AAR Tactical Response Immediate Action Medical
AAR Tactical Response Immediate Action Medical
I took the 2 day Immediate Action Medical class offered by Tactical Response this past weekend in Fairfax, Va. I had no experience with Tactical Response before this class and was very pleased with course knowledge, flow, etc.
Instructors – Doc K and his AI Doc Mike are both experienced, active duty 18D’s with 7 years combined time down range in Iraq, etc. Great guys and true heroes, they kept the flow of the class going and conveyed the information in a way that everyone could understand and keep up.
Class makeup – Pretty good sized class at about 17 or so. There were a couple WEMT’s, a WFR, a couple LEO and the remaining 10 or 11 folks had varying amounts of or no medical training.
Class Content – Very well thought out curriculum that focused on immediate medical action following a violent encounter. The stated goal of the class is to teach you the mindset, tactics, skill and use of gear to keep a GSW/trauma victim alive until help arrives. Topics included everything from legal discussion on the Good Samaritan laws to scenario training with a variety of wounds. All wound management and gear discussions were very detailed with excellent background knowledge on the why’s of things. Basic knowledge and skills were stressed as the way to save a life, “NOT” a bag full of the latest and greatest medical gear. That stated, it was interesting to get feedback on how the latest and greatest had performed when it mattered.
Highlights for me:
The TQ, bandage and clotting agent discussions of when to use/not to use were worth the price of admission to me. Samples of all were available for fingering and practicing with.
NPA usage - NPA’s were inserted, with the caveat if you put one in, you had to take one. All the dummy drops in the world don’t equate to putting one in an actual person. Taking one gives you an appreciation on how it feels.
Needle Decompression – Everybody always gets hyped up about this one. The Docs gave us a good hands on experience on inserting a needle. Tension pneumothorax was discussed in detail and how to recognize the signs was stressed. Even the most inexperienced student should have left the class with a good working knowledge on what causes it, why you would decompress and that it doesn’t happen immediately. Also interesting was that neither Doc had ever had to decompress a patient, interesting given the amount of GSW/trauma these guys have been exposed to.
I could ramble on but there were lots of cool tips and tricks when doing patient assessments and working with gear that were demonstrated along with the explanations why. These guys had good improvisation skills and it was shown how most of the cool stuff could be replicated effectively with basic medical gear or sticks, shirts, leaves, etc. :)
I learned a lot and enjoyed the class. The instructors Doc K and Doc Mike are both great guys. It was a pleasure getting to learn from and to just shoot the breeze with them. It is definitely one of those classes to take again as the Docs keep the class evolving to incorporate any new knowledge coming down the line. Anyone would benefit from this type of class. The training crosses over and is as applicable to a car accident as it is a GSW. FWIW I made medical training a priority for me last year and took a Wilderness First Responder course followed by completing a Wilderness EMT course. I am National Registry EMT-B certified and learned a ton in this class. Civilian EMS just does not cover this subject matter the way it needs to be covered. That’s if they talk about it at all.
