FORT IRWIN, Calif.  –   Weed Army Community Hospital (WACH) recently hosted a Nurse Skills Fair, bringing together staff from inpatient and primary care for a day of hands-on learning, collaboration, and confidence-building. The event, organized by Hospital Education & Training (HE&T), featured stations led by experts from various hospital departments, ensuring a well-rounded training experience for the entire nursing team.

“The goal of the Skills Fair is to give our RNs, LPNs, and other nursing staff the chance to practice with equipment and procedures they might not use every day in their department,” said SSG Tabitha Freeman, HE&T training non-commissioned officer. “This reinforcement of skills ensures our team is ready to respond to any medical situation. Not only that, the instructors also benefited by refining their verbal teaching techniques.”


Throughout the day, nurses rotated through stations covering critical care skills, including:

• Ventilator Management: Identifying settings, ranges, and signs of distress, plus steps for rapid intervention.
• Belmont Rapid Infuser: Techniques for safe and efficient blood transfusion during emergencies.
• Zoll Defibrillator Mastery: From AED pad placement—including pediatric protocols—to pacing compressions, monitoring vitals, and running logs.
• Arterial Line Management: Understanding blood pressure titration, zeroing lines, waveform interpretation, and line draws versus arterial draws.
• Drains & Tubes: Hands-on training for JP drains, Foley, NG, and OG tubes.
• Behavioral Health Restraints: Safe de-escalation, room safety preparation, and WACH-specific restraint policies.
• Perinatal and Pediatric Care: Panda warmer operation and airway management, including mask sizing, LMA identification, and C-spine stabilization techniques.
• Blood Bridge and Labs: Streamlined protocols for mass transfusion events, proper wristband scanning, and order-of-draw sequencing.

 
The Nurse Skills Fair is a cornerstone of WACH’s mission to deliver safe, high-quality care. By practicing together, nurses from different specialties not only honed critical skills but also strengthened the teamwork that defines the hospital community.


“Teaching has always been in my DNA,” said CPT Travis Brassfield, Operating Room Officer in Charge (OIC) and former educator. “What I love about this event is watching those lightbulb moments when a nurse connects the theory to real-life scenarios. That’s when you know the training will make a difference on the floor.”


As WACH looks ahead, events like the Nurse Skills Fair remain vital for preparing staff to meet the evolving needs of the National Training Center community—ensuring that, from routine care to critical interventions, every patient receives the best of Army Medicine.