WakeMed becomes 1 of 4 hospitals to provide trauma training to Navy Corpsmen

RALEIGH (WTVD) -- WakeMed is one of four hospitals nationwide in a partnership with the U.S. Navy's Bureau of Medicine and Surgery.

The program debuted on Feb. 1 at the Raleigh hospital and will center around practice and preparation for military medical staff to ensure future combat readiness through specialized training as part of the Hospital Corpsman Trauma Training program.

WakeMed was chosen for its role as a high-volume Level 1 Training Center and its emergency preparedness and training capabilities.

"WakeMed has been a teaching hospital for over 40 years we've taught physicians, nurses, pharmacists, therapists, and technicians as a level one trauma center," said Donald Gintzig, WakeMed President and CEO.

"We are just really engaged in the education and training of the next generation of caregivers. And I've had a lot of experience as well, I spent 30 years in the Navy, and was in Navy medicine. And, the opportunity for us to partner to help that next generation be ready to serve our sons and daughters and husbands and wives and mothers and fathers is just an incredible honor for us," Gintzig said.

The Corpsmen will train among WakeMed's Emergency departments and Surgical Trauma Intensive Care Units among others for seven-week rotations including two weeks of didactic and simulation training followed by five weeks of clinical rotations.

The first graduation ceremony will take place on March 18.