Medical Reports: Vital Virtual Technology

WSVN -- Imagine trying to save someone's life in the middle of the battlefield, but now, Jackson Memorial Hospital has set up a new program called The United States Army Trauma Center, and it's helping soldiers get some real life experience before going overseas.

Christian Paulo: "I've been through this prior to my last deployment, and it really does prepare everyone for deployment."

Combat Medic Christian Paulo says Miami is the ideal spot for the training.

Christian Paulo: "Miami, you know, unfortunately, sees a lot of the gunshot wounds and stab wounds which are similar to what you encounter overseas as well."

Nurse Frances Cirilo is facing her first deployment. For her, the training is critical.

Frances Cirilo: "We can see how much we've progressed from when we first came here, and that's good too. I feel a lot more prepared and comfortable."

Units across the U.S. send their soldiers here to train side-by-side.

Dr. Donald Robinson: "They do 12-hour shifts. Half the crew is on during the day, half the crew is on at night. They are completely supervised by our staff of nurses and physicians here at Jackson Memorial."

Their primary focus is to work with injuries they are likely to see on the battlefield.

Dr. Donald Robinson: "We see burn, blasts, blunt injuries and the injuries range from chest injuries to a whole host of extremity injuries to a lot of bleeding."

For the most realistic training, Jackson set up a mock trauma, but the medics don't know it's all make believe. Next, a combat case using a medical simulator.

Frances Cirilo: "Instead of just, 'Oh, I'm putting in a foley, or I'm putting in an IV,' I can actually put it in."

Dr. Donald Robinson: "It can simulate the physiology of the human body, so what we do is we give the medics or the team the opportunity of going through combat trauma scenario."

The training gives the team confidence and, more importantly, they learn to work together just like they will have to on the battlefield.

Frances Cirilo: "You can see what you're doing wrong and what you're doing right."

Christian Paulo: "Training as a team really benefits because you get to understand people under stress."

Lynn Martinez: "The team deploys together soon after their trauma training is over, and doctors hope to add tele-medicine to future programs. That's where doctors can look at patient's from a separate location."