Cognitive readiness can be defined as “possessing the psychological (mental) and sociological (social) knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSAs) that individuals and team members need to sustain competent professional performance and mental wellbeing in the dynamic, complex, and unpredictable environments of military operations.” Determining if medical personnel are cognitively ready to perform their job poses a considerable challenge to the research community both in terms of understanding what is meant by being cognitively ready and in terms of developing methods to actually assess it. Accordingly, as part of a government-sponsored research program, we set out to gain a better understanding of what is meant by being “cognitively ready” for military medical teams as well as develop a tool for predicting cognitive readiness. In this paper, we describe the design, development, and initial user testing of our Medical Cognitive REadiness Survey Tool (M-CREST).

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Computer-based training (CBT) is contrasted with conventional instruction and actual equipment training for effectiveness, efficiency and user acceptance. Research dealing with military operations and maintenance training from 1 9 7 7 through mid-1984 is emphasized. CBT is at least as effective as actual equipment training, and tends to be more effective than conventional instruction. Recent studies do not report high relative efficiencies for CBT that were found in earlier evaluations.Student acceptance of CBT is relatively high, but instructor acceptance often is not.

Training programs for complex tasks are increasingly using simulations to provide transfer of training to the job environment without incurring high costs of on-the-job training. A second trend in training is toward the use of intelligent tutoring systems (ITSs) to provide individualized feedback to optimize training. Combining simulation with an ITS can be especially beneficial, but use of intelligent tutoring mechanisms such as expert systems is often difficult in a complex, realtime environment. In this paper, we describe the development of a proof-of-concept training program that combines F-16 flight simulation with an embedded real-time intelligent tutoring system. In the simulation, pilots learn the correct use of advanced fire control radar modes to locate and assess multiple enemy formations (search and sort tasks). The expert system monitors pilot behavior and verbal responses as the pilot flies the simulation. At certain critical points, if the pilot's performance has fallen outside of pre-specified parameters of “safe” behavior, the tutoring component stops the simulation and feedback is provided.