Photographed at the Brookfield Health Sciences Complex, University College Cork, were some members of the Defence Forces who will be studying for the Diploma Programme in Military Medical Care.
On a day when the majority of UCC’s 4,000 new arrivals on campus turned up to register in regulation casual gear, one particular cohort of students stood out from the crowd in their full military regalia. These were 10 members of the Irish Defence Forces who have embarked on a unique Diploma Programme in Military Medical Care, offered by UCC’s School of Medicine, in conjunction with the Defence Forces and the Academy of Emergency Care at Cork University Hospital. The programme will be the entry-level course for serving members of the Defence Forces into the Medical Corps. UCC was awarded the contract for delivery of this Diploma, following a competitive tendering process earlier this year.
The new recruits to UCC were welcomed by President of UCC, Dr. Michael Murphy, who described the new programme as both imaginative and practical. “UCC - and its predecessor, Queen’s College Cork - has had a long and distinguished history in offering medical education to the military. Our records go back to medical graduates of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries who went on to pursue military careers in India, Mesopotamia and Afghanistan, among other places. Today’s recruits to the Diploma in Military Medical Care are representatives of a new twenty-first century approach to medical training in the military, taking advantage of all that modern technology and medical education can offer.”
Commented Col. Dr. Gerard Kerr, Director of the Army Medical Corps:
“I am delighted to see this important professional development opportunity for our new entrants to the Medical Corps.” Col. Dr. Kerr added that the programme will impact strongly on the civilian population, as the training being provided will improve the first responder experience (including CPR) across the country and beyond, not least when graduates of the programme are ultimately posted to combat zones or on peace-keeping missions overseas in locations such as Chad, Kosovo, Lebanon and East Timor.
The students, who are drawn from the Army, Navy and Air Corps, will also learn to provide emergency care for their fellow members of the Defence Forces in a variety of situations. They will be trained as combat medical technicians, offering advanced tactical emergency care in the field of combat. This will include chemical, biological, nuclear and radiological treatment. The students will attain the civilian Emergency Medical Technician award and also learn combat emergency care skills through a variety of high-fidelity simulation techniques and practical scenario exercises.
In addition to a range of teaching and learning techniques used for direct delivery, which will include training in the UCC Medical School’s Advanced Southern Simulation Education and Training Centre (ASSET), students will also attend a range of supervised clinical and pre-hospital, ambulance and military medical placements. ASSET will provide training in specialist simulation to enhance the skills and ability of the programme participants.
Programme Director for the Diploma in Military Medical Care, Professor Stephen Cusack said:
“I am very proud to be associated with this exciting venture. The School of Medicine and Health at UCC is very pleased to be working with the Defence Forces in delivering this innovative programme.”
Further information on the programme is available from the School of Medicine at UCC: medschool@ucc.ie