Are you familiar with the concept of oxygen debt or oxygen deficit? What constitutes a "dose" of shock? What systolic BP constitutes hypotension on the battlefield? Where did the concept of permissive hypotension come from? Is it still valid? How long can fresh whole blood last? Blood Transfusions were a huge topic at this year's meeting in Charlotte with no less than 3 major speakers giving multiple talks on the subject. This talk was recorded during the Prolonged Field Care Pre-Conference Lab during the Special Operations Medicine and Scientific Assembly(SOMSA) by Dr. Geir Strandenes.
If you missed SOMSA this year here are the Academic Posters from the 2017 Special Operations Medicine and Scientific Assembly
TheJoint Trauma System joined up with us and several of our working group members to bring you this, our third CPG, for PFC.As with every PFC CPG, this is the […]
The Special Operations Medical Association Podcast on Prolonged Field Care is back with a new episode on a long awaited topic, traumatic ventilation. We were finally able to corner a real, […]
If you sit on a patient long enough, infection has a greater chance of taking hold and progressing to sepsis, or you may receive a patient who has already been […]
Being able to calm and sedate patient in operational or prolonged field care situations may be a valuable skill. Here are our thoughts on sedating your patients when patient comfort […]
Members of Prolonged Field Care Working Group wrote this article in an attempt to educate our operational leadership on the challenges faced when dealing with medicine in austere environments. This […]
Pre-deployment checklists, cheat sheets and other resources now updated! Everything I am posting below could help anyone who finds themselves in over their heads
PFC community, I wanted to take a moment to wish everyone a Happy, fruitful (safe) Year in 2017! This past year has proved to be a tremendous transition for the […]
Just snow your patient with ketamine and versed to prevent PTSD right? Maybe not. While talking through some more analgesia and sedation strategies, Doc Powell shares his thoughts on what […]
This is the newest version (v21.1) of the single page Prolonged Field Care Card. It is in use in both the Special Forces Medical Sergeant (SFMS) Course as well as the Special […]
The Prolonged Field Care(PFC) Working Group has been working hand in hand with the Joint Trauma System (JTS) for almost a year in writing and editing new guidelines for medics […]
Our case discussions are provided to get you, the medic or provider, to think about treatment and logistical issues. The following case is a ‘simple’ scenario constructed to get you […]
I like Eisenhower’s quote: “Plans are useless, Planning is everything.” Everyone knows that during a crisis your plan may fall apart. This is why the process of planning and researching […]
Effectively taking away pain can be one of the most important things you can do as a medic. It will enable you to
This podcast is a follow up from our last post on managing crush injuries in austere environments. We included a scenario discussion with
Post on the PFC Truths If you can’t bring the patient back to the capability you must bring the capability to the patient. -Sean Our working group has identified 10 […]
Crush injuries are difficult to manage in the best of circumstances. In an austere environment by a practitioner with little to no experience they can be overwhelming. In deciding which […]
The Special Operations Medical Association (SOMA) was founded in 1992. It now consists of hundreds of members in pre-hospital, tactical, wilderness, austere, disaster and deployed medicine. The primary goal […]
The following article was published in the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery. If you haven’t read it, it’s a great look into the amount of time and effort […]
The following video podcast was recorded live at the JSOMTC during the July 21 2016 weekly Joint Trauma System Teleconference. Dr. Doug Powell talks about providing critical care in austere […]
This post is for the both the PA charged with training medics in the Battalion Aid Station as well as the medic with the initiative to take their medical education
The Trauma Hemostasis and Oxygenation Research (THOR) Group has recently published an evidence-informed emergency donor panel questionnaire and triage tool that can be used for screening potential donors in contingency situations.
Basically a science fair for grown up medic nerds. Each of the posters is about 3 feet by 4 feet wide and pinned to giant partition walls.
Scott Weingart, of EMCrit fame, was gracious enough to do a two-part, flipped classroom presentation on the use of ketamine since he pushes the drug on a daily basis for […]
A U.S. service member sustains deep partial thickness burns to both arms and the chest while burning the trash…
This is an amazing opportunity for clinicians and researchers to make needed advances in the operational medicine provided far forward by our medics.
A U.S. service member sustains pelvic trauma secondary to a vehicle rollover in the middle of nowhere. The patient complains of severe pain and you initially opt to control his […]
After witnessing certain trends from participating in, and observing many training scenarios and AARs. These principals glare at me each time I watch a medic go through a PFC
The 500th weekly Joint Theater Trauma System Trauma Teleconference out of San Antonio featured our own SOLCUS Point of Injury Ultrasound curriculum. It was specifically geared to the level of enlisted SOF medics and up. […]
Army Interview with SSG Matthew Decker, an Army reservist flight medic (68W F3), from Kentucky (214 Aviation Regiment/11th AviationCommand), deployed to Kandahar/Helmand Province, Afghanistan late 2015-early 2016. SSG Decker tells how he managed casualty care in a combat zone for 17 hours after his MEDEVAC aircraft was disabled.
The following is a letter from Sean sent out on our big email list. If you’re not on the list don’t worry because it is posted here in it’s entirety. The […]
Here is an issue that has come up more than once over the past year. It sparked good discussion with some great points that we will attempt to repopulate in […]
Here’s a podcast we recorded last year. There are some key points in this that we cover in overview lectures, and continue to teach medics individually, about what we refer […]
The U.S. Institute Of Surgical Research Joint Trauma Service and PFC Working Group need your help: The JTS is working to conduct a retrospective case review relating to PFC in […]
This podcast is a direct result from questions, comments and emails we have received along the way. It helps to clear up some confusion and explain some of the recommendations […]
Another great episode with Justin Interviewing Brad Morgans with some great questions every medic should have the answers for concerning opioid pain control. Listen now by clicking here and Click […]
The Original SOF Truths were created to inform those both in, as well as out of, Special Operations not entirely familiar with the operating conditions faced in uncertain environments. This […]
ICU Doc, Doug Powell, was on staff for the recent Prolonged Field Care train-the-trainer exercise in June, and he observed Medics running through multiple scenarios, each 24 hours in length.
This article is a nice review of where we are (U.S. – and Norwegian – SOF) now in implementing a FWB program. It also gives good background and a simple […]
Justin and Brad continue the discussion of pharmacology started last episode by talking about the MSMAID Acronym/Mnemonic and how it applies to the way SOF Medics should be
If you were one of the lucky guys packed into a small classroom yesterday, then I don’t have to tell you how great that talk was. Mike and his guys […]
In this great podcast Justin introduces the principals of pharmacology that have served him well over the years and have done far more for him than simply keeping him out of […]
Protocols and algorithms likely drive the majority of decisions a medic will ever make. Past that you may have unit or service SOPs. If you find yourself […]
Need for “Nutrition” has been hotly debated and somewhat blindly held up as a critical need according to the mnemonic “HITMAN.” This should not be the case! Though important in some […]
Building prioritized care plans has completely changed and revolutionized the way I think about medicine and treating casualties. Before this my thoughts were rather chaotic, attempting to “put out fires,” […]
It’s been a while since we have posted anything but I feel the wait was worth it. Many of us have been deployed, traveling and busy spreading the word. Thanks to […]
In this episode Justin introduces the importance of properly using urine output to monitor hemodynamics of both trauma and medical patients by interviewing 2 of our contributing working group members; […]
Our first episode is hosted by Justin, interviewing Colonel Sean Keenan MD who is the 10th Special Forces Group Surgeon. Doc Keenan has worked tirelessly alongside Justin and the rest […]
