What Is Tactical Medicine: 5 Things You Must Know?

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Tactical medicine is one of the most interesting sub-specialty under Emergency Medicine, especially, if as a medical student or an aspirant, you are very passionate about saving or rescuing lives in critical conditions.

Although to have a tactical medicine graduate certificate, you need to have a wide understanding of different specialties in medicine. And most importantly, must learn how to deliver emergency healthcare for patients under physical trauma.

Hence, one must have a piece of wide knowledge of Emergency medicine and other medical specialties like preventive medicine, sports medicine, and so on.

In this post, we will be answering some important questions about the roles of tactical medics in patient care.

Table of Contents

What Is Tactical Medicine?

Tactical medicine is a sub-specialty of Emergency medicine that supports Medical Threat Assessments, trains Law Enforcement Officers (LEOs), provides on-scene casualty care, and manages the operators’ preventative health care maintenance to improve law enforcement operations.

The main goal of the medical specialty known as “tactical medicine” is to help the tactical officers of the SWAT team, also known as Special Response Teams, Emergency Response Teams, or under other similar names.

A medical provider working with tactical officers like SWAT teams, Law enforcement officers are called Tactical medical providers (TMP). 

Therefore, tactical medical providers take part in all facets of tactical operations, such as pre-mission planning, training, and the application of clinical protocols designed for the tactical setting.

What Are The Functions Of a Tactical Medical Provider?

tactical medicine
tactical medicine

In summary, tactical medical providers are experts in preventive medicine, team tactics, medical security, environmental medicine, USAR (urban search and rescue, defensive tactics, and many other areas are trained to function effectively and safely provide rapid high-quality emergency medical care in challenging circumstances.

Some highlighted functions are;

1. Give immediate access to emergency medical care, ideally within 30 seconds.

2. Consult with team leaders and offer medical advice on prevention.

3. Arrange for and provide on-the-spot medical attention, extraction, evacuation, and transportation for hurt or ill officers or other people at the scene who require medical attention.

4. Boost communication and improve healthcare.

5. Research medical education, and give training programs on preventive and tactical casualty care for all team members (including commanders, operators, and medics).

What 5 Things You Must Know about Tactical Medicine?

A. The Best Tactical Medicine Kit

tactical medicine
tactical medicine gears

Since tactical medicine is a medical profession that deals with saving and administering medical care during tactical missions, such as rescue missions and so on. There is therefore a need to have all of your medical tools in a single place to enhance a fast medical intervention for emergency patients.

However, I have reviewed the best kits that contain all the basic tools you will be needing while administering medical care to tactical officers. And these kits can also be used for training and research purposes.

1. Vvivitop Tactical Medicine Kit.

This medical tactical kit contains all the basic equipment that can be used to deliver emergency medical care to patients under trauma.

This Tactical kit includes the military battle tourniquet, tactical pressure dressing, and compressed gauze, which are the most user-friendly, portable, and well-liked survival and first aid materials for controlling severe bleeding on the market.

Additional Specifications

Price: 39.95USD

1. This kit is a one in all kit that contains 46 numbers of tools that can be used to rescue a patient under trauma.

2. Double zippers and high-grade waterproof polyester materials were used, which helps provide stability.

3. Guaranteed replacement with a two-year warranty.

2. ASA TECHMED Tactical Medicine Gear

This tactical first aid kit can be used both in and out of the field for training and tactical missions, and this Kit contains 20 pcs of different tools which are universal.

Having this gear on hand guarantees that you will be able to save time when it will be most useful for prompt emergency reaction.

And also, this kit is a wise choice for someone searching for value and economy because they can be sanitized and fully autoclaved without degrading.

Additional Specifications

1. The tools are durable, made with high-quality materials (stainless steel), reusable, and very handy for tactical missions.

2. This kit comes with a pair of trauma shears, a tourniquet, a molle bag, two antiseptic BZK wipes, one pair of bandage scissors, one straight hemostat, one curved hemostat, one #3 Scalpel handle, one pair of tweezers, two scalpel blades, holder, and a pupil gauge penlight in a bi-fold case.

3. EVERLIT Emergency Tactical Medicine Gear

This medical tactical kit was designed by U.S. military veterans to get you ready for emergencies before an outdoor excursion. This Emergency Trauma Kit is perfect for medical tactics, the military, combat lifesavers, outdoor enthusiasts, and more!

Along with other survival items, this package also includes a 36-inch splint roll, a triangular bandage, and elastic bandages to wrap around and bind the limb to prevent it from sliding. For any bone fracture of your limbs, those items have been specifically chosen and are included in this kit.

Additional Specifications

The Price: 69.95USD

1. This Kit includes the military battle tourniquet, tactical pressure dressing, and compressed gauze.  Which are the most user-friendly, portable, and well-liked survival and first aid materials for controlling severe bleeding on the market.

2. This tactical kit contains an emergency thermal blanket which is designed to keep your body warm, as a treatment for hypothermal

3. Nylon and aluminum are the primary materials used, and the color is black camouflage.

4. LUXMOM Emergency Tactical Medicine Kit

This kit was specially created by survival specialists, therefore we can say it’s distinctive. The extensive survival kit comprises 106 pieces of first aid supplies, 21 pieces of multipurpose survival tools, and more to fulfill your varied demands and offer the safest and most complete protection for all tactical operations and outdoor services.

Additional Specifications

The Price is 69.99USD

1. This survival kit contains a Survival Bracelet, Whistle, First Aid tools, Wire Saw, Fishing Tools, Emergency Blanket, Fire, Parachute Cord, Flashlight, and so on.

2. All the tools are organized nicely in a 600D nylon bag that is 9 inches by 6 inches by 5 inches in size. All 142 pieces of emergency supplies and survival equipment can be carried easily and comfortably thanks to their small size and low weight.

B. The Best Tactical Medicine Jobs?

The field of study for tactical medicine is highly broad. Although it’s an evolving specialty under emergency medicine.  

During your training and studies in medical school, you will be exposed to other specialties of medicine, such as preventive medicine, sports medicine, emergency medicine, and so forth.

Therefore, being certified in this field enables you to choose to work as a tactical medical provider for the armed forces. Additionally, you may choose to pursue a career as a specialist in emergency, preventative, sports, or other related disciplines of medicine. Although, you may need more qualifications or credentials to work in other fields depending on your location.

C. The Best Tactical Medicine Books

tactical medicine books
tactical medicine books

Here are a few best tactical medicine books for tactical medical professionals and students;

1. Tactical Medicine Essentials 1st and 2nd Edition

The information and foundation provided by Tactical Medicine Essentials, first and Second editions will help you become a top-notch tactical medical provider (TMP).

This book, which was produced by a skilled group of authors with a variety of experiences, covers the fundamentals of tactical medicine, such as quick extrication and evacuation, tactical patient assessment, and self-defense techniques.

The First and Second Editions provide medical professionals with the necessary training to safely accompany a SWAT team into a tactical situation.

Also covered in-depth in this book are the particular tools and methods employed by medical specialists who have completed TEMS training and certification.

Additional Information

Prices: 1st Edition- 64.33USD- used (Paperback)  

            2nd Edition- 128.95USD (Paperback)  

1. Author-Dr. Campbell

2. Publisher-Jones & Bartlett Learning; 2nd edition (July 29, 2020) and 1st edition (November 3, 2010)

3. Paperback- ‎ 388 pages (1st edition&2nd edition)

2. Tactical Emergency Medicine (Illustrated Edition)

This concise, useful text covers all facets of tactical emergency medicine. The application of emergency medicine in the field as opposed to a hospital amid catastrophes, police or military conflicts, large-scale gatherings, and neighborhood incidents.

A few of the important subjects covered are hostage survival, insertion and extraction procedures, continuum of force, medical support, planning, triage, medical evaluation in the incident zone, medical control of the incident site, decontamination, and more.

Also provided are case studies, treatment protocols, and boxed definitions.

The last chapter offers “real world” scenarios for tactical teams to practice and provides a list of suggested training courses and ongoing education.

Additional Information

The price is 152.99USD

1. Hardcover-352 pages

2. Language- English

3. Item Weight-2.25 pounds

4. Publisher-LWW (December 25, 2007)

What is Tactical Medicine Fellowship?

Tactical medicine fellowship
Tactical medicine fellowship

Just like a medical residency program, a tactical medicine fellowship aims to prepare tactical medicine undergrad and academic emergency physicians in a distinctive way for positions of leadership, field support, and medical direction in tactical medicine and law enforcement special operations programs.

Finally: How To Get A Tactical Medicine Course Nearby

Enrolling in a university to study tactical medicine can be highly taxing as well because of how demanding this degree is. And considering that only a small number of universities are genuinely willing to pay what is necessary to deliver the course.

In addition, tactical medicine is a fairly broad field, as I already mentioned. And the type of management system used in your institution will determine how long you spend studying for it.

However, the university portal always has a link for downloading course outlines. So, you can read up on tactical medicine to learn more about the course. Also, you can get tactical medicine essentials pdf download here.

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Victor Adedokun
Victor Adedokun

Hello there! My name is Adedokun Victor Taiwo, and I am a paramedical student currently studying at the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology.

Alongside my studies, I am also an SEO content developer with a passion for creating informative and engaging content. As a medical advocate, I believe that knowledge is power, and strive to raise awareness about health-related issues.

My love for medicine drives me to learn and grow as a professional, and I am excited to see where my journey will take me.

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