Untangling the Forward Blood Transfusion Conversation
Forward blood transfusion has, for good reason, gained significant attention from Defence leadership and within the Australian military health profession. However, we’ve observed that conversations regarding the forward fresh whole blood (FWB) transfusion capability often confuse or entangle with discussions about autologous FWB transfusion training. This poses two distinct risks. First, there is the potential… Read more »
LETTER TO THE EDITOR Occupational Rehabilitation
DEAR EDITOR, In her review article “Outpatient Based Injury Management versus Inpatient Rehabilitation”1, Captain Tilbrook puts forward a case for Outpatient based Rehabilitation with strong ties to the workplace, which she states, “is in direct contrast to Inpatient Rehabilitation which takes members away from the workplace and their normality. Psychology, illness behaviours and motivation factors… Read more »
Letter to the Editor
In reply to Dr Worswick’s article ‘Medical Officer Training – An Infantryman’s Perspective’ JMVH Vol. 27, Number 3, as an Army Medical Level 2 Doctor from a similar Royal Australian Infantry Corps background with non-regimental experience in Recruit, Officer and overseas training of foreign forces, I can unequivocally say the training of the Army’s uniformed… Read more »
Paramedics in the ADF – A Time For Change?
Commander Neil Westphalen, Royal Australian Navy 23 November 2018 Dear Sir, The July 2018 JMVH article regarding paramedics in the Australian Defence Force (ADF)1 requires further elaboration regarding its scope and conclusions. The article describes how the expanding professional profile of paramedics in the civilian health system is not being reflected in current career options… Read more »
Letter to the Editor
Dear Editor, COMMAND VERSUS TECHNICAL AUTHORITY: LESSONS FROM THE 2ND GENERAL HEALTH BATTALION This letter replicates my response in Issue No. 203 of the ADF Journal, regarding the article by Reade et al, ‘Command versus technical authority: lessons from the 2nd General Health Battalion’, in Issue No. 200 of the ADF Journal (and reprinted in… Read more »
Letter to the Editor
Dear Editor, THE AUSTRALIAN ARMY MALARIA INSTITUTE AND THE MEFLOQUINE CONTROVERSY In JMVH 26(1), January 2018, you published a letter from Dr Remington L. Nevin, Executive Director of the Quinism Foundation in Vermont, USA. Dr Nevin’s letter commented on aspects of an article of mine, ‘Australian military malariology comes of age’, which appeared in JMVH… Read more »
HMAS Westralia Remembered
Dear Editor. May 2018 marks 20 years since the multiple fatality fire in HMAS Westralia during a training exercise off the coast of Western Australia. It should serve as a reminder of the dangers inherent in military service including training exercises. For those of us in the health professions the fire in HMAS Westralia should also… Read more »
Letter to the Editor
Dear Editor, A REARGUARD DEFENCE: MEFLOQUINE, TAFENOQUINE, AND THE AUSTRALIAN ARMY MALARIA INSTITUTE I read with interest the recent article by Dr. Howie- Willis1, which extols the recent accomplishments of various staff of the Australian Army Malaria Institute (AAMI). I have concerns regarding the historical and factual accuracy of certain of the authors’ statements, particularly… Read more »
Letter to the Editor
Dear Editor, JMVH ARTICLE: MALARIA OUTBREAK ABOARD HMAS NEWCASTLE As one of its non-corresponding authors, the JMVH article by Rose et al regarding the malaria outbreak aboard HMAS Newcastle in June 20I5l merits further elaboration. I first became involved with this article on 22 July 2015, when I was asked by the Director Navy Health… Read more »
Personal Observations: Report on the 4th ADF Environmental and Occupational Health (EOH) Conference, Brisbane, March 2015
Commander Neil Westphalen Dear Editor, The JMVH article by Licina et al, reporting on the 4th Australian Defence Force (ADF) Environmental and Occupational Health (EOH) Conference in Brisbane in March 20151, merits the following observations. The article initially refers to a range of future challenges in the Asia-Pacific region, such as climate change, environmental degradation, political instability and terrorist threats,… Read more »
Letter to the Editor – Westphalen
07 March 2015 Dear Editor, The article by Kristina Griffin regarding the evolution and role changes of Australian military medics1 requires some amplification and clarification regarding its scope and conclusions: The content and referencing of the article is clearly limited to those ADF medics who provide health support for operations It is respectfully suggested that… Read more »
Letter to the Editor – Mackie
Dear Editor Recently, Clifford (2014) conducted a literature review of compassion fatigue and burnout in military health professionals. As noted by the author, the recent Dunt Review highlights the issue of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has raised the awareness and public debate of this service related injury. Moreover, the authors focus of discussion in relation… Read more »
Letter to the editor
Dear Editor Recently, while reading Sherwin Nuland’s Doctors: The Biography of Medicine in relation to the impacts on medicine of Rene Laennec’s invention of the stethoscope, Nuland writes about four milestones in a medical student’s education.1 First is the introduction to the cadaver. Second is buying your first stethoscope at the medical society bookshop. Third… Read more »
Lessons Learnt – The Role of a Defence Liaison Officer for Data Collection of Australian Defence Force Personnel
Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel are part of a highly organised, large and disciplined force. As such you would expect that asking its members to participate in research should be a very smooth and straight forward process. Yet, the recruitment and data collection process for the Military Health Outcomes Program (MilHOP) studies illustrated that a… Read more »
In response: PTSD Article JMVH October 2010
acknowledge the impassioned responses to my contentious article on PTSD (JMVH- Apr 10) and I would expect nothing less from my mental health colleagues. Independent commentary by one with no vested interest in diagnosing and managing PTSD should be embraced as part of robust debate regarding this fashionable condition. I hasten to remind the respondents… Read more »
In response to McKenzie D. An Holistic view of post-traumatic stress disorder
McKenzie’s article is a poorly written, and edited, polemic containing a number of sweeping statements, some of which are provocative and some that are offensive. Such an obvious exercise in ‘pot-stirring’ should at least be properly researched. Thirty seconds on-line confirmed the suspicion that his figures for Australians killed in World War Two were hopelessly… Read more »
Letter in response to Douglas McKenzie Article
Sir, I would like to bring to your readers’ attention an inaccurate comment in a recent JMVH article on DVA accepted disability claims for posttraumatic stress disorder, concerning the second Australian Contingent to Rwanda, ASC2. McKenzie’s unreferenced article suggested that ‘the 2nd Australian Contingent to Rwanda, 20% of whom observed the Kibeho massacre, now has… Read more »
2025 AMMA Conference
