Medical Group to provide realistic medical training using $1.5 million in medical education technology. Lt. Col. Denise Smart, 141st MG Public Health Officer and WSU Associate Professor, facilitated a cooperative agreement between the University and the 141st MG to allow the use of the facility. Under this agreement, the 141 MG will be allowed to obtain Readiness Skills Verification credits using state-of-the-art simulators to include a $230,000 medical mannequin. In addition to the cost savings offered by the agreement, the 141st MG receives training that, until recently, was only available to service members at Wilford Hall, Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. The facility provides a realistic environment where traditional Guard members can practice their skills using a simulation method of learning. The method involves conducting the simulation, debriefing the team's performance, and running the simulation a second time to evaluate improvement. "The best part of the training here is that it's all hands on instead of textbook or on a slideshow. It's also the most realistic and allows you to see where your strengths and weaknesses are," said Tech. Sgt. Christian Best, 141st MG emergency medical technician, Kevin Stevens, Simulation Program Director, WSU College of Nursing, describes the training as "preparing them to work through situations that they may see when they get deployed. It allows them to interact with the patient that might come in with serious injuries that they may not encounter based on where they are working in their civilian life." The agreement is a milestone in Guard and community cooperation.