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by Emily Greene, health.mil
SHARPSBURG, Md. - Nearly 150 years after the Battle of Antietam, first year medical students at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences marched across Antietam Battlefield, learning the history and heritage of military medicine marked by the actions and decisions of Civil War medical personnel.
September 17, 1862, marks the bloodiest one-day battle in American History. The Civil War Battle of Antietam left 23,000 soldiers killed, wounded or missing after 12 hours of savage combat on a battlefield in Sharpsburg, Md.
Nearly 150 years later, first year medical students at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences marched across Antietam Battlefield, learning the history and heritage of military medicine marked by the actions and decisions of Civil War medical personnel. Students from all services were brought face-to-face with the realities of war and the importance of the role they have chosen to pursue as military medical doctors.
Navy Capt. Trueman Sharp, chair of the Department of Military Emergency Medicine at USUHS said this annual trip to Antietam Battlefield is an important part of the education of first year students.
“The Civil War marks a turning point for battlefield medicine, especially in regards to logistics,” Sharp explained. “Many of the lessons learned here and throughout the rest of the war resulted in advances across the medical community for years to come.”
As the students traveled across the battlefield, the brutality of war wounds and challenges faced by Civil War era doctors and nurses emerged through lessons taught by USUHS faculty and volunteers from the National Museum of Civil War Medicine in Frederick, Md. Topics included the types and severity of wounds, issues of disease and sanitation, medical tools and the context of the war raging around the doctors as they worked.
“It is important for these students to understand the context of this battle and how medicine is intertwined in more ways than simply addressing battle wounds,” Sharp said.
Navy Lt. Brian Andrews-Shigaki, assistant professor at the Department of Military Emergency Medicine at USUHS, coordinated the field trip. He said the medical lessons of the Civil War provide students with a context for contemporary studies.
“It all started here,” Andrews-Shigaki said. “As the students see this battlefield and hear the experiences of doctors in the past, they gain a better understanding of what they are learning in school now.”
The students listened intently at one of their stops where they were presented with a real-life example of the advances made since the Civil War. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Todd Hammond, an explosive ordnance disposal technician, was severely wounded in Afghanistan in 2011. His right leg was severed below the knee and he now wears a prosthetic.
Hammond described his experience to the student group, explaining how he was quickly treated and moved after his injury. He spoke about his recovery and showed the students the scars that remain. His visceral account was a stark contrast to the experiences of wounded soldiers at Antietam.
“Our hope is that the students who are here today will walk away with a better understanding of the history and heritage of their chosen profession,” Sharp said. “Understanding the richness of these elements makes them better physicians and better officers.”
Read more about the history of the military health system. (http://www.health.mil/history)
| Date Taken: | 05.08.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 05.08.2012 16:30 |
| Story ID: | 88110 |
| Location: | SHARPSBURG, MARYLAND, US |
| Web Views: | 679 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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