The May 2024 issue of the Journal of High Threat & Austere Medicine (JHTAM) sees a guest Editorial from the dynamic duo (insert theme song from 1960’s TV series Batman by Neil Hefti) - LTCOL Jamie Schmidt and LTCOL Ricky Schmidt. This wife and husband partnership is unique and brings a wealth of experience within the austere, high-threat, special operations and health planning context that I am certain ATMA members will value. Their insights into the national chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) threat status, preparedness and interagency capability in our region have been distilled into key priority areas for policy, education/training, resource governance/planning and workforce design.
Emergency and retrieval specialist Dr Ben Butson's commentary piece in this edition is also a highlight. His immense experience in operating in remote and austere settings, and the need to enact effective pain management means he is always reflecting on the latest research and best practices in patient management. His commentary aligns well with this month's published case report by Twerdahl et al. on peripheral nerve blocks in the military maritime environment. Dr Butson highlights contextual, training and scope of practice considerations as they are applied to regional anaesthesia (RA) and selective peripheral nerve blockade (PNB) in the forward threat environment.
Those who attended the Australian Tactical Medical Conference (ATMC) 2023 will remember the vivid and compelling stories by Dr Emily Mayhew. Emily is a military medical historian based in the United Kingdom, and a key quote from her work in A Heavy Reckoning stood out to me as I reflected upon this issue’s Continuing Professional Development (CPD) quiz by Trauma Nurse Practitioner/Army Nurse CAPT Tom Hoey. “Train everyone to stop bleeds, If they can't stop a bleed, it’s not worth going out, medic or soldier. Blood, as Shakespeare’s Michael Williams puts it so clearly in Henry V, is the argument, whatever the century”. Use this CPD activity to build your professional portfolio, and support ongoing accreditation or registration requirements. ATMA's partnership with SOMA also provides novel CPD opportunities. My drive to work has recently added podcasts delivered by SOMA’s peer-reviewed journal, the Journal of Special Operations Medicine (JSOM). Strongly recommend via https://www.jsomonline.org/Podcasts.php JSOM ‘journal clubs’ led by Alex Merkle and Josh Randle.
Finally, we are only months away from ATMC24. The ATMC is structured to provide delegates and conference partners with a multi-day plenary event with presentations delivered by local and international speakers from a wide range of healthcare disciplines. Keynote speaker MAJGEN Tim Hodgerts - Surgeon General UK Armed Forces, will provide key insights into leadership, innovation at pace, disaster medicine, and combat casualty care. As well as the ATMC plenary sessions, the conference features numerous social events including the official conference function, pre-conference welcome drinks, exclusive breakout opportunities, trade hall catering and much more. ATMC is the only conference of its type in Australia and continues to bring together a unique blend of pre-hospital, tactical, austere, disaster and deployed medicine. This year's event is set to be the largest conference ATMA has convened to date. The program has now been released and accepted abstracts will be published in the November edition of JHTAM. I hope to see you at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre in September 2024!
Author(s)
Ben Mackie RN PhD FACCCN
Editor-in-Chief
JHTAM
Email jhtam.editor@atma.net.au
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