Anna Prendergast, a major in the U.S. Air Force who trains ICU nurses at University Medical Center in Las Vegas, doesn’t think anyone feels normal the first time they take care of a patient with a gunshot wound.
While health-care workers may, over time, suffer secondary trauma from treating patients, people like Prendergast can get at least somewhat acclimated to caring for serious injuries and wounds after repeated exposure, Prendergast told the Review-Journal last week.
If military medics must treat soldiers in a combat zone, the military wants the medics to have already been exposed to wounds similar to ones suffered in combat zones, Prendergast said. At UMC, military medics encounter serious injuries under the supervision of “cadre” — officers responsible for training.
“You can experience it here with cadre to help lead you through that experience, to understand it and mentally process it a little bit better, so then you’re a little more resilient when you deploy,” Prendergast said.
A robust military-civilian partnership exists at UMC, in part, so that active duty medical providers can prepare for deployment.
At any given time, the county hospital is home to roughly 100 military medics — nurses, technicians and doctors. Some live locally or come to train from nearby Nellis Air Force Base. Others hail from bases around the globe.
The partnership, which began more than two decades ago, involves three Air Force organizations, UMC,…
