Future Special Forces Medics to Train at West Virginia University

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - WVU Medicine has formed a new partnership with the U.S. Army Special Forces, also known as the Green Berets, to be the first academic medical center in the country to host clinical rotations for soldiers training to become Special Forces Medical Sergeants. The development of this partnership started with George Bal, M.D., WVU Medicine orthopaedic surgeon and combat-serving veteran with the 82nd Airborne, who heard that the Army was looking for hospitals willing to serve as clinical training sites for its Special Forces soldiers. Dr. Bal then reached out to Alison Wilson, M.D., director of the WVU Medicine Jon Michael Moore Trauma Center, to see if she thought WVU Medicine's Ruby Memorial Hospital could be one of those sites. Dr. Wilson, hospital administration, and healthcare professionals across the institution were eager to help. Drs. Bal and Wilson head up WVU Medicine's portion of the partnership, which will bring small groups of soldiers to Morgantown for 28-day training periods several times throughout the year. The training is part of the Army's Special Forces Qualification Course. By the time they arrive in Morgantown, the soldiers going through the course have already completed extensive training in laboratory, veterinary, and surgical medicine and are considered one of the highest trained trauma medics in the U.S. military inventory. "From my experience working as an instructor with the 82nd, I know how well trained and motivated these g...
Source: JEMS Operations - Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: News Operations Source Type: news