Heat illness is a shockingly common problem for the military in the US and abroad. One of our PJ Docs discusses the categorization, diagnosis and management of the range of heat illness from cramps to life threatening heat stroke. And why it is such a profound military issue summer after summer. Strategies to mitigate heat illness in SOF Operators and manage it are discussed.
See the updates on our website: pjmed.com
If you have news clips from your teams you want to have linked on pjmed.com please send them to Doc directly or get my email from your leadership.
The PJ Med Director / SOF Medical Officer Course is set for JAN 2019. See info on pjmed.com
Doc G is a critical care trained Physician. He wanted to review some ventilator concepts for the Operators.
This is a great opportunity to review vent issues.
Optimize your performance by maximizing your operational educational and training. Sleep is the foundation of improving your performance by learning and training the skills you need to operate.
Part 2 with Neuroscientist Doc Alger.
Dr Sara Alger is a DOD sleep research scientist and has a PhD in cognitive neuroscience.
She discusses the science of optimally learning and training in regards to the critical role sleep plays in encoding, retaining and retrieving new, complex information.
This is important for all Operators, trainers and educators.
The Thailand Cave Rescue is underway. PJs are on the mission. We will not discuss any details until it is completed.
We are using this opportunity to speak to the FDNY Scuba Team Commanding Officer who is a certified cave diver.
We discuss:
Principles of cave diving.
Similarities and differences from open ocean diving.
Considerations in caves and caverns regarding air quality and oxygen. Issues in rescue.
Follow the rescue and keep the victims, PJs, and other rescuers in your thoughts and prayers. This is a high risk operation.
PJ Josh had a near complete rupture of his ACL and was recommended to undergo surgery, He discusses his injury, the surgeon's recommendations, research he did, and ultimately the process he went through to get a stem cell injection and the outcome.
This podcast introduces Sean Berman who has performed medical research on stem cells and TBI. Stem cells hold promise in the treatment of various injuries and degenerative conditions and have been used by several clinics.
Sean will explain the science of stem cells and specifically stem cells harvested from a patient's own fat.
This is the first of several podcasts that will introduce you to stem cells, the state of current understanding and use, the promises and what is known. The podcasts will culminate in discussions with PJs who have gone for this therapy.
The reference for the paper is:
Effective Treatment of Traumatic Brain Injury in
Rowett Nude Rats with Stromal Vascular
Fraction Transplantation
Sean Berman 1,*, Toni L. Uhlendorf 2, Mark Berman 1 and Elliot B. Lander 1
Brain Sci. 2018, 8, 112; doi:10.3390/brainsci8060112
Highlights of the Special Operations Medical Scientific Assembly- Part 1 of 2. Great meeting.
Being a member of SOMA (Special Operations Medical Association) should be part of your professional and medical development for a special operations medic / 18D , IDC or PJ. Attending this annual meeting is an important chance to network with colleagues from the other branches, hear lessons learned and subject matter experts. Like using a foley in a wound track for hemorrhage control...
Enjoy.
The history of memorial day is presented from the PJ Association website and Wikipedia.
The origin was Decoration Day, where Southern women decorated the graves of Civil War fallen.
Learn about the evolution of Memorial Day in our history.
Honoring the Gold Star Families of the Crew of Jolly 51 and all of our Fallen...
Part 2 of TCCC Committee paper on Tension Pnuemothorax and the new guidelines for management.
Fifth interspace anterior axillary line.
A Patrick PJ was laid to rest today.
"That Others May Live"
The TCCC Committee has made new changes to the management of suspected tension pneumothorax.
They created a great paper on all of the aspects of this regarding diagnosis. management and controversial issues.
This is Part 1.
Regards from SOMSA. Thanks to many folks for coming up and saying hello.
More feedback comes in on the value of this podcast to our amazing Operational Medics around the globe- Be safe.
After the loss of Jolly 51 we engaged an Operational Psychologist to support the Wing and the Leadership.
We discuss the grieving process and loss, and how Operators deal with it different from civilians.
What are normal reactions to death, and when do we need to intervene and seek support to prevent long term problems related to the loss of teammates and friends?
These issues and more are discussed in Part 1 of this conversation.
Support the Pararescue Foundation!
In memory of the crew of Jolly 51.
Remember the aviators and operators.
I review a few things we stressed on base this week that are helpful getting through these difficult times to deal with those close to us who are suffering and to help you get through these challenging tragedies.
The 2 Vs- ventilate and validate.
Go thru the different phases of grief.
Grieve- remember- move forward.
"That Others May Live"
Here is a simple and concise way to approach PFC from the working group. It is a nice re-look at how to view it.
check out specialtactics.com
check out the news for a recent Portalng PJ rescue on Mt Hood.
Continuation of great thoughts on leadership.
Start checking out SPECIALTACTICS.com,
we will be merging PJMED.com to this site.
PJFOUNDATION.ORG
Leadership is about character.
Leadership means influencing people.
Influencing people requires building relationships with them.
Advanced skills are the basics mastered.
Practice the basics daily!
Our good friend Dr Mazzoli created a publication from the vision center for excellence. OCS (orbital compartment syndrome) can result from trauma to the head, face and orbit, resulting in increased pressure behind the eye threatening the retina and optic nerve. This is a potentially preventible cause of blindness. This podcast discusses what OCS is. You need to learn it on a specimen. It is relatively straightforward. You can look for it on youtube. The document will go out in the next Med newsletter and can also be found on PJ med.com
Please send donations to pararescuefoundation.org to help defray costs of the winter retreat.
This episode discusses historical aspects of aeromedical evacuation and goes into some detail of the three platforms operating out of helmand province in OEF. These were Army Dustoff, Air Force Rescue (PEDRO) and the British MERT platforms.
The information is from a Journal of Trauma paper discussing the way forward for FAME ( forward aeromedical evacuation).
This episode discusses the new winter 2018 JSOM article validating MARCH PAWS as a checklist for Operational Medicine.
This review was based on 465 consecutive patients during a single PJ deployment at Bastion during OEF.
Happy New Year!