Outstanding Tactical Medicine Class!

Attended my tenth class at Gunsite this weekend, a 3-day version of the (2-day) Tactical Medicine class I took last year. It was not only astounding, it was outstanding. The course is three days of training: two in the classroom, and the final day in outdoor lab settings. The classroom training is magnificent, thorough and intended for both band-aid novice to medical professional: the class had one physician, one EMT, one first responder, and several novices.  The instructors, Steve and John, did an exceptional job of explaining the medical priorities of emergencies in what used to be the “ABC” method of emergency medical treatment, the priorities in descending order using the acronym of MARCH.  No question was considered silly, no one considered to be ignorant (this information isn’t genetically-encoded in our DNA). I want to emphasize that the classroom training is exceptional — and not at all hard to understand.  Steve is an EXCELLENT instructor and quite possibly one of the finest individuals ever I’ve met, and every student’s questions were clearly answered in simple-to-understand terms and language.  People who had NO medical training whatsoever were doing very precise and correct treatment of the most severe of emergencies where the layman can make a difference between life-and-death: we’re not being trained as or expected to perform as surgeons.  Not only are we learning the “how-to” of medical trauma treatment, we were being trained in how-NOT-to… as well. I have over 55 years of training in one aspect or another of the medical field — and this class brought it all together.  What’s more, we students were given the chance to think for ourselves in the last day of training in the field lab simulation: I think we all made mistakes, but rather than being chastised for our errors, we discussed them  so we might make better choices in the future.  It quickly became evident to all of us that in employing the proper medical treatment according to the necessary priorities, there is no magic answer, no “perfect” solution. As a wise man once told me, “knowledge does not become wisdom unless it causes a behavioral change.”  In this case, I think that all of us recognize that that doing nothing is, in most cases, bad; that there are many ways and reasons that we can make the wrong decisions — and the field simulations drove this lesson home for each of us. Just as important: this class has inspired me to not only learn more, but to refine my skills and build proficiency. What’s more, the classroom and field training have helped me to create the proper kit of supplies that are likely to be needed for most emergencies — avoiding the overly-expensive first aid kits that are little more than junk (understand that in more than 5 decades of first responder training and experience, I’d collected a “truckload” — exaggerating only slightly — of gear that would be useful for very limited circumstances. Steve and John have helped save me a great deal of money, and taught how to make better choices in the gear that I want to purchase. No matter what you do in life, I believe this training is suited to everyone.  If you ever want to have more skills to help others effectively until the paramedics or EMTs arrive, this is the training you want to take… and it’s worth every cent you spend to do it.

Thomas Young, Tactical Medicine – 3 Days, March 10-13, 2023, Gunsite, Paulden, AZ

Take Me Back Where I Was