​​​LCDR Skip Payne, Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) TRAIN Administrator ​

The Division of the Civilian Volunteer Medical Reserve Corps (DCVMRC) builds a strong volunteer workforce by providing tools and trainings that strengthen the skills of Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) unit leaders in leading and managing their units. The MRC is a national network of local groups of volunteers who help to strengthen public health, reduce vulnerabilities, improve emergency response capabilities, and build resiliency in their communities. MRC volunteers include medical and public health professionals who can provide care for individuals and communities, as well as non-health professionals who provide leadership, communications, logistics, and other support. The MRC successfully supports volunteers as they develop their knowledge in all aspects of public health by staying flexible to local training and public health needs. It is for this reason that the DCVMRC has partnered with the Public Health Foundation's TrainingFinder Real-time Affiliated Integrated Network (TRAIN).

MRC ​TRAIN​ is one of the most comprehensive public health and emergency preparedness training libraries available to volunteers.  The system links the MRC unit leaders and volunteers into the greater TRAIN network that has 23 other affiliate organizations, including 21 states and two national organizations, and provides access to over 2,000 trainings.  Over half of the available trainings offer access to continuing education credit that helps retain or renew professional licensures. Additionally, the system’s search option enables volunteers to narrow down the available trainings by a number of requirements including by credit type, certificate issuance, and competency.

Another one of the unique aspects of the MRC TRAIN system is the ability to maintain a single access point for training and conference attendance transcripts. Volunteers can build their training profile by utilizing courses that are already on the system, or by adding Non-TRAIN Courses. Certificates of attendance and CEU documentation can also be uploaded into the system to allow for verification of course completion. From the unit leader’s perspective, having a repository of trainings from various state and national partners, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention via CDC TRAIN, assists in developing the competencies and capabilities of their volunteers.  The ability to query the trainings that have been taken by volunteers has utility in helping the unit leader provide trainings that increase unit efficiency and effectiveness and in disaster planning and response.  At the same time, the ability to create training plans within MRC TRAIN allows the unit leader the ability to proactively focus their volunteers on competency-based learning solutions.
 
As we strive to improve the quality and utilization of the MRC TRAIN system, we offer MRC TRAIN related workshops to the network at conferences such as the Integrated Medical, Public Health, Preparedness, and Response Training Summit (Integrated Training Summit) and at regional MRC meetings.  Sessions include both basic and intermediate administrative trainings. The "MRC TRAIN: The Basics" workshops focuses on providing a hands-on experience for unit leaders in employing the MRC TRAIN learning management system for their Medical Reserve Corps units, as well as how to market the available trainings to local volunteers. The upcoming “MRC TRAIN: Intermediate Training” workshop will help the unit leaders learn the process of becoming a course provider and posting a course or conference, creating and managing a training plan, and creating and running a reports.
 
The ability to access the national network of affiliates and their trainings, as well as enter information once and access that same information anywhere makes the MRC TRAIN system one of the most important training tools the Division of the Civilian Volunteer Medical Reserve Corps offers the MRC Network. What other benefits do you envision being provided through the TRAIN network or what benefits does your LMS system offer that TRAIN does not?
 
For more information about the Medical Reserve Corps and how to join go to: www.medicalreservecorps.gov.  To learn more about MRC TRAIN go to: www.mrc.train.org