Episode 24: Austere Medicine Education

With Aebhric O’Kelly

In this episode, Aebhric O’Kelly joins us to discuss the importance of accredited education in operational medicine. Aebhric is a board-certified Critical Care Paramedic, a former 18E Special Forces Communications Sergeant, and the Dean of the College of Remote and Offshore Medicine (CoROM) located in Malta.

Key Points

• Accredited medical education for enlisted medical providers helps validate the knowledge and skills being learned.
• Enlisted medics have many opportunities to obtain advanced education in the unique field of remote, austere, and operational medicine.
• The College of Remote and Offshore Medicine has Bachelors and Masters degree programs for military, civilian, and NGO personnel who want to expand their knowledge and skill.

In this episode, we mention a 2010 article published in the journal Military Medicine discussing disease and nonbattle injury (DNBI).

• Belmont PJ Jr, Goodman GP, Waterman B, DeZee K, Burks R, Owens BD. Disease and nonbattle injuries sustained by a U.S. Army Brigade Combat Team during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Mil Med. 2010;175(7):469-476. doi:10.7205/milmed-d-10-00041

Aebhric also talked about the importance of nursing skills in the settings of prolonged evacuation or casualty care. He recommends the following textbook as a starting point for providers wanting to know more about critical care nursing.

• Taylor DA, Sherry SP, Sing RF, eds. Interventional Critical Care: A Manual for Advanced Practice Providers. 2nd ed. Springer Nature Switzerland AG; 2021. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-64661-5

CoROM has recently released a field guide for austere medical providers that is well worth your time and pocket space. You can find it here.

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Enjoy the episode!

This episode also remembers FMF Corpsman Max Soviak, killed in Kabul, Afghanistan. Fair winds and following seas, brother.