Tactical Emergency Medical Support: The Tactical Medical Handbook - 3rd edition

This manual is designed to serve as a starting point for the development and implementation of a Tactical Medical Emergency Support unit at the local level. It was originally developed for the Marietta, Georgia Special Weapons and Tactics Team and the Tactical Emergency Medical Support unit which was formed in 2005. As the TEMS unit evolved, this manual was developed. Due to demand and interest, it has been revised for more general application.The guidelines and philosophies in this manual have been developed after researching the policies of a number of different civilian departments, examining the policies and procedures currently in place for training military medical and nonmedical personnel, recognizing the limitations imposed by the Scope of Practice procedures in the State of Georgia, and recognizing the limitations of the guidelines imposed by the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians. The policies and procedures that follow must be individualized to allow for the local Medical Director's guidelines and to follow local Scope of Practice guidelines.The concept of Tactical Medical Emergency Protocols was developed by the Curriculum and Examination Committee of the United States Special Operations Command Surgeon General's Office for the military and has been adapted for civilian use; the Tactical Combat Casualty Care concepts were developed by the Committee on Tactical Combat Casualty Care and have been expanded upon for application by the Committee on Tactical Emergency Casualty Care; the Ranger Medic Handbook (2007) edition served as the starting point for developing the Triage recommendations, the flow charts, and the aid bag configurations; and the USAF PJ Handbook provided valuable information on environmental injuries. In addition to the Guidelines on Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC), the Adult and Pediatric Guidelines on Tactical Emergency Casualty Care (TECC) are also included.Ideally, this manual will provide a starting point for further discussion and development of TEMS units, and will provide a basic framework from which these units' individual policies and procedures may be developed.