Extensible Field and Evacuation Care Training in a Virtual Environment (EFECTIVE)

The DoD is preparing for future Contested Degraded Operations (CDO) environments where it will not be possible to sustain the current levels of medical care across the chain of care. The availability of front line medical personnel, safe spaces to administer care, medical supplies, and time may be degraded because of enemy activity or lack of resources, denying physical access to evacuate patients and deliver medical treatment. The DoD does not yet have a training program or system that sufficiently addresses the unique challenges of preparing medical providers to deliver care in CDO environments, including prolonged field care and en route care. To meet these needs, we propose to design and demonstrate the feasibility of Extensible Field and Evacuation Care Training in a Virtual Environment (EFECTIVE). EFECTIVE is a screen-based simulator for training, practicing, and assessing the skills for providing point of injury and en route care in CDO environments. EFECTIVE can be deployed to desktop computers and tablets and presents virtual patients and an interactive toolkit that trainees can use to perform interventions and diagnostics. Additionally, EFECTIVE interfaces with a variety of external systems and allows instructors to create new content and training material.