An Evaluation of Education Methods Used to Train United States Air Force Air Medical Evacuation Crewmembers on Aircraft Systems

Abstract

ObjectiveUnited States Air Force air medical evacuation crewmembers (AECMs) are responsible for the safe air medical evacuation of casualties in dynamic environments and must be highly proficient in the C-17, C-130H/J, and KC-135R/T aircraft. Current methods to train AECMs on their aircraft proficiency include computer-based simulation training (CBT) or instructor-based training (IBT) on an actual aircraft. This study compares the aircraft proficiency scores between AECMs who were trained via CBT and IBT methods. MethodsAn experimental prospective design was chosen, introducing the independent variable of CBT to the dependent variable of AECM aircraft system proficiency. Proficiency evaluation scores of the control group (n = 10) trained via IBT were compared against the scores of the intervention group (n = 10). ResultsA Mann-Whitney U test was conducted using a significance level of α = .05 and a confidence interval of 95%. The test revealed an exact significance 2-tailed P = .045 ≤ .05. AECMs trained via IBT had statistically higher aircraft proficiency evaluation scores than AECMs trained via CBT. ConclusionThese findings show that using IBT and a real aircraft to train AECMs is a superior training method versus CBT.