"Military Doctor 2025", or cognition that saves lives

This year, a novelty for participants of the exercise was the simulation of the field of combating the evacuation of wounded under fire and the treatment of burns in conditions of limited access to medical supplies.

Waiting for evacuation

In Military Doctor training we have 7 teaching points. Each of them forms an integral part of the strategy of tactical medicine. We have a battlefield where the field of combat medicine is implemented under fire. Medical evacuation point where the victims are evacuated to level 1 and level 2 facilities. We besides have a command post that coordinates the full medical evacuation chain from evacuation from combat to medical evacuation levels. Additionally, there are 2 teaching points, which were created on the basis of experiences from the conflict in Ukraine. This is primarily about prolonged medical evacuation, where medical personnel must keep the victim alive while waiting for a doctor. In addition, experience from Ukraine shows that the time of evacuation can be extended to respective days – says Major Łukasz Romaniuk, Head of the Defence Cycle against the Weapons of Mass demolition and Military Epidemiology at the Military Center for Medical Training in Łódź.

Particular emphasis was placed on prolonged medical evacuation – situations erstwhile the injured must last even a fewer days before he goes to the hospital. During the training, medical procedures utilized in combat conditions were used.

Care for the injured, Jeżewo 2025.

Not an Easy Triage

Exercises began with a landing and simulated attack on trenches, completed with evacuation of wounded with the usage of the Rosomaks. Subsequently, the subjects practiced triage (i.e. medical segregation), stabilization of vital functions and preparation of the victims for further transport. Air evacuation has besides been practiced.

A peculiar component was the Prolonged Field Care, where participants had to keep the patient alive, having minimal equipment and fewer staff. – It is estimated that as many as 20% of combat injuries are burns. The first 24 hours are crucial to the patient's treatment, and there is no anticipation on the front to rapidly transfer him to a specialized centre – admits Katarzyna Czerny-Bednarczyk, a surgeon from the Burn Treatment Center. “We teach procedures that truly save lives and efficiency,” he assures.

Fire of trenches, Hedgehog 2025.

The training resulted in a simulation of the full medical evacuation process under combat conditions. This was not only about checking cognition and skills, but besides about checking how the squad is doing in stress situations. Major Agnieszka Kazimierska reminds me that this is not the first course of the kind that the undergraduates went through during their education. Therefore, "Military Doctor 2025" was a circumstantial summary of their erstwhile training. – The exercise, conducted at successive stages of medical evacuation, starting with first aid in the field of combat, and ending at Level 2 Medical Center verifies practically acquired skills, plays out actions taken at subsequent stages of evacuation, perfect squad skills in combat conditions – noted Major Agnieszka Kazimierska.

A number of military and medical units were active in the organisation of the exercises, in addition to WCKMed: 25th Air Cavalry Brigade, Medical Evacuation Unit, 1st Legion Infantry Division, 1st Warsaw Armored Brigade, 1st Military Field Hospital, 18th Reconnaissance Regiment from Białystok, Academy of Land Forces, 5th Chemical Regiment from Tarnowskie Góry, and Center for Burn Treatment from Siemianowice Śląski. US Army instructors besides contributed to the training.