Page 36 - QARANC Vol 20 No 1 2022

36 The Gazette QARANC Association
‘A top 10 finish and a face full of mud’
Corporal Alexandra Thomas QARANC 208 (Liverpool) Field Hospital, reveals how the army sparked her love of cycle racing
There are many reasons I am proud to serve as a British Army reservist but one that has impacted greatly on my life is the military’s dedication to push and develop soldiers into sport.
I had not ridden a bike since I was around 10 years old, but I was offered the opportunity to attend a week’s mountain bike training in Morzine, France, with 208 Field hospital in 2019. This sparked a love for cycling and led me to a life of road bikes, turbo training and living a breathing anything two wheeled.
Last year I decided to brave my first criteria race and entered with the hope of hanging on to the bunch for one lap before getting dropped, I ended up coming away with 8th place and realised there my love for competitive sport.
Following on from this I entered races every weekend pushing myself harder with the goal to achieve 3rd category before the end of the season. I didn’t have long as I entered my first race when the season was almost over but managed a few good results and gained my 3rd category licence.
I turned to cyclocross racing to get me through the winter and entered my first race not knowing what to expect. I ended up closing my eyes down some steep muddy descents, not the best tactic but gained a top 10 finish along with a face full of mud!
I’m now spending the dark winter evenings sweating on the turbo trainer and the chilly weekends either racing cyclocross or racking up the long miles fuelled by coffee and cake all in
the hope to keep improving for next season.
I always find myself looking ahead at my next goal and pushing myself training harder to improve but when I stop for a moment and look back, I can see how far my cycling and confidence has come and I can say I am proud.
The British Army has a vast amount of sporting opportunities available to soldiers and I am ever thankful for this, my pockets may be lighter after spending far too much money on bikes but the experiences I have gained are priceless.
Simulation suite was a safe learning environment
In 2021, JHG(N) preceptees attended a clinical study day focused on acute deterioration recognition and management of patients.
The scenarios were set in a hospital environment to avoid the additional restraints which are apparent when on operations however during the moulage debriefs operational considerations were discussed.
The preceptors revised A-E assessment, sepsis and SBAR handovers prior to an afternoon of moulages in the JCUH simulation suite.
The suite consisted of a full- size mannequin with interactive monitoring, an operator room and an observation room. This allowed the preceptees to immerse themselves in the scenarios and talk to the patient with real-time responses.
The observation room meant that the non-exercising troops could watch and provide feedback and
learn from all moulages not just the one they participated in.
Everyone was given a run-through of the scenario in pairs to emulate the teamwork and communication that would be present in a real deterioration. The situation was tailored to the clinical environment in which the preceptee pairs were unfamiliar, for example those on their
surgical rotation were given medical scenarios to prepare them for their next rotation.
The day was beneficial to all and left us wanting to do more days using the simulation suite as it was a safe environment to learn and allowed time to ask questions.
Cpl H Loveridge, JHG(N)