Vanderbilt Health recently hosted a two-day Advanced Surgical Skills for Exposure in Trauma (ASSET+) course designed for military medical providers, marking the first time this advanced course has been taught at a civilian medical facility.
The ASSET+ course, part of the U.S. military Emergency War Surgery curriculum, establishes combat training competencies and provides training for military medical personnel working in deployed environments, military treatment facilities, and Level 1 trauma treatment facilities. The two-day cadaver and simulator-based ASSET+ course includes review of case studies followed by hands-on practice.
“We are proud of our increasing military-civilian partnerships here at VUMC, and the addition of the ASSET+ course is another example of our commitment to supporting our military medical personnel, whether they’re treating individuals during deployment or at a military medical facility,” said Mayur Patel, MD, MPH, chief of the Division of Acute Care Surgery and Ingram Professor in Surgical Sciences. “Due to our high caliber training facilities and faculty, we are uniquely positioned as a civilian academic medical center to provide this vital instruction for our military partners, and we plan to continue doing so.”
The ASSET course, a one-day course created by the American College of Surgeons, has been taught by Vanderbilt Health since 2013. This enhanced version, ASSET+, is more intensive and focuses additionally on lifesaving damage control techniques in trauma.
“ASSET+ is a modification of the original ASSET course, and it is an anatomical review of surgical exposures in the neck, torso and extremities to better prepare medical providers to quickly control bleeding and effectively manage trauma,” said Chris Brown, MS, CCP, trauma outreach educator. “This course provides a refresher or, in some cases, updated techniques so students are prepared to provide life-sustaining care.”
The ASSET+ course is designed for Department of Defense surgeons, with physician assistants, trauma nurses, medical technicians and surgical technicians often observing. It provides an overview of key surgical exposures in five anatomic areas: neck, chest, abdomen and pelvis, and upper and lower extremities. ASSET+ also includes neurosurgery, OB-GYN, ophthalmology and orthopaedic topics.
“This course requires a 1-1 instructor-to-student ratio, allowing for extensive faculty to trainee interaction over the two days of instruction,” said Cathy Wilson, MSN, RN, trauma outreach educator and course coordinator. “For our first ASSET + course, we had both military and civilian medical providers participate — one Vanderbilt acute care surgery fellow, one surgeon from Alaska and two surgeons in the Tennessee Army National Guard.”
Surgical exposure of anatomical structures is a surgical technique that achieves precise exposure to critical anatomical structures, with minimized tissue trauma. Proper surgical exposure supports operative procedures and reduces the likelihood of complications such as wound infection.
In addition to Patel, Robel Beyene, MD, assistant professor of Surgery; Brad Dennis, MD, associate professor of Surgery and medical director of the Vanderbilt University Hospital (VUH) Trauma Intensive Care Unit and holder of the Carol Ann Gavin Directorship in Acute Care Surgery; Michael Derickson, MD, assistant professor of Clinical Surgery; and Stephen Gondek, MD, MPH, associate professor of Surgery and medical director of the VUH Burn Intensive Care Unit, served as the ASSET+ course instructors. In addition, Timothy Nunez, MD, former VUMC trauma surgeon and chief of Trauma and Surgical Critical Care at Brooke Army Medical Center, served as a visiting course consultant and course director.
