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Methods FIGURE 1 The two main themes identified were realization of
future roles as educators and leaders and realization of medics and
Design corpsmen capabilities. Each of these themes were based on quotes
Our research team used a qualitative phenomenological design (white) coded into five separate categories (light blue) based on
to explore medical students’ experiences being taught by med- content and keywords.
ics at Operation Gunpowder. Qualitative phenomenological Realization of Medics
design aims to explore the participants’ lived experiences and Realization of Future and Corpsmen
Roles as Educators
perceptions. In this study, we sought to better understand the and Leaders Capabilities
6
lived experiences and perceptions of third-year medical stu-
dents attending Operation Gunpowder; therefore, phenome-
New
Dual Role
nology was an appropriate fit for our study. Dual Role of MMO – Understanding Tactical Role Impact on
of MMO –
Educator Leader of Medics Role of MMO Medical Skills
Unlike quantitative research, qualitative research does not de-
termine definite conclusions. Rather, it reveals new understand- 4 7 9 8 6
ing and insight into participants’ lived experiences during a MMO = Military Medical Officers
certain phenomenon. In our study, the phenomenon we stud-
6,7
ied was the medical students’ learning experiences while being Gunpowder: 1) Realization of medics’ and corpsmen capabil-
taught by the medics and corpsmen during the field exercise. ities and 2) Realization of their future roles as educators and
This study was determined to be exempt by the Institutional leaders.
Review Board at USU RB #21-14158.
Realization of Medics’ and Corpsmen’s Capabilities
Data Collection The participants foremost described how being taught by the
The participants in our study were 35 third-year medical stu- enlisted medical personnel impacted their view of medic and
dents who completed Operation Gunpowder during spring corpsman capabilities, which ultimately influenced their view
2022. Each participant was interviewed during the week prior of military medicine as a whole. One student stated, “I had
and immediately following the completion of the practicum in an idea of what medics do, but being there and seeing their
order to gain an in-depth understanding of their experiences thought process . . . it gives me a different, whole new per-
and perceptions. We transcribed each interview and emailed spective as to what military medicine is all about” (P27). Since
the transcriptions to participants so that they could check it was the first time that many of the medical students had
them for accuracy and add any additional information, a pro- worked closely with enlisted medical personnel, they were sur-
cess known as member checking. 8 prised at the wide breadth of skills that the medics possessed.
One participant, for example, expressed that she “definitely
Data Analysis learned a lot about capabilities that we have, and that we have
Following the rigorous steps of qualitative phenomenological medics and what they’re able to do. I didn’t know they could
data analysis, our research team read, re-read, and individu- do so much!” (P35).
ally coded each participant’s transcript, noting the most salient
words and phrases that represented the participants’ experi- The students also commented on how well Special Operations
ences being taught by the medics at Operation Gunpowder. 7 Medics were able to innovatively adapt to the resource-limited
We then met as a team to discuss the codes, define them, and setting, inspiring their future work in austere operational envi-
determine the best way to categorize the codes. Next, we or- ronments. One participant reflected, “I think it was really good
ganized these categories into themes, which we described in- to see and appreciate how creative they are with their environ-
depth using the participants’ own words in the Results section ments, and how they can kind of just make things work with
of our manuscript. This team consisted of a board-certified the limited resources that they have” (P5). When resources
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emergency medicine physician, who is a Lieutenant Colonel were scarce, students learned that creativity and experience are
in the United States Army, a PhD researcher with expertise in invaluable to succeed in the tactical setting. This same student
qualitative research design, and three senior medical students. added, “I learned in those environments, you have got to get
The categories we identified from the interviews resulted in creative, so using whatever resources you have, trying to make
two overarching themes in the Results section (Figure 1). it work, that was really coming from the corpsmen and the
Quotations were categorized from interviews based on re- medics, their experiences and their guidance” (P5).
curring themes, and all selected quotations were weighted
equally. Realization of Future Roles as an Educator and Leader
In the midst of the high-fidelity operational environment, the
As qualitative researchers, we recognized that our own in- students described how Operation Gunpowder influenced
herent biases threaten our ability to objectively interpret the their roles as educators of enlisted personnel in the future.
data. To increase the validity of our study’s results, we used One student, for example, discussed the advantage of having
a research team to analyze the data. Our team met regularly learned how to teach from the very people she may someday
throughout the research process and discussed ways in which be teaching. She stated, “I think it was a really good experience
we were “bracketing” our biases so they did not interfere with for the medics to teach us and kind of give us pointers on how
the data analysis process. 6 to be better teachers to them as well, and better leaders for
them, so I thought that was probably the coolest part for me”
Results (P23). Another medical student commented on the unexpected
realization that she would be in an educator role in the future
Two themes emerged from the data regarding the medical as a Military Medical Officer. She stated that part “of what
students’ experiences being taught by medics at Operation they taught us is that you’ll be expected to train your medics,

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