WarDocs - The Military Medicine Podcast

COL(Ret) Dr. Evan Renz: From Jumpmaster in the 82nd Airborne Division to Burn/Critical Care Surgeon Extraordinaire.

   Dr. Renz has a distinguished 30+ year career in Army Medicine characterized by clinical excellence, leadership and service.   In this episode you will hear about the experiences Dr. Renz had as a Medical Service Officer with the 82nd Airborne Division where he became Ranger qualified and served as a jumpmaster.  He then served as an operations officer at USUHS, the military medical school training many future Medical Corps Leaders.  He talks about his experiences after training as a burn surgeon with the Army Burn Flight Team and taking care of patients at the USAISR Burn Center in San Antonio.  Dr. Renz provides insights and lessons learned from multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan and how these resulted in saving many lives of injured servicemembers.  He even talks about a unique experience in Afghanistan caring for local children who had suffered circumcision complications.  COL(R) Renz has had an amazing and diverse experience in Military Medicine and you won’t be disappointed hearing some of the engaging stories from a distinguished career.
  Find out more about Dr. Renz at wardocspodcast.com/guest-bios and visit our webpage and become part of Team WarDocs at wardocspodcast.com.
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COL(Ret) Alfonso “Al” Alarcon: Orthopedic Surgery and Military Medical Leadership Around the Globe

   Dr. Alarcon has a distinguished career of clinical excellence, leadership and service.  After 30+ years in the Army Medical Corps he currently is an Orthopedic Surgeon and the Director of Surgery and Specialty Care at U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, St. Cloud VA Health Care System.
 
  In this episode you will hear about some of the amazing experiences of Dr. Alarcon.  He talks about bookending his 30 years of military service by being assigned to the Sinai as a General Medical Officer as a Captain and then as a leader of a Forward Surgical Team as a Colonel decades later.  He tells the story of being part of the last Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) to deploy in combat during an assignment in Iraq and how he and his unit had to be prepared to encounter weapons of mass destruction.  Later in Iraq he served as the U.S. Army Central Command Surgeon where he helped establish the joint-coalition medical support plan in support of the anti-ISIS efforts. Dr. Alarcon shares experiences supporting humanitarian missions in Nigeria, South America and Haiti and provides some insights on how TRICARE provides care for servicemembers and their families across the globe.  He describes how he and his colleagues cared for a young Iraqi who wound up with a below the knee amputation following trauma and how they were able to ultimately help that young man achieve his dream of walking his bride down the aisle.  What a career!
  Find out more about Dr. Alarcon at wardocspodcast.com/guest-bios and visit our webpage and become part of Team WarDocs at wardocspodcast.com.
  Please take a moment to follow/subscribe, rate and review WarDocs on your preferred Podcast venue.

Dr. Kevin C. Kiley: 41st Army Surgeon General- Loyalty Down and Choosing the Harder Right- Reflections from a Distinguished Career

   Dr. Kiley has a distinguished career of clinical excellence, leadership and service.  After serving as Army TSG he went on to Chair the Dept of OB/GYN at Albany Medical College and is now retired from active practice.
 
   In this episode you will hear some entertaining and inspiring stories and valuable insights from a remarkable clinical and administrative Military Medicine leader.  Dr. Kiley talks about simultaneously serving as a Battalion Commander and Division Surgeon for the newly created 10th Mountain Division. He shares anecdotes from his experiences commanding an Evacuation Hospital in Desert Shield/Desert Storm and later commanding Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, the Army Medical Department Center and School and then Walter Reed Army Medical Center.  As the Army TSG he explains why Quality, Discipline, Empowerment and Service are critical to success.  He shares some amusing stories about meeting President George W. Bush and Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld and also provides some advice for leaders dealing with difficult and challenging circumstances.   He also explains how it is possible to remain clinically relevant after serving in senior administrative roles.   
  Find out more about Dr. Kiley at wardocspodcast.com/guest-bios and visit our webpage at wardocspodcast.com to join Team WarDocs.
Please take a moment to follow/subscribe, rate and review WarDocs on your preferred Podcast venue.

Colonel Paul Parker- British Army Surgeon: Drones, Advanced Tourniquets and Blood Products-Future Combat Care Innovations at the Tip of the Spear.

Mr. Paul Parker is a Consultant Orthopedic Trauma Surgeon with over 23 years’ experience specializing in injuries of the lower limb. He is the British Army's most senior Orthopedic Consultant, and has a busy NHS practice at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, the UK's largest level 1 trauma center.
  The only consistent lesson of history is that men do not learn the lessons of history- Aldous Huxley.
In this episode, Mr. Parker describes how some of the “innovations” that we are currently using to treat patients on the battlefield actually were around a hundred years ago.  He talks about how we are relearning some of the lessons of history and leveraging technology to improve care at the point of injury.  Utilizing drones to evacuate and potentially treat patients is not too far in the future.  Colonel Parker reflects on his almost 40 years of experience to provide insights and unique perspectives needed to prepare for combat casualty care in future conflicts.  He also tells some engaging stories from his multiple deployments around the globe.  Caring for the wounded on the battlefield is a team effort- you will definitely learn something from this WarDoc!
  Find out more about COL Parker at wardocspodcast.com/guest-bios and visit our webpage at wardocspodcast.com.
  Please take a moment to follow/subscribe, rate and review WarDocs on your preferred Podcast venue.

Major General (Dr.) Jeff Clark MC Mission Lessons- Desert Storm to Kosovo to Katrina to Abu Ghraib

  MG Clark recently retired after 35+ years in the Army Medical Corps.  His most recent roles on Active Duty were Deputy Commanding General for Operations of the U.S. Army Medical Command and Chief of the Army Medical Corps
  On this episode you will hear about the incredible experiences Dr. Clark had as an Army Medical Officer as he tells you about valuable lessons learned.  He describes peacekeeping operations in Kosovo, combat missions in Desert Shield/Storm , disaster relief after Hurricane Katrina as well as detainee healthcare at Abu Ghraib in Iraq.  MG(R) Clark emphasizes the importance of the whole military medical team for success in the wide variety of mission sets supported.  Not many military physicians have had the variety of opportunities to lead and serve in their careers as this distinguished officer. You don’t want to miss this one.  
  Find out more about MG Clark at wardocspodcast.com/guest-bios and visit our webpage at wardocspodcast.com.
  Please take a moment to follow/subscribe, rate and review WarDocs on your preferred Podcast venue.

Major General Daniel Walrath- Combat Casualty and Inspirational Leader: An Inside look at the Military Medical System from Point of Injury to Recovery

In this episode, MG Daniel Walrath describes his experience with a life-threatening combat injury in remote northeast Afghanistan as Commander of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team of the 101st Airborne Division in 2012.  While on combat infantry patrol, his unit encountered 2 suicide bombers who detonated explosive vests that resulted in the death of 4 soldiers and injured several critically including MG Walrath.  He describes his experience leading up to the event and from the point of injury through evacuation through Afghanistan, Germany, and Walter Reed all the way to his rehabilitation at the Center for the Intrepid in San Antonio.  Hear an amazing story of survival through the military chain of evacuation and his inspirational story of recovery, rehabilitation, and triumph using the Intrepid Dynamic Exoskeletal Orthosis (IDEO) brace.  The IDEO brace and his remarkable determination has allowed him to continue serving in the Army, rising to a 2-star General and passing all physical requirements for the job and even running the Army 10 miler.  He also details the impact of injury on his family, gives advice to military health care providers as they deliver medical care, and hear of the expectations of Military Medicine from the perspective of an Infantry Commander from the Platoon Level up to Senior Commands in the Army.
Find out more about MG Walrath at wardocspodcast.com/guest-bios and visit our webpage at wardocspodcast.com.

Center for the Intrepid: Lessons Learned from Combat Injuries Have Revolutionized Rehabilitation Care (with Dr. Alderete)

In this episode COL (Dr.) Joseph “Joe” Alderete describes the Center for the Intrepid and the amazing advancements in rehabilitation, limb salvage, and amputee care that have been developed from over 20 years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Here about the latest in cutting edge research to help soldiers and elite professional athletes, such as NFL quarterback Alex Smith, regain the ability to achieve elite function after traumatic injuries.  Listen in to this episode of WarDocs to get a behind the scenes look at the one of the most distinguished centers for rehabilitation in the world.
Find out more about COL (Dr.) Joseph (Joe) Alderete at wardocspodcast.com/guest-bios and visit our webpage at wardocspodcast.com.
See our other episodes about the unique opportunities and experiences in Military Medicine and please help us out by giving us a 5 star review on Apple Podcasts through this link https://apple.co/36YNlq1

COL (Dr.) Joseph Alderete- Orthopedic Surgery in Combat and in Support of Special Operations Forces

   In this episode COL (Dr.) Joseph “Joe” Alderete discusses a life-changing experience that led him to become a military orthopedic surgeon and how a mentor influenced his decision to train in orthopedic surgical oncology. Find out how special operations and surgical military assets bring lifesaving surgical care near the tip of the spear and unique stories of the resiliency of the human body to survive near fatal injuries in remote locations far from comprehensive medical care.  You will also find out how military mentors are able to positively shape a surgeon’s career to train to do the most complex of surgical procedures in surgical oncology.  Hear inspiring stories of his longest surgeries which were over 30 hours and the unique bond he shares with those patients.  
You won’t want to miss out on this fantastic interview with a seasoned military surgeon and innovative healthcare leader.
Find out more about COL (Dr.) Alderete at wardocspodcast.com/guest-bios and visit our webpage at wardocspodcast.com.
See our other episodes about the unique opportunities and experiences in Military Medicine and please help us out by giving us a 5 star review on Apple Podcasts through this link https://apple.co/36YNlq1