Responsibilities of the
Tactical Medic.
A team medical officer is a necessary component of every
tactical law enforcement team. In this document, the
terms “tactical medic” and “team medical officer” are
used interchangeably and refer to a medical provider
assigned to the team. His functions include:
a.
Acquiring and maintaining important medical history,
immunization status and current health status of each
team member. The confidentiality of this information is
ensured by the medical officer. He also ensures the
transfer of information to appropriate medical personnel
to save valuable time during the treatment of injury and
illness.
b.
Developing appropriate physical fitness, psychological
stress prevention, and self-aid/buddy aid programs for
team personnel. Monitoring the medical effects of
environmental conditions on individual and team
performance; including considerations such as sleep
deprivation, nutritional status and heat and cold
stress. The tactical medic immediately brings any
problems to the Commander’s attention.
c.
Providing field medical treatment to team members
injured or taken ill while engaged in mission activity.
He ensures that team members are afforded the best
possible treatment and are transferred in a timely
manner to an appropriate level of care. He provides
humanitarian medical assistance to non-law enforcement
personnel injured or taken ill during an operation until
appropriate transfer to the EMS system can be safely
affected.
d.
Serving as the patient advocate for officers who are
treated by other medical providers. He establishes good
working relationships with local EMS systems and with
receiving medical institutions and assures appropriate
integration of the team’s medical program with the local
health care delivery system. He also keeps commanding
officers appraised of his findings and recommends
actions, which should be taken to insure optimum outcome
for the officer and the team following injury or
illness.
e.
Conducting Medical Threat Assessments to determine the
potential impact of medical/health factors on mission
outcome and serving as the Medical Intelligence Officer.
He serves as a health information resource for team
members. These functions are an integral part of the
mission planning process. The team medical officer is
the commander’s conscience and advisor on matters
relating to the health of the team.
