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The Sim Cafe~
The Sim Cafe~
Transformative Tales from the Simulation Front with Jude Tomasello Sponsored by Beaker Health
The episode is further enriched by a gripping account from a master sergeant whose life—and that of a fellow soldier—was saved by the very training methods Jude champions. It's a testament to the life-saving prowess of medical simulation that underscores the broader implications of these innovations: heightened readiness, economic prudence, and environmental conservation. As Jude reflects on his forthcoming retirement, he shares invaluable career insights on the essence of pursuing one's passion and leading with integrity. Moreover, we delve into the pioneering Complicated Obstetrics Emergency Simulation System (COESS) and the specialized training in prolonged casualty care for special forces medics, illustrating the relentless progress of medical simulation in enhancing military readiness and safeguarding lives.
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The views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of anyone at Innovative Sim Solutions or our sponsors.
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Disclaimer/ Beaker Health Ad/ intro:Welcome to the Sim Cafe, a podcast produced by the team at Innovative Sim Solutions, edited by Shelly Houser. Join our host Deb Tauber and co-host Jerrod Jeffries as they sit down with subject matter experts from across the globe to reimagine clinical education and the use of simulation. So pour yourself a cup of relaxation, sit back, tune in and learn something new from the Sim Cafe.
Deb Tauber:Welcome to another episode of The Sim Cafe. Thank you, Jerrod, for being here, and thank you, Jude Tomasello, our esteemed guest, for joining us. We appreciate you being on the show today.
Jude Tomasello:Well, you're quite welcome. I've been looking forward to this and I know we tried to connect for some time, so I'm very happy to be here.
Jerrod Jeffries:I'm also pretty excited to be here too, because I think we have a different angle. I think that sometimes we do healthcare simulation. Healthcare simulation, which is, of course, in a way, is, but I think it has a different spin to it which I'm excited to get into.
Deb Tauber:Yeah. So, Jude, why don't you tell our listeners a little bit about yourself? Tell them your story?
Jude Tomasello:Okay, so I was born and raised in Southeast Texas and I have an electrical engineering undergrad and I've got an MBA graduate degree and I went straight from college to working as a Department of Defense civilian and I've been doing that for about 36 years now. That's a lot of DOD acquisition experience and it's all been in simulation and simulators so kind of a rare breed. There's a few of us here in the community here in the research park next to the University of Central Florida that kind of share that same experience. So for the first, I would say, 29 years or so, I worked in what we call move, shoot, communicate simulators that's like your gunnery trainers or driver trainers or communication trainers. And then, along about 2016, early 17, I was handpicked to help lead a startup program manager for a joint medical simulation office under the Army here in Central Florida, and that was a radical change from my previous experience On the medical side.
Jude Tomasello:As you can imagine, it's a whole new set of acronyms, it's a whole new set of stakeholders and it's just a whole new terminology and mindset really, and it took me a few months to kind of get used to that and be comfortable in that environment. So what I was really taking aback with was the providers and throughout the military health system. How committed and dedicated these folks were, and that was incredibly inspiring to me and my team as well. So, along about 2020, we transitioned from the Army to the Defense Health Agency and there we currently reside under the PEO for medical systems. Personally, I love to cook, I love to fish, my wife, Melinda, is an artist and we have two grown children.
Jerrod Jeffries:Wonderful, and where are you calling out of?
Jude Tomasello:Orlando.
Jerrod Jeffries:Okay, perfect.
Jude Tomasello:We are in the research Central Florida research park, which is again adjacent to the University of Central Florida, and so I'm here representing DHA and we've got all the services Army, Navy, Air Force, marines here doing Simulations. So it's they call that consortium team Orlando and it involves the services, UCF and various aspects of industry.
Jerrod Jeffries:Okay, well, who knew Orlando was such a mecca for this melting pot, which is, which is wonderful. You guys are all so close.
Jude Tomasello:It's been that way for for many, many years. The agreement between UCF and the Army has has been a long-standing agreement and hopefully it thrives for years to come.
Jerrod Jeffries:Certainly, and I think we're all better off for it. Having that closeness and collaboration is beneficial for so many and so, speaking of the DHA or Defense Health Agency, what do you specifically do within the DHA?
Jude Tomasello:So I am the program manager for medical simulation and training. I am chartered by the component acquisition executive and what we do in a nutshell is we turn requirements into capabilities. Our stated mission is to improve health care and build readiness through simulation, training and education, and we were created to be the acquisition life cycle manager and that's I don't know if you heard it's referred to cradle to grave. So we we come in on the development, we do the acquisition, production, testing, fielding and sustainment of medical simulation products and services supporting the military health system.
Jude Tomasello:And Having a program manager performing and overseeing these activities is something you would see. It's any DOD program manager on the joint side, whether it's a joint strike fighter or whether it's combat boots or whether it's medical simulation. You kind of have the same general areas you work in. Those are transitioning science and technology. Those are taking your users requirements, in my case the joint services or the combatant commands, taking those requirements and turning them into capabilities. Like I said, there's a another Task of standardization. So I'm standardizing medical training solutions. You don't want each entity out there to have a unique solution because that's not efficient, it's not cost effective, and then you centralize the sustainment of those solutions we put out in the field again.
Jerrod Jeffries:That's that's cost effective to do it that way and it's more efficient and when you're saying the field, how many roughly, how many sites are we talking?
Jude Tomasello:so we need. It can be Any of the military treatment facilities and there are I don't know the exact number Because they change, but any of the MTS out there and then a combatant command or a service training facility or a DOD training facility, so it could be any number about. You know, I don't have it's not a set number. Right depends on who comes to us and what their requirement is.
Deb Tauber:I thought it was really interesting that earlier in our conversation, before we got on started recording that, we talked about Florida being, you know, a mecca for simulation, and I just find that Really interesting to hear about that. The insect conference why don't you tell our listeners a little bit about it? But it's always in Orlando.
Jude Tomasello:It is. It's the interservice industry training and simulation education conference. It's always the week after Thanksgiving and it's out at the Orange County Convention Center and we literally take up half of that facility. I mean, and it's a huge, gigantic facility and folks come in from all over the world. You can check out their website, I believe it's. It's a dot org again, just finished, and always it's never too early to start planning for next year. They have paper reviews, they have presentations, they have tutorials and, of course, the exhibit hall out on the floor. So it's it's really an Impressive display and you get people from all over the world, governments and militaries from all over the world, contractors, industry from all over the world and academia, again from all over. So it's again very, very impressive.
Deb Tauber:What was attendance like it's at this global event?
Jude Tomasello:I've heard that this year was the highest attendance they've ever had, but I don't know exactly what that number is.
Deb Tauber:Sure, we can Google it. Yeah, why don't you share your story specifically into simulation, like how you ended up in simulation?
Jude Tomasello:So again they. I was hired as a Navy civilian right out of college. When I graduated they came to our school and interviewed us and it was the Naval Training System Center, which is now the Naval Air Warfare Center Training System Division. That's one of our sister commands. Here they do the Navy simulation, whether it's flight, surface or subsurface, or medical as well. So I was hired right out.
Jude Tomasello:I moved to Orlando and began working as a project engineer. My first assignment was on the Ohio class submarine trainers. We did the combat system trainers. That was incredibly interesting, all the things that have to go on to make a submarine do what it does and do it well. So I got a really got an appreciation for our submarine force and how incredibly talented and incredibly trained those folks are.
Jude Tomasello:So then I moved from there, transitioned over to the Army in early 95, I guess and started working gunnery trainers, tank simulators, driver trainers, and worked up to collective trainers on a very large scale. And then I went into the side that sustains them. We ended up building an 11 billion dollar contract that operates and sustains Army simulators across the world. And that's from there is when I got handpicked. I was the deputy PM on the Army side doing the sustainment contract. I got handpicked to go work the medical side and that's how I ended up here Once the medical joint project manager for medical simulation.
Jude Tomasello:We had had a plan that we were going to migrate to defense health agency and remain here and we were going to take a few years to kind of slow roll and do an easy transition. The Army came along in 2019 and said yeah, you know your three year plan, you're going to do that in a year. We did and in hindsight you know, ripping that mandate off I think was really the best way to go. I transitioned to my government civilians and I've got some professional service contractors that work with me as well and we transitioned all those folks and we're off and running.
Jerrod Jeffries:And this was all started in 2019 then it culminated in the summer of 2020. Yeah, Wow, wow, that's. I haven't heard something like that. But I mean, is that, is that usual that they try to shorten the timeline?
Jude Tomasello:that's you know quickly from working with the DOD. Anything can happen.
Jerrod Jeffries:Okay, that's a safe answer.
Jude Tomasello:Yeah, your timeline can be cut by, you know, 90 percent, or you can go on forever and it's like is this ever going to happen? So it can go any number of ways. You just days, weeks and months of boredom, followed by short bursts of terror, right, so that you kind of expect that, and I've seen that all throughout my career.
Jerrod Jeffries:And then throughout that time, you know, over the past three years or maybe even previously, do you have a favorite simulation story of any kind?
Jude Tomasello:Yeah, I do, and it does involve medical training with simulation. It saves lives, it saves money and it improves readiness, and we all know that to be true and that's pretty impactful in and of itself. But for me, the most impactful moment came. I was spending a little bit of time in the Middle East a few years ago. I was overseeing simulators and their operators there and these were all kinds of simulators and we happened to have a medical simulation training center there as well. And one day this master sergeant sought me out. He knew I was the training trainer guy there and he sought me out and came up to me and literally he was still dusty you know from that that fine desert sand. He had his M4 on his back and he said hey, I just wanted to find you and tell you that the training I received on the medical simulation here that not only saved his life but saved his buddy's life.
Deb Tauber:And for me that's.
Jude Tomasello:I mean, I got chills, you know, every time I tell that story and for me that's all I'll ever need, and what we do and why we do it.
Jerrod Jeffries:And it's what really surprised me about this industry it can provide so much meaning for these individuals, of course, saving a life, and I feel like it has to do the same thing. Obviously, we're talking about education too. But for teachers to like we've had previous guests that are like yeah, I've had a student come up to me 12 years later or 20 years later and say you're the teacher that put me on this path or allowed me to do this, which is extremely important, but not to undermine something that saves someone's life, and that's something to say yeah, you saved me and my best friend or my other comrade here, and so it really changes the outcome of what you do and where you want to put your energy into.
Jude Tomasello:Yeah, on my previous experience, the 29 years I referred to earlier on the move shoot, communicate side, we would say, okay, we're helping make those men and women more ready, and that's important. That could potentially help bring them back safely as well. Or you're saving gas and bullets and wear and tear on the equipment and that saves money, and then that's important. You're saving wear and tear on the environment by doing things virtually in a simulator. That's important as well. But when it comes to the training I received saved my life, or my buddy used it to save my life, and you see these combat medics out there doing what they do, saving lives. You see clinicians in a clinical, in an emergency room environment working as a team and you know that those skills they learned, they learned in simulation, not entirely, but they were honed in simulation. That is again that to me is a notch above 100% agree.
Deb Tauber:I agree. Too Great story, just a great story. Now, dude, are there any words of wisdom, anything that you want to leave with our listeners?
Jude Tomasello:I thought about this at the risk of sounding like a TED talk, but this comes from years of diverse experience that I've had and I find myself these days reflecting more and more as I approach retirement next year. So I would say Follow your passion and don't run away from the hard stuff right. Always maintain your integrity. I've seen through again through many years, folks with the with you know, different motivations that would tend to compromise their integrity and and I'm very proud that, and I've never done that you always maintain your integrity. Folks can't take that from you. That's one thing you have that others can't take from you.
Jude Tomasello:Also, I would say take the time to appreciate what you're doing and who you're doing it for. Again, after 36 years, I still go out there and I see these young men and women training and it just takes my breath away that you know we help them and we help them do this and we are enablers for what they're doing. Take time to take care of you mentally, physically, your emotional intelligence, things like that. It's just take the time to take care of you. Don't sacrifice your body, at least not to a great extent. We all do to some extent, but you have to know where that limit is and stop and take care of yourself and also take care and take time to be with those you love. And I would say under the category of leadership, leadership is a blessing. It's not a curse, it's a blessing. Lead with a purpose and create and protect an environment that your employees or your team Can realize their full potential. And I've been very proud that I've been able to do that with teams over the over many years.
Deb Tauber:Yeah, I had an opportunity to meet your team last year at the IMS, or actually this year, early this year, and I'm SH and I can you guys seem like a very, very tight-knit group. It was, you know, very pleasant to meet you all.
Jude Tomasello:Yeah, we are.
Jerrod Jeffries:Love the integrity piece especially. You know that aligns well with reputation, because that's that's one of the things that you can never really take back.
Jude Tomasello:And and once you lose it it's like credibility it's. It's really really hard to get that back.
Deb Tauber:Anything that you want to talk about or ask us about. Are you gonna be at IMS H this year?
Jude Tomasello:Yes, I will, and I will be there with Gil and a Veneet, my chief engineer, and think Fabiola Steven, she's my assistant program manager, she's going and I believe Roger Hozier, he's one of my professional service contractors, so he'll be there as well. So I've got All the gill. Of course is a flight retired flight medic, so I've got those disciplines all very well represented. I wanted to add a couple of points, kind of where this office is going longer term and about some of the folks we support. So, in response to rising infant mortality rates, we're developing a system called Complicated obstetrics emergency simulation system, or COS as it's known, as this simulator will be fielded to 49 MTFs military treatment facilities across the globe and will provide obstetrics and kind of collaboration with the obstetrics and gynecological training teams to hopefully Reverse this trend. So we're very much looking forward to that and proud of that. We also have fielded a system that trains special forces medics, trains their teams and prolonged casualty care and we're working on a requirement still in the very early stages of that requirement To extend this to all services. So, as you see, our PM office is just one of a few at DHA that provides direct support on both the clinical and the operational side.
Jude Tomasello:What you'll generally see at DHA is, you know, very heavy clinical support or very heavy like on Tri-care and big service contracts and things like that. But you rarely see an office that supports both the clinical and the operational side, and I'm very proud of what we do in that. Regard to support that I will close, I'll say that you know, enabling these providers, whether they're clinical or operational, to be at the top of their readiness and continue to save lives is what we call the why, and that's what keeps our team and myself Going every single day, and that's that's really what I wanted to say there. So, thank you, thank both of you, for this opportunity. I really appreciate it. To opportunity to get the word out.
Jerrod Jeffries:Oh, thank you. It's so wonderful to learn more you know about the DHA and from the Defense Health Agency, because I think it's something that it's not really at the forefront of many people's minds. But of course, there's so much going on and you're spread so wide, so there's so much progress and an ability to really do well for the world.
Jude Tomasello:Yeah, and you know it's. It's funny because a medical simulation PM is not widely known throughout DHA, oddly enough, and hopefully we can get the word out and some folks can watch this podcast or listen to it and become more knowledgeable about who we are and what we do yeah, thank you for sharing your mission, your vision and your compelling why and what you're doing to make Our military people feel more comfortable and confident in their job, and helping to save lives.
Jude Tomasello:Oh, you're quite welcome. I love what we do. We have a great team here and we love sharing, telling people what we do.
Deb Tauber:Well, thank you so much and we look forward to seeing you at IMSH 2024 in lovely San Diego. We'll be there, look forward to it, thank you. Thanks for joining us here at The Sim Cafe.
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