Contemplating a New Model for Air Force Aerospace Medical Techniican Skills Sustainment Training

<p>Two decades ago Aerospace Medical Technicians received robust skills sustainment training through exposure to multi-faceted patient treatment environments. Available training environments included inpatient care outpatient care and emergency services. This diverse training environment made possible through large operating budgets and an extraordinary infrastructure could not last. Today (after five separate base closure and realignment initiatives) medical funding and infrastructure is but a shadow of what it once was. Budget constraints and the rising cost of healthcare have necessitated a purposeful movement away from inpatient and emergency care toward outpatient and preventative medicine. Although changes in Air Force health care delivery may be necessary the closure of inpatient units and emergency service departments around the Air Force has significantly impacted the Air Force's ability to train medical professionals and paraprofessionals for operations in a deployed setting especially in the area of medical skills sustainment training.</p><p>This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore you will see the original copyright references library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world) and other notations in the work.</p><p>This work is in the public domain in the United States of America and possibly other nations. Within the United States you may freely copy and distribute this work as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.</p><p>As a reproduction of a historical artifact this work may contain missing or blurred pages poor pictures errant marks etc. Scholars believe and we concur that this work is important enough to be preserved reproduced and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.</p><br>