US medical troops working throughout Iraq and Afghanistan teach new, more modern skills for health care, as well as providing basic humanitarian aid to the local population.

A medical symposium at Babil Maternity Hospital in Iraq’s Babil province in July highlighted the differences between Iraqi and American nurses, including education, practical skills and critical-thinking skills “The American nurses are here to help the Iraqi nurses by being a role model for the nursing profession,” said Army Capt. Sharon Owen, brigade nurse for Company C, 172nd Support Battalion, a Cincinnati native. “Things have to change in Iraq. By educating and giving the nurses here some of the knowledge we have, we can start empowering the nursing profession.”

Army Col. (Dr.) Bernard DeKoning noted that training efforts remain a priority. “One of the principal concerns with the Ministry of Defense, and the Interior, as well as the Ministry of Health, is the shortage of health care personnel, and that is probably the biggest hurdle,” he said. He and his staff also are working to expand Iraqis’ first-responder capacity through the use of combat medics and lifesavers and is helping to expand the number of health care personnel within both ministries.

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Army Spcs. Chad E. Brown of Red Oak, Texas, and Rodrigus I. Purdiman of Cairo, Ill., both assigned to Forward Operating Base Baylough in Afghanistan, said they are dedicated to helping ill or injured Afghans. Burns, especially among children, are the most common injuries the medics said they see in the remote villages. Since there is no electricity, villagers use fire for everything from cooking to a light source. The medics have treated burn victims ranging from infants to 10-year-olds.

“It’s hard to work on the kids, especially the young ones,” Brown said.

The medics also have treated Afghans injured by explosives. If the wound is minor, the medics are able to treat it there. For more serious injuries, they request a medevac for transportation to the forward surgical team or to the Kandahar Airfield hospital. Brown said he was trained to insert chest tubes and sew sutures at a NATO-sponsored medical patrol course in Germany, making him able to stabilize patients for up to 72 hours while awaiting evacuation.

Our country shines with people like those mentioned above representing us in a war-torn area.

What are your thoughts about this??

Tags: Afghanistan, children, health, healthcare, medical, medics, nurses, training

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 6th, 2009 at 10:40 am and is filed under Active Duty, From the Front, National Guard, Reserves, Spouses. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.