28 MDG aides civilian nurses' training

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Abigail Klein
  • 28th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. --  For the first time, civilian nursing students will be allowed to complete their required 160 hours clinical training with nurses and medical technicians at the 28th Medical Group. Licensed practical nursing students from Western Dakota Technical Institute will begin their clinical rotations here March 31.

The decision to allow civilian LPN students to train at the clinic was based on the nurses' needs and the limited number of clinical rotation slots available to meet the needs of the high number of nursing students in the local area, said Capt. Phil Broberg, 28 MDG education and training chief.

Before starting classes in August, an LPN instructor at Western Dakota Tech. suggested the Ellsworth clinic as a possible resource for LPN students to complete their clinical training.

The instructor, whose children are military dependents, kept telling everyone that the clinic would be a great facility to train students. That's when Lisa Krogman, LPN instructor head at Western Dakota Tech., decided to get in touch with the base to see if that was a possibility.

The approval process allowing for the civilian nursing students to train on base was by no means a short one. It began in August and required approval from the Air Combat Training Command, Captain Broberg said.

Approval for the training affiliations agreement came in January, and the Western Dakota Tech. students are slated to begin their clinical rotations at the end of the month.
Before rotations begin, each instructor will be assigned eight nursing students to help ensure individualized training and patient satisfaction. Each student will train for six to eight weeks and perform the basic LPN duties required to earn their degrees.

"Patient care is the biggest thing in this program, that's really where the learning process begins for the students," Captain Broberg said.

Along with emphasizing the importance of establishing excellent patient care, the students will also be instructed in other required areas.

The students will learn how to take patients' blood with phlebotomists in the lab, take blood pressure and temperatures with nurses, perform other clinical duties with medical technicians in family practice and do tasks in radiology with the radiologists, Captain Broberg said.

In addition to the basic medical skills nursing students must learn while doing their rotations here, Captain Broberg hopes the training program will give the nurses, as well as civilians, more insight into military life, and spark more interest and support from the local community.

Until rotations begin, instructors and students of Western Dakota Tech. happily await the end of March, Miss Krogman said.

"We're very excited to utilize a resource that works in such an excellent manner," Miss Krogman said. "It's also exciting for the students to be able to train more quickly in a clinical setting."