Page 116 - JSOM Winter 2017

An Ongoing Series

Prolonged Field Care for the Winter 2017 Edition

Jamie Riesberg, MD

FC has always been a grassroots effort. It is about you, development. At first glance at the agenda, it was disappointing
Pmedics and providers, seeing a problem and coming up to see the lack of PFC-oriented research being presented. But,
with solutions. Long delays to definitive care due to long evac- after attending several sessions, it became clear how wrong
uations, Anti-Access and Area Denial {A2AD}, or nonpermis- that assumption was. PFC was everywhere! Most research-
sive operating environments continue to fuel the interest in ers and vendors were not only talking about PFC, but also
PFC. Along the way, the PFC Working Group has sought guid- focusing research and product development to answer ques-
ance from some of the best operational and medical experts tions like, “what happens to these patients or this interven-
in military and austere medicine. Many thanks go out to our tion after 4, 8, or 24 hours?” The assumptions are changing.
growing PFC community for their tireless efforts to solve our Researchers and leaders are no longer assuming all patients
common problems! will reach a surgeon in less than an hour. In a huge win for our
training goals, the JPC-1 portfolio manager agreed to include
We have made great strides answering tough clinical ques- new PFC-oriented training methods as a line of research, along
tions. Make note of the recent prehospital Clinical Practice with simulations and tech. The message is getting around.
Guidelines (CPGs) which tackle complex issues like traumatic
brain injury (TBI), wound care, crush syndrome, burns, and We continue to hear demand from the community for a PFC
pain control/sedation. These “field” CPGs provide medics and training course outside of the 18D and SOCM pipelines.
other point-of-injury providers the best available evidence for While a formal course is nearly impossible to build and fund
expert austere combat care and can be found at PFCare.org at this point, we recently posted the PFC Working Group–ap-
or at www.usaisr.amedd.army.mil/cpgs.html. Future topics in- proved "Critical Task List" and podcast on our new training
clude: eye injury, nursing care, DCR, sepsis, preparation for tab along with other resources to use in teaching, training,
flight, and more. If you think of a PFC problem that has yet and evaluating PFC. This task list represents SOCM-level or
to be answered and reviewed by a community of experts, let higher medical tasks that are integral to successful PFC. We
us know. Aside from the CPGs, we continue to make other hope units can take these tasks and the resources on PFCare.
official recommendations such as our “Teleconsultation in org to craft mission-driven training for their unit. Just as there
Prolonged Field Care Position Paper” and call script, which is no single mission, there is no one "right" way to train PFC.
appeared in the Fall edition of the JSOM. The best training is the training you can do with the time and
money you have, supporting your unique mission and individ-
Several members of the PFC Working Group recently attended uals’ capabilities. As always, expert TCCC is a prerequisite for
the Military Health System Research Symposium (MHSRS) in any PFC training. Keep up the great work, and I look forward
August 2017. MHSRS is a venue for presenting new scien- to the ongoing conversation!
tific knowledge resulting from military-unique research and

Address correspondence to Jamie.riesberg@socom.mil
LTC Riesberg, MC, USA, is group surgeon with the 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne).

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