Military medicine
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Since January 2002, pre-deployment training of forward resuscitative and surgical units has taken place at the U.S. Army Trauma Training Center (ATTC) in Miami, FL. In June 2019, the 240th Forward Resuscitative Surgical Team (FRST) conducted the first pre-deployment Surgical Readiness Training Exercise (SURGRETE) in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, to allow the team to rehearse in a resource-constrained environment more similar to that expected on deployment. The purpose of this study is to describe and compare the pre-deployment training experiences of the 240th FRST during their SURGRETE in Honduras and ATTC rotation in Miami, FL. ⋯ Appropriately planned SURGRETEs can provide a concentrated case volume in a resource-constrained setting and challenge the team to consider definitive management algorithms. The cases performed may not necessarily reflect the type and acuity of operations performed in a deployed environment; however, they facilitate repetition of basic skills, team cohesion, and cross-training. The SURGRETE experience could be improved by locating a facility with a trauma-dominant patient population that allows increased autonomy of U.S. physicians.
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On the surface, the Commissioning Oath and modernized Hippocratic Oath can contradict one another. This piece aims to provide a foundation upon which trainees and providers can grapple with dueling obligations as they stand in the crosshairs of the intersection between medicine and the military.