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Review
. 2018 May;19(3):542-547.
doi: 10.5811/westjem.2018.1.36233. Epub 2018 Mar 8.

Emergency Physicians at War

Andrew E Muck  1 , Melissa Givens  2 , Vikhyat S Bebarta  3 , Phillip E Mason  4 , Craig Goolsby  2
Affiliations
Review

Emergency Physicians at War

Andrew E Muck et al. West J Emerg Med. 2018 May.

Abstract

Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF-A) in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) represent the first major, sustained wars in which emergency physicians (EPs) fully participated as an integrated part of the military's health system. EPs proved invaluable in the deployments, and they frequently used the full spectrum of trauma and medical care skills. The roles EPs served expanded over the years of the conflicts and demonstrated the unique skill set of emergency medicine (EM) training. EPs supported elite special operations units, served in medical command positions, and developed and staffed flying intensive care units. EPs have brought their combat experience home to civilian practice. This narrative review summarizes the history, contributions, and lessons learned by EPs during OEF-A/OIF and describes changes to daily clinical practice of EM derived from the combat environment.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: By the WestJEM article submission agreement, all authors are required to disclose all affiliations, funding sources and financial or management relationships that could be perceived as potential sources of bias. The views expressed in this article are solely those of the authors, and do not represent the official policy or position of the Uniformed Services University, Department of Defense, or the United States Government. There are no conflicts of interest or sources of funding to declare.

References

    1. Operation Enduring Freedom Fast Facts, October 25, 2016. [Accessed July 13, 2017]. Available at: http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/28/world/operation-enduring-freedom-fast-fact....
    1. Afghanistan Coalition Military Fatalities by Year. Iraq Coalition Casualty Count. [Accessed July 13, 2017]. Available at: http://icasualties.org.
    1. Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) U.S. Casualty Status Fatalities as of: July 13, 2017, 10 a.m. EDT. [Accessed July 13, 2017]. Available at: https://www.defense.gov/casualty.pdf.
    1. Iraq Coalition Military Fatalities by Year. Iraq Coalition Casualty Count. [Accessed July 13, 2017]. Available at: http://icasualties.org.
    1. Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) U.S. Casualty Status Fatalities as of: July 13, 2017, 10 a.m. EDT. [Accessed July 13, 2017]. Available at: https://www.defense.gov/casualty.pdf.