Training To Be A First Responder-Need A Better Way?

How to make training more attractive with VR/AR technology?

With many first responders leaving their careers and fewer signing up, the usage of VR/AR training could offer a more compelling training experience that is also more efficient. This may already be imperative to slow the drop-off in the number listed in the national registry of emergency medical responders or other agency registries.

At Augmented Training Systems, we have witnessed firsthand the excitement and energy that VR/AR technology generates during training sessions. Many responders even become quite competitive with data available for ratings and comparisons at the team and individual levels.

How to transform training for complex situations?

Many more complex emergency situations are more challenging to simulate with live first responder training. This is likely the primary reason that first responder training ratings for complex emergency situations are not included to be a certified first responder. Yet, these are the exact scenarios that often have the largest community impact and long-term effect on an emergency medical responder.

Here is where Augmented Training Systems is collaborating with various agencies with immediate optimization to ensure each emergency medical responder can be verified as mission-ready with data analysis to back it up. Check out our MCI Training for example.

Why is scenario-based training for complex situations so important?

It’s not uncommon these days to see a police officer, firefighter, or paramedic being filmed on social media during an incident. What is more disturbing than seeing pictures and videos of people in distress on social media is that many of them are not trained properly. Certainly, there has been an increase in demand from our society for emergency responders but the problem lies with how they’re trained.

At Augmented Training Systems, we recommend complementing traditional classroom teaching and moving towards experiential learning methods such as Scenario-based Training (SBT). This would allow students to learn by doing instead of reading about what it means to respond appropriately in a given situation.

How to create a modern training program?

Traditional training courses lack the engagement this generation desires to capture their attention and push them to their limits. Modern training programs address this with a hybrid approach with live training and virtual simulations.

At Augmented Training Systems, we are collaborating with agencies to build a VR/AR training course catalog on a modern platform that goes far beyond traditional training options. There is much to consider in a modern training strategy. You can find common considerations as well as free micro-trainings here.

What types of VR/AR training would you like Augmented Training Systems to offer?

We understand your training is difficult and expensive. It’s hard for many first responders to find the time or money to attend live training sessions, which means they can miss out on critical updates for their profession.

Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) are changing this by allowing people all over the world to gain access to top-quality emergency response material in an immersive environment.

While there are still some hurdles that need overcoming before VR/AR becomes ubiquitous among emergency professionals, it has already begun transforming how we train those who will respond during complex emergencies.