New York Medical College’s (NYMC) Center for Disaster Medicine (CDM) hosted the Counter Narcotics and Terrorism Operational Medical Support (CONTOMS) Medical Director’s Course on March 11. The eight-hour course was curated for physicians and others who work with pre-hospital personnel and tactical law enforcement teams to provide medical control. The course featured extensive presentations and participants got a close-up look at a Westchester County S.W.A.T. team training session.
More than 30 physicians and first responders from around the country were in attendance. Participants watched detailed presentations on preventative medicine and how to administer medical care in dangerous settings. The presentations also explained the rationale and scientific basis for modified standards and scope of practice in different types of environments.
“Having the course hosted at the CDM is such a benefit to the physicians and advanced providers supporting tactical teams or those hoping to start lifesaving tactical emergency medical service programs within their jurisdictions.” said Kevin L. Pohlman, M.Ed., assistant director of the CDM and assistant professor in the Institute for Public Health of the School of Health Sciences and Practice (SHSP). “The information shared today will help these providers make decisions on how to best prepare for care under fire and meaningfully contribute to the operational medicine community in varying capacities.”
Along with the training, participants got a special look at a training session by the Westchester County S.W.A.T. team that simulated an entry into a hostile area in which a member of the group gets hit with a bullet and the team must bring him to safety while applying a tourniquet.
“With representation in this course from Wisconsin to Texas and locales in between, it is obvious that the need for this type of training is very real. While no one would ever want to find themselves in the situations discussed in this course, we are reassured with the knowledge that the CONTOMS catalog of courses exists, and the CDM is able to offer them to our community of service,” Mr. Pohlman said.
