Backpack Medics: Training Medics
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Planet Care
801 Cedar Street
Suite 200
Berkeley, CA 94710
510-594-4027
info@planetcare.org
GHAP doctor Bebe teaches backpack medics during the trauma workshop.Before a medic can head out with a mobile medical team to treat refugees living in the jungles along the border, they must be trained and have experience working at the clinic. Training medics is a key service provided by the clinic. These medics can help treat the refugees at the clinic itself as well as in villages along the Thai-Burma border.
Many medics and midwives are former high school and university students who want to help their own Burmese people rather than join in military activities. They are dedicated and hungry for knowledge that will help them improve the care provided to the refugees.
Backpack medics practice taking medical histories.Once they have been trained at the clinic, these new medics can travel to remote areas. In addition to giving emergency medical care such as amputations, they are now able to help teach important aspects of healthcare and sanitation to the people there. They often use innovative methods, such as skits and role playing, to communicate ideas such as re-hydration therapy to treat diarrhea, use of mosquito netting to prevent malaria, and other crucially important life-saving practices.
Medics return from the field twice a year, when possible, to further their training and share their experiences. GHAP health workers teach classes on trauma treatment and malaria preventions, and Planet Care provides workshop materials.
Copyright Planet Care
