With all this gun play I seem to be involved in lately, one of my greatest fears is being near someone who was just shot and not having the skills this take care of the person. Lord knows I have the gear.
Can anyone suggest a medical training program designed for dealing with traumatic injuries? Something that would teach one how to really use their blow out kits? The example would be securing a gunshot wounded subject long enough to hand off to more qualified persons.
I don’t have $2k for some special operations class held in the high mountains, I’m looking for something designed for civilians in a typical urban setting.
You don’t need to spend $2K, and you don’t need any spec ops class. Call the Red Cross, the local volunteer fire department/rescue squad, or community college…see if you can get a basic first aid, first responder, or basic EMT class. The price will ne negligible and you will get a foundation of the fundamentals. Also, look up National Association of EMTs…the have a course called trauma first responder, and you can see if they have on in your area.
This is great intel. Are these classes expensive? Of course that’s relative. I guess I should ask if you have any experience with any one particular group that offers these classes and can recommend the most cost effective.
After that, find a good TCCC- Tactical Combat Casualty Care course. Great class that will offer you some very applicable skills. It helps to have some medical and or prehospital backround. I would be happy to PM you some stuff.
The NAEMT class is usually $50-$150, depending on location, overhead, etc. First responder or EMT is often set by the community college, but here in NC not more than a couple hundred bucks. A good ol’ fashion ARC first aid is often found around $50, maybe less.
TCCC ain’t bad info (now watered-down as it been pre-packaged for the masses), but you should have some fundamental knowledge under your belt.
To me the best ‘bang for the buck’ is the NAEMT trauma first response course…good fundamentals, focuses on trauma until a more competent authority shows up, and doesn’t mess with the EMT stuff that most people will never use if they do not work in the back of a bus (i.e., child birth, overdoses, etc.).
TCCC is excellent. Still strongly suggest getting your EMT-B. Rapidly identifying a Heart Attack or Stroke in someone you love is prolly more likely a scenario.
Suarez Int’l offers some classes for tactital medicine. They have a website called www.warriortalk.com where you can read the after action reports on their classes. See if that might be what you are looking for.
this is gonna sound kind of ignorant, but youtube is a great resource for this topic.
for ex… NAR (north american rescue) have a youtube channel with “how to use properely” vids on there.
of just search youtube using the name of the piece of kit your trying to learn how to use and you can usually find a well done how to vid on its use and application.
I hate being the guy who brings a little black cloud in, but keep in mind that performing medical procedures on someone else opens you up to legal actions. It’s unfortunate, but it’s reality.
Even if you’re trained & certified, if you’re acting on your own without medical direction, you’re liable (hell, even with med direction you can be sued).
Not saying it’s not good stuff to know, just keep in mind that there could be consequences to your actions even if you save someone’s life.
As a physician I certainly recommend pursuing some sort of education on first aid, at least a CPR course. There lots of others out there, such as wilderness first aid or tactical courses where you would get some more hands on experience with splinting, wound care, etc. Not sure how practical some of these skills would be though to non-medical folks. Honestly, knowing good CPR will probably be more useful to average person as opposed to going through a tactical medic course.
I’ve needle decompressed a few tension pneumothoracies in the hospital, don’t really see a situation where I would do one outside the hospital though.
If I’m involved in a shooting situation in public there’s not a whole lot me or anyone is going to be able to do besides very basic supportive care and getting that person to a definitive care.
Here’s my 2 cents on knowing CPR…good for people who have cardiac arrest from heart disease…essentially worthless in a shooting situation.
You obviously know as well as I do that traumatic arrests (ie from massive exsanguination) has essentially a zero survival rate outside of a hospital…no point in thumping on their chests other than to make yourself feel like you’re doing something.
Now if someone has a heart attack from seeing someone bleeding out, then ones knowledge of CPR may be beneficial.
Was kind of my point. With a traumatic arrest from a gunshot wound or hemorrhage there’s really not much you’re going to be able to do. Survival is basically nil at that point.
More likely to run across an MI in public where CPR and knowledge about how to use an AED would be helpful.
Thanks everyone for the replies. Just can’t seem to ignore the lack if a skill set. Need to have a plan. Sued or not, I refuse to let someone die if I can help, or could have.
Friend,
60% of all preventable deaths in this scenario occur from bleeding to death from extremity wounds
30% from a condition known as a Tension Pneumothorax (progressive build-up of air within the pleural space, usually due to a lung laceration)
1-2% from airway occlusion (they guys most likely will need an intervention know as cricothyroidotomy
So if you get your self a good tourniquet (modern COTCCC Approved) some chest seals and a needle decompression device. You could potentially decrease preventable death up to 80-90%.
If you are interested I can provide you with some information and a few other things that would be of great help.
