Evolution of the deployed medical director role in an era of contingency operations: reflections from a United Nations operation

2021 ◽  
pp. bmjmilitary-2020-001690
Author(s):  
Giles Nordmann ◽  
J Ralph ◽  
J E Smith
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Selection Process ◽  
Memory Loss ◽  
Medical Director ◽  
Corporate Memory ◽  
Individual Memory ◽  
Treatment Facilities ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Military ◽  
And Training

This paper examines the development and evolution of the deployed medical director (DMD) role and argues for the re-establishment of a formal selection process and training pathway. Recent deployments into new areas of operations, deployment of smaller medical treatment facilities (MTFs), the reduced numbers of deployments for clinicians, working with various multinational partners and both military and civilian organisations all pose specific problems for DMDs. The initial and then continued deployment of a secondary care role 2 MTF as part of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan illustrated some of these challenges. Although a novel operation, the broad categories of these new challenges were similar to the historical challenges facing the first DMDs in Afghanistan. Corporate memory loss may be unavoidable to some degree due to rapid turnover in appointments, particularly in single service and joint headquarters. However, individual memory and experience remains extant within the military medical deployable workforce. After the cessation of UK military deployed hospital care involvement in Afghanistan, the UK DMD formal training pathway ended. This paper argues for the re-establishment of a more formal DMD selection process and training pathway to ensure that organisational learning is optimised.

scholarly journals Decolonizing the British Army: a preliminary response

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony King
Keyword(s):  
Public Institutions ◽  
Young Age ◽  
British Army ◽  
Integration Policy ◽  
Anglo Saxon ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Military ◽  
And Training ◽  
Minority Ethnic ◽  
Minority Integration

Abstract Following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on 25 May 2020, anti-racist protests occurred across America and Europe. As a result, public institutions in the UK have begun to re-examine their cultures and practices to ensure not only that they are non-discriminatory, but also that they are actively anti-racist. The Army will not be immune to this process. Indeed, senior commanders including the Chief of the Defence Staff have already embraced the ‘decolonizing’ programme. Since 2000, the Army has incorporated significant numbers of Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) soldiers; just over 10 per cent of the Army is now BAME. This article examines the integration of minority soldiers over the last two decades in order to assess the prospects of ‘decolonization’ in the Army today. Despite the apparent success of the Army's integration policy, this article identifies three obstacles which still obstruct minority integration and are likely to impede decolonization. Firstly, the majority of the Army's BAME soldiers are not British citizens, but foreign and Commonwealth nationals. Secondly, the young age of the majority of British soldiers generates interactional dynamics in barracks and training which often accidentally excludes foreign minority soldiers. Thirdly, the military ideal of the British Army remains understandably Anglo-Saxon. This article considers the tensions inherent in the Army's multicultural project and lays out suggestions about how they might be overcome to pursue a de-colonizing agenda.

The Duties of Doctors In Medical Education: A Letter To The Editor (Preprint)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sneha Barai
Keyword(s):  
Medical Education ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Role Models ◽  
Role Model ◽  
General Medical Council ◽  
Future Generations ◽  
Medical Council ◽  
Positive Role ◽  
The Uk ◽  
And Training

UNSTRUCTURED The UK General Medical Council (GMC) explicitly states doctors have a duty to ‘contribute to teaching and training…by acting as a positive role model’. However, recent studies suggest some are not fulfilling this, which is impacting medical students' experiences and attitudes during their training. As such, doctors have a duty to act as role models and teachers, as specified by the GMC, which it seems are not currently being fulfilled. This would improve the medical students’ learning experiences and demonstrate good professional values for them to emulate. Therefore, these duties should be as important as patient care, since this will influence future generations.

Stepping back from the brink: Why multilateral regulation of autonomy in weapons systems is difficult, yet imperative and feasible

2020 ◽  
Vol 102 (913) ◽  
pp. 235-259
Author(s):  
Frank Sauer
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Arms Control ◽  
Use Of Force ◽  
Human Control ◽  
Conventional Weapons ◽  
United Nations Convention ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The Military ◽  
Weapons Systems

AbstractThis article explains why regulating autonomy in weapons systems, entailing the codification of a legally binding obligation to retain meaningful human control over the use of force, is such a challenging task within the framework of the United Nations Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons. It is difficult because it requires new diplomatic language, and because the military value of weapon autonomy is hard to forego in the current arms control winter. The article argues that regulation is nevertheless imperative, because the strategic as well as ethical risks outweigh the military benefits of unshackled weapon autonomy. To this end, it offers some thoughts on how the implementation of regulation can be expedited.

Low Vision Services in an Agency: Structure and Philosophy

1975 ◽  
Vol 69 (6) ◽  
pp. 241-248
Author(s):  
Eleanor E. Faye ◽  
Clare M. Hood
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Low Vision ◽  
Medical Director ◽  
The Other ◽  
Special Services ◽  
Full Discussion ◽  
Loan System ◽  
Training Services ◽  
And Training

The development and present structure of the comprehensive Low Vision Service of the New York Association for the Blind are used as the basis for a full discussion of the operation of such a clinical service, including its positive and negative features. The clinic is administered by a medical director and by an administrator who coordinates the work of a staff consisting of ophthalmologists, optometrists, low vision assistants, volunteers, registrar, and receptionist. A separate Optical Aids Service stocks low vision aids which it sells by prescription to clinics, doctors, and patients within and without the agency. Referrals for special services are made to the other departments of the agency. Also described are the low vision examination itself, follow-up and training services, and the aid loan system.

Peritonsillar abscess drainage: using oropharyngeal endoscopy as a therapeutic adjunct and training tool

2021 ◽  
Vol 135 (2) ◽  
pp. 176-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Sawhney ◽  
R Bidaye ◽  
A Khanna
Keyword(s):  
Peritonsillar Abscess ◽  
Therapeutic Procedure ◽  
Deep Tissue ◽  
Abscess Drainage ◽  
Incision And Drainage ◽  
Training Tool ◽  
Poor Access ◽  
The Uk ◽  
And Training ◽  
Poor Lighting

AbstractBackgroundPeritonsillar abscess, or quinsy, is one of the most common emergency presentations to ENT departments, and is the most common deep tissue infection of the head and neck. In the UK, junior members of the ENT team are regularly required to independently assess, diagnose and treat patients with peritonsillar aspiration or incision and drainage.IssueInexperienced practitioners can stumble at several obstacles: poor access due to trismus; poor lighting; difficulty in learning the therapeutic procedure; and difficulty in accurately documenting findings and treatment.SolutionTo counter these and other difficulties, the authors describe the routine use of video endoscopy as a training tool and therapeutic adjunct in the management of quinsy.

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