According to this published article, PFC is “field medical care, applied beyond ‘doctrinal planning time-lines by a SOCM (Special Operations Combat Medic) or higher, to decrease patient mortality and morbidity. Utilises limited resources and is sustained until the patient arrives at an appropriate level of care.” This definition necessarily assumes that the care is delivered in an austere or field environment. It also acknowledges that the care is provided outside the planning guidance of the usual medical force structure and related assumptions cannot be relied on.
Austere and Prehospital Ultrasound
Austere & Prehospital Ultrasound (APUS)
CoROM’s Austere & Prehospital Ultrasound (APUS) course is a hands-on, two-day introduction to diagnostic ultrasound tailored for remote, austere, and resource-limited environments.
Designed by physicians, interventional radiologists, and critical care paramedics with experience in prehospital, emergency, and hospital settings, this course is specifically geared towards doctors, nurses, paramedics, and clinical medical officers who are working in resource-limited environments and looking to enhance their clinical skills through the use of diagnostic ultrasound.
- CoROM will issue a certificate for 16 CPD credits upon completion of course
- Members of the College of Paramedics in the UK get a 10% discount.
The APUS Field Guide is published. Each participant will be given a physical copy during the APUS course.
Day One – Fundamentals of Ultrasound
Sample schedule
- Ultrasound fundamental concepts and knobology
- US in trauma and the eFAST exam
- Hands on eFast practice
- Renal and abdominal aorta practice
- Cardiac ultrasound
- Pneumothorax and pleural effusion
Day Two – Advanced Concepts
Sample schedule
- ICP assessment
- Vascular access (femoral, EJ and peripheral)
- US use in tropical medicine
- Haemodynamic monitoring
- Orthopaedic ultrasound
- Ultrasound guided nerve blocks
Online training (Mandatory)
The APUS course starts with ten hours of online Moodle-based content. Completing the online content is mandatory. We provide these lessons and videos as a way for the delegate to get a head start on understanding the fundamental concepts of Ultrasound.
Classroom training
The two-day Ultrasound course will put your online learning to the test as we spend the majority of the classroom time with the machines. You will be asked to use your fellow delegates for Ultrasound practice so please wear comfortable clothing. It is not mandatory and delegates can opt out of being used for ultrasound practice.
Clinical training (not included)
In order to have a full understanding of the use of ultrasounds in a clinical setting, you will have to spend some time in a diagnostic clinic where you can practice your skills on real patients. We provide this clinical experience in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. Click here to learn more.
- Understand and describe the basic physics of ultrasound.
- Interpret tissue echogenicity of an ultrasound image.
- Decide on the appropriate transducer for common bedside ultrasound exams. Determine the orientation of an ultrasound image.
- Assess the depth and gain of an ultrasound image.
- Recognise 2-D and M-mode ultrasound images.
- Understand the principles of limited cardiac ultrasound.
- Determine whether a casualty has Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) using POCUS
- Describe the normal ultrasound anatomy of various organs and recognize the ultrasound characteristics of various pathologic conditions.
- Perform Focused Assessments for Sonographic examination of trauma patients (FAST) with abdominal injuries.
CPD CREDITS: 16 HOURS
Instructor
Eirik Holmstrom DTN FP-C CPD Manager
- MQF/EQF Level: N/A
- Accreditation: Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and Approved by the Fellow of the Academy of Wilderness Medicine™ (FAWM) through the Wilderness Medical Society
- CPD Credit: A certificate is issued for 16 CPD hours
- Course Delivery: Online & Classroom
- Programme Length: 2 Days (Classroom)
CoROM Podcast Channel
The College releases a new podcast each Friday discussing wilderness medicine, austere healthcare and emergency medicine. We have four presenters including an MD PhD cardiologist, COL(ret) anaesthetist burns and pain specialist, a critical care paramedic and an offshore medic.
Get CPD Credits!
You can earn free Continuing Professional Development credits by listening to these podcasts and taking a short quiz on the content. Only current Members of the College will be eligible to sit these quizzes and earn CPD credit.
Listen to CoROM's Ultrasound Podcast
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Discover, develop or re-ignite your passion for austere medicine!
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Austere Emergency Care
The AEC course is a four-day medical training course based on the Prolonged Field Care concepts created by US Special Forces medics. It is designed for medical professionals working in remote, austere and resource-limited environments who might be treating a critical casualty for extended periods of time.
Who should attend this course: This is an ALS level course. Therefore, it is geared toward paramedics, nurses, military medics and doctors.
AEC Course Content: This course builds on the basic concepts of TECC/TCCC. As Sean Keenan is fond of saying, “There is no PFC without TCCC”. This means practitioners taking this course should have a profound understanding of stabilising the critical casualty in austere environments.
AEC Dates: 27-30 May 2024 in Malta | Cost: €1050
History and Background of Prolonged Field Care
During the Special Operations Medical Association’s symposium in 2013, a group of SOF medics met to discuss the need to redirect the focus of the current operational concentration on a short aeromedical evacuation that was the norm. With the drawdown of troops in the Middle East, the medics were aware of the skills which seemed to fade from the original focus of operating in remote, austere and resource-limited environments. Medical evacuation was no longer a twenty-minute event. Medical professionals had to stabilise and manage their critical casualties for extended periods. Many medics were treating casualties for days at a time. The skills and medical knowledge needed to be enhanced to meet this new necessity. Dr Sean Keenan was the Theater Special Operations Surgeon for Special Operations Command, Europe (SOCEUR). He started the Prolonged Field Care Working group along with Paul Loos and colleagues from all branches and specialities in Special Operations. Dr Keenan has been a guest lecturer for our College, and both Dennis Jarema (Prolonged Fieldcare podcast) and Paul are currently enrolled on our MSc Austere Critical Care programme.
What is Prolonged Field Care?
What is Austere Emergency Care?
AEC was a natural advancement from PFC. As more and more SOF medical exit the military, they are bringing their PFC expertise into the civilian world. AEC applies the ten core capabilities from PFC and converts them into the standard operating procedures found in local ambulances and aeromedical platforms. AEC add two additional core capabilities that build on the basic concepts of PFC.
There are two parts to this programme:
Part 1: Online training
10 Hours
There are quite a few online video lectures to review before arriving for classroom training. These lectures will review the Prolonged Field Care content and cover some of the additional lectures offered during this programme.
Part 2: Classroom training
40 Hours
Once you have completed and passed the online training, you come to Malta for four days of extensive classroom experience. Most of the week is hands-on with some lectures that will review the essential topics learned during the online training. Once you register for the programme, we will send you a free copy of our digital Field Guide.
AEC Course Content
- 10 hours of online content
- TECC/TCCC practical scenarios
- Four Horsemen of the Apocolypse scenarios (Cat Haem, Burns, Crush, TBI)
- Austere Clinic Scenarios
- Austere and Prehospital Ultrasound
- Disaster Response Mascal
- Improvised Medicine
- Austere Critical Care
- Round Robin mini-scenarios
- Final day PFC exercise
Live Casualty Simulations
The AEC course includes hands-on experience with live casualty scenarios with special effects makeup. Covid-19 Statement: We will follow the government authorities’ instructions on their Covid-19 response. We may have to postpone this course due to a new pandemic.
Join the college of remote and offshore medicine foundation
Discover, develop or re-ignite your passion for austere medicine!