Every year, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reserve combat medics receive minimal training to treat wounded people on the battlefield. However, this education is not enough.
Ravid Segal, director of technology at MSR (Israeli Medical Simulation Center), explained that “the problem was that reserve combat medics receive minimal refresher courses each year. Additionally, doctors who are called to the reserve generally know nothing about trauma medicine. “An obstetrician who treats pregnant women every day probably won’t know how to treat a gunshot wound under fire.”
The MSR center, located at Ramat Gan's Sheba Medical Center, was founded by Amitai Ziv to promote a safer, patient-centered approach without putting patients at risk, thereby reducing combat medical errors.
Starting October 7, the center decided to launch a program called MSR on Wheels. According to Segal, what they did was “pack up trailers with our high-tech task trainers and supplies and we headed to the IDF staging areas on the border with Gaza.”
Furthermore, he explained that they did this training “the day before the troops entered. It turned out to be the perfect time because the knowledge was fresh.”