Ukraine holds first international military surgery course "Trident" for front-line doctors
Ukraine's Defence Ministry says 16 doctors, eight surgeons and eight anaesthesiologists, completed "Trident", a week-long course run with US and international trauma instructors. The ministry calls it a pilot for wider training.
Ukraine has held its first international military surgery and resuscitation course, called "Trident", at the initiative of the Defence Ministry. The ministry announced it on Telegram on 25 October.
According to the ministry, 16 doctors took part: eight surgeons and eight anaesthesiologists. They work at stabilisation points and in forward surgical teams close to the front line. The ministry said the aim is to strengthen the training of surgical teams that give care directly near the line of contact.
The instructors came from the American College of Surgeons (ACS), the International Association for Trauma Surgery and Intensive Care (IATSIC) and GMKA. The statement does not say where the course took place, who the individual instructors were, or what GMKA stands for.
Three modules in one week
The week-long programme had three modules, the ministry said:
- ATLS, emergency care for trauma patients;
- DSTC, surgical treatment of combat trauma;
- ASSET, practical surgical skills.
Surgeons and anaesthesiologists trained together. The ministry said the idea was to practise working as a team in critical situations.
Defence Minister Yevhenii Khmara said: "When a soldier goes into battle, he must know that if he is wounded, there will be people nearby who will do everything possible to save his life. This is trust that matters enormously at the front. Behind it stand training, experience and coordinated work. That is why we want our medics to have the best knowledge and skills and to be able to act as one team."
A pilot for a wider system
The ministry described "Trident" as a pilot project for a new system of training military medics. It plans to expand such courses and involve all surgeons and anaesthesiologists of the Defence Forces. Training would follow the best practices of the United States and NATO countries. The statement gave no timetable, number of future courses or budget.
The course was held with the support of partners Razom4Ukraine and Expertise France, according to the ministry.
Background
ATLS, DSTC and ASSET are established international trauma-training formats. ATLS (Advanced Trauma Life Support) and ASSET (Advanced Surgical Skills for Exposure in Trauma) are associated with the American College of Surgeons. DSTC (Definitive Surgical Trauma Care) is a surgical course widely linked to IATSIC. The ministry's statement does not describe their content in detail, and the course results have not been independently assessed.
RealUA has also reported on other recent Defence Ministry steps affecting wounded personnel. They include remote military medical board rulings for service members treated abroad, and a unified template for wound orders in the Armed Forces.
