RSU launches first military medicine course in history of Latvian higher education

This academic year, Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU) has started integrating a course called Military Medicine Fundamentals into the Medicine study programme. This is not only the first military medicine course in the history of higher education in Latvia, but RSU is also the first university in the Baltic States to integrate this type of content into its curriculum.

The course has been developed in cooperation with the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Latvia and the National Armed Forces. Today, the course was launched officially in a ceremony attended by stakeholders and industry representatives. The event was also graced by the presence of US Ambassador to Latvia Christopher Robinson and representatives of the United States Army Europe and Africa.

‘Today we are placing an invaluable opportunity to prepare for very specific future scenarios. The Military Medicine course will be taught to all RSU medical students in their fourth year of studies.

In the future, all medical practitioners will have the knowledge of how to save lives in emergency situations – this includes possible natural or technogenic disasters as well as military conflict,’ explained RSU Rector Prof. Aigars Pētersons.

Knowledge and skills in military medicine are important because, unlike in everyday life, the specific nature of the injuries sustained, the operating conditions, and the algorithms of action are different in military situations of armed conflict and counter-terrorism.

The national defence concept that was approved in 2020 provides for RSU to form a National Military Medicine Council together with the Ministry of Defence and the National Armed Forces. The concept also stipulates that every Latvian medical practitioner should be familiar with the algorithms of military medicine and be prepared to cooperate with military medics. As part of the development of the field of military medicine, the course will be compulsory for all medical students from the 4th year of their studies. In the 2024/2025 academic year, the Military Medicine Fundamentals course will be integrated into other healthcare programmes, such as nursing, physiotherapy, etc. There are plans to create a professional development programme for physicians as well.

The study course is implemented by the team of RSU Military Medicine lecturer who provide theoretical knowledge acquisition and assessment, while the acquisition, development, and assessment of basic military medicine skills is carried out at the RSU Medical Education Technology Centre (METC).

The METC is authorised by the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians that implements training programmes based on the internationally recognised Tactical Combat Casualty Care and Tactical Emergency Casualty Care standards. Practical training takes place in a simulated environment using various types of task simulators and a high-fidelity trauma simulator. The simulation scenarios are implemented using immersive technologies that provide external visual conditions appropriate to the scenario, such as an attack in a forest, the rubble of a building, a traffic accident and other conditions.

With the development of military medicine and the investment in simulation technologies and infrastructure, RSU joins the ranks of the world’s leading universities that can boast such facilities, such as Harvard and Indiana Universities in the US, King’s College in the UK, and the University of Auckland in New Zealand.

At the same time, RSU has launched several long-term projects in the field of military medical education. In 2017, RSU established the Military Medicine Research and Study Centre, thus contributing to the country’s overall security and defence capabilities.