Air Force Staff Sgt. Tawnee Conklin, Medical Technician in the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center Emergency Department, provides instructions to help nurses and fellow technicians brush up on their suturing skills March 22 during the Nursing Readiness...

LANDSTUHL REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER, Germany -- Nurses and medical technicians from throughout the Kaiserslautern Military Community brushed up on vital skills at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center March 22 during the Nursing Readiness Skills Training.

"Medical personnel go on many missions throughout the world and we need to be technically and professionally proficient at our jobs," said Maj. Michael Gray, the Medical-Surgical Head Nurse with the 212th Combat Support Hospital.

Army and Air Force medical professionals visited more than 30 stations covering skills like transferring wounded patients, treating, closing and suturing wounds administering an IV and more.

After practicing assisting with a chest tube insertion, 2nd Lt. Allison O'Connor, a Registered Nurse at LRMC said, "This is a great team dynamic of nurses helping other nurses so we can better help the patient. Everyone has their special skill set that they are really good at, and when you learn from them, it builds your own nursing tools."

LRMC hosts the Nursing Readiness Skills Training twice a year for hospital staff, as well as medical staff from Ramstein and other Army clinics in the local area.

"We understand how important it is for medical professionals to maintain readiness, whether that's readiness for whatever comes through LRMC's doors or readiness to deploy and care for troops in training or on the battlefield," said Lt. Col Dawn Seeley, Chief of LRMC Education Division. "Our patients, their loved ones and their units, trust us to provide the best care possible, so we need to be ready for anything."