Military medicine

The term military medicine has a number of potential connotations. While in some cases it refers to the occupational health chapter of the profession of medical officers and other medical doctors employed in military units, the term may also refer to the entire set of competencies and professions linked to medical care in the military.

This course is designed to provide an introduction to military medicine to achieve competencies for the entry level of Military Medical practice. The introduction integrates aspects of Medical practice not expressed in civilian training programs such as functioning within a military health service, including in operational and disaster circumstances; military environmental health, operational epidemiology, medical aspects of nuclear, biological and chemical warfare; aviation, hyperbaric, and tropical medicine; and ethics of military medical practice.

Introduction

A medical specialty, specifically a branch of occupational medicine attending to the medical risks and needs (both preventive and interventional) of soldiers, sailors and other service members. This disparate arena has historically involved the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases (especially tropical diseases), and, in the 20th Century, the ergonomics and health effects of operating military-specific machines and equipment such as submarines, tanks, helicopters and airplanes. Undersea and aviation medicine can be understood as subspecialties of military medicine, or in any case originated as such. (The American Board of Medical Specialties does not, however, certify or recognize a specialty or subspecialty of “military medicine”.)

The planning and practice of the surgical management of mass battlefield casualties and the logistical and administrative considerations of establishing and operating combat support hospitals. This involves military medical hierarchies, especially the organization of structured medical command and administrative systems that interact with and support deployed combat units. (See Battlefield medicine.)

The administration and practice of health care for military service members and their dependents in non-deployed (peacetime) settings. This may (as in the United States) consist of a medical system paralleling all the medical specialties and sub-specialties that exist in the civilian sector. See also Veterans Health Administration for medical services given to US veterans.

Medical research and development specifically bearing upon problems of military medical interest. Historically, this encompasses all of the medical advances emerging from medical research efforts directed at addressing the problems encountered by deployed military forces (e.g., vaccines or drugs for soldiers, medical evacuation systems, drinking water chlorination, etc) many of which ultimately prove important beyond the purely military considerations that inspired them.

Lessons

Outline of Military Medicine

Military medicine is focused around health care support to military operations. This encompasses medicine that is before or after an operational deployment (such as care of the service member while in garrison) and medicine while deployed on expeditionary operations.

Many topics in military medicine overlap with civilian medicine and the field of military medicine is interdisciplinary. Most practitioners of military medicine are trained in the realm of civilian medicine first and then undergo training in the various military medicine centric topics.

Topics with a unique focus include:

Military Medicine Pre and Post Deployment

Recruit Medicine

Mobilization and Pre-Deployment Medicine

Military Medical Ethics

Rehabilitation Medicine

Military Occupational Health

Operational Military Medicine

Care of the Casualty

Tactical Combat Casualty Care
Field Trauma Management
Emergency War Surgery
Military Dermatology
Military Psychiatry

Environmental Medicine

Hot Environments
Cold Environments
Jungle Environments
Mountain Environments
Dive Medicine
Shipboard Medicine
Flight Medicine
Chemical Biological Radiological and Nuclear Environments

Medical Operations

Medical Operations Planning
Special Operations Medicine
Humanitarian Medicine
Disaster Medicine

Military Preventative Medicine

Military Medical History