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Army Nurse Becomes Author
27 March 2007
A book on dealing with medical trauma in mainly military environments has been co-written by 2 Health Support Battalion’s Principal Nursing Officer Major Lee Turner (pictured right).
MAJ Turner wrote the book with Colonel Tim Hodgetts, a Professor of Emergency Medicine and Trauma and renowned emergency medicine consultant in the United Kingdom.
Trauma Rules 2 is not a typical medical tome. Small enough to slip into a pocket, it is written in an accessible style, to ensure the “rules” are remembered and come to mind immediately when they are needed in an emergency, says MAJ Turner.
“The most common cause of avoidable death in military conflict is uncontrolled external haemorrhage, particularly from the limbs, following a blast or penetrating trauma. Following research we have now updated the old ‘ABC’ rule (Airway, Breathing, Circulation) to include an extra ‘C’, meaning the control of catastrophic haemorrhage.”
The book offers 70 easy to memorise rules, says MAJ Turner, rather than extensive explanatory text. The rules cover the most important aspects of trauma care, and are for those dealing with the immediate and early management of severely injured patients.
“It is recognised that anxiety provokes memory loss, so it is useful for people to learn a system and stick to it. In a military situation a medic or nurse could be the only one who can offer help to a trauma victim. If their experience is limited they need rules that are easy to remember and apply, even in the most threatening of circumstances.”
The book is aimed at civilian and military medical personnel; however, civilian and military trauma is different so the rules reflect this. Military trauma generates injuries rarely seen in civilian practice, with the potential for multiple fragment wounds, blast injury to the lung and bowel, amputations, and contaminated wounds. The injuries are often received in a harsh environment, with limited equipment and drugs available.
And the rules? They are many and varied, but include the likes of “if the bleeding is dramatic, use a novel haemostatic”, and, “blood on the floor is lost forever more”, which is a reminder there are four indicators to look for when someone is haemorrhaging.
MAJ Turner, who served with the British Army for 11 years and deployed to Northern Ireland, Kosovo and Afghanistan during that time, joined the New Zealand Army four years ago.
He wrote the book after being involved in a trauma project in Britain.
“It’s a fairly easy read, and hopefully will be of use to medical personnel in all three of our services.”
Trauma Rules 2 would be invaluable reading material for any military medic, nurse or doctor, says the NZDF’s Director of Nursing Services, Lieutenant Colonel Gerard Wood.
This page was last reviewed on 02 April 2007 and is current.
