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Resident Involvement in Tactical Medicine: 12 Years Later

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 March 2019

Nicholas P. Petit ,
Jason P. Stopyra ,
Ricardo A. Padilla  and
William P. Bozeman
Nicholas P. Petit
Affiliation:
Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine, Winston Salem, North CarolinaUSA
Jason P. Stopyra
Affiliation:
Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine, Winston Salem, North CarolinaUSA
Ricardo A. Padilla
Affiliation:
University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CaliforniaUSA
William P. Bozeman*
Affiliation:
Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine, Winston Salem, North CarolinaUSA
*
Correspondence: William P. Bozeman, MD, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Dept. of Emergency Medicine, 1 Medical Center Blvd, Winston Salem, North Carolina 27157 USA. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Introduction:

Interest in tactical medicine, the provision of medical support to law enforcement and military special operations teams, continues to grow. The majority of tactical physicians are emergency physicians with additional training and experience in tactical operations. A 2005 survey found that 18% of responding Emergency Medicine (EM) residencies offered their resident physicians structured exposure to tactical medicine at that time.

Methods:

This study sought to assess interval changes in tactical medicine exposure during EM residency and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) fellowship training. A secure online survey was distributed electronically to all 212 EM residency programs and 44 EMS fellowship programs in the United States.

Results:

Responses were received from 99 (46%) EM residency and 40 (91%) EMS fellowship programs. Results showed that 52 (53%) of the responding residencies offered physician trainees formal exposure to tactical medicine as part of their training (P < .0001 compared to 18% in 2005). In addition, 32 (72%) of the 40 responding EMS fellowships (newly established since the initial survey) offered this opportunity. Experiences ranged from observation to active participation during tactical training and call-outs. The EM residents and EMS fellows provide support to local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies. A small number of programs (six residencies and four fellowships) allowed a subset of qualified trainees to be armed during tactical operations.

Conclusion:

Overall, training opportunities in tactical medicine have grown significantly over the last decade from 18% to 53% of responding EM residencies. In addition, 72% of responding EMS fellowships incorporate tactical medicine in their training program.

Petit NP, Stopyra JP, Padilla RA, Bozeman WP. Resident involvement in tactical medicine: 12 years later. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2019;34(2):217–219

Keywords

tactical EMStactical medicinetraining
Type
Brief Report
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 34 , Issue 2 , April 2019 , pp. 217 - 219
Copyright
© World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2019 

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Footnotes

Conflicts of interest: None of the authors report any conflicts of interest.

References

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