Advanced Essay #3: Medical Influences

Intro: This paper was challenging to write, I had trouble finding the right flow and balance. After revisions, I finally realised what is needed in this essay. My goals for this essay was to have better flow and stronger vocabulary, hopefully I met my own goals. Overall, this essay was a good challenge. (❁´▽`❁)*✲ﾟ*

The U.S. military has high standards for medicine, the standards in mainstream medicine should be raised. Medicine is the solution, a practice to treatment preventing illnesses or injury. Medicine is not just about doctors, it is about specialties and qualifications. Modern medicine can be overlooked, but it doesn’t always have the solution to everything. Today, training and practices are still improving to treat patients efficiently and correctly. Many trauma centers across America are influenced by military medicine. Military medicine faces a challenging situation that requires intense training. They have limited time and materials on the battlefield, but are driven to treat the patients. On the other hand, trauma centers are able to ‘fluctuate’ the time and they have the materials needed, but why are trauma centers influenced by the military, it should be vice versa.

The training and the budget for modern medicine are not always as reliable. Modern medicine training do not have the same pressure to adapt to the situation. A fundamental value is funding; it is funding dedicated to military training and it is an advantage. The money towards training creates this foundation, it forces them to use all resources to do what they can save. With that convenience, would modern medicine be influenced by other specialties? Or have created this innovation at first hand?

Mainly, trauma centers are influenced by military medicine training and practices, according to U.S. Medicine, “‘Historically, many improvements in trauma care have been observed during war and innovations made on the battlefield due to the large and concentrated number of severely-injured patients,”... “Historically, improvements in operative trauma care have been driven by war and innovations on the battlefield.” (2016) Clearly stated, trauma centers use innovation used on the battlefield, and it has improved care. We can gain these alterations into civilian life. The first thought that comes into mind about the battlefield, we tend to think about death. We should turn that thought around and acknowledge that it’s not just about trauma.

Gaining innovations like damage-control resuscitation (DCR), which is what the military doctor use, is now something that many trauma centers practice. According to the U.S. Medicine, Wars’ biggest damage to a soldier is blood loss from weapons, bullets, grenades, missiles, etc. Several techniques are used to slow down the flow of blood, a rope is tied around the wounded limb, but as simple as that it wasn’t in the favor of the wounded soldier or doctor. The method of choice on the battlefield now is to cauterize the wound, burning the flesh to create a temporary close. Compared to modern medicine, this method is used for emergency surgery to stop bleeding. That innovation changed the game for modern medicine.

Small innovation on the battlefield can create a large impact; simply observing a wound can lead to a medical breakthrough. A fresh wound on a soldier may illuminate or glow. The ‘glow’ that appears on the wound may predict a higher survival rate than those who do not have the ‘glow’. What is the reason behind the glow? The glow came from Photorhabdus-luminescens, which is a bacterium carried by nematodes. The soldier crawling through mud attracted insects which had the bacterium. The bacteria is found to fight off insects, but also competing for microbes. Photorhabdus-luminescens is now used to treat antibiotic infections. Now, other researchers found a way to treat HIV and other diseases. These situations of battlefield innovations prove that it creates a large impact on mainstream medicine. How can modern medicine create the same innovations?

Having the same high standards for modern medicine might be the solution. Creating the mentality that military doctors have, these innovations can be created. If trauma centers had the same mentality would the survival rate increase? Just a simple observation can create an impact. Brought to Life Exploring the History of Medicine states, “War is often associated with new discoveries in medicine. Some of these discoveries have been relatively small, but others have had a significant impact on our understanding of the body and the impact of the trauma of war on the mind and body.” To keep in mind, the situations that a soldier goes through may not be seen in a trauma center, the environments are different. The situation may not ‘simulate’ the same during war. Comparing these two different, but related topics may not be a straightforward comparison. War’s pressure and environment might also be an element to these advancements.

Medicine is a battlefield itself, finding any way to fight off infections and injuries. The techniques and methods used in war are now used in modern medicine, it’s efficient and less invasive. Plato said, Necessity is the mother of invention when needed something, it must be forced or find a way to achieve it. That is the mindset that the military doctors have to have strict training, meanwhile, modern medicine doctors should follow along and it might change their own results. With the training and pressure given to the military, many innovations were achieved. Creating reliability may be the answers to more innovations, but also finding the right balance. Training, mentality, and environment all play a role in mainstream medicine, thus, benefiting our society. We can gain these advantages that military medicine goes through, we shouldn’t have to look back at the advancements made on the battlefield. Starting now, creating our own environment to create our own innovations.   

Citations:

Usmedicine.com. “Major Military Advancement in Trauma Care Now Adopted by Civilian Medicine.” U.S. Medicine, 8 Apr. 2016, www.usmedicine.com/agencies/department-of-defense-dod/major-military-advancement-in-trauma-care-now-adopted-by-civilian-medicine/.

“Science Museum. Brought to Life: Exploring the History of Medicine.” Medical Innovations and War, http://broughttolife.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/themes/war/innovations