BATLS/BARTS training in Lithuania

In order to train medical personnel properly for future international missions the Lithuanian Armed Forces decided to adopt BATLS/BARTS as a basic course for military pre-hospital trauma care. This decision was based upon the increasing Lithuanian participation in international missions as a part of multinational units. Another important reason was the personal experience of the course concept acquired in Sweden in 2001 by five Lithuanian medical officers.

Similar to the way BATLS/BARTS was introduced in Sweden, a regular Swedish course (as given in Sweden for own units prior to international missions) was given in Lithuania. The faculty consisted of three experienced instructors from Sweden, and the two Lithuanian medical officers who had previously taken the BATLS course and the BATLS instructor course in Sweden.

Two BATLS/BARTS courses have been given in Kaunas, Lithuania. A total number of eight medical officers, nine military nurses, five medics, three civilian doctors and four medical students have taken the course. Some of these (four medical officers, two military nurses and two medics) have later been deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq and Kosovo, where the Lithuanian units have been collaborating with British, Danish, Polish and Czech-Slovakian units.

As international missions become multinational, it is essential there is full confidence in the level of training and preparedness among all units working together. One way to achieve this is through bi- or multinational training as described in this paper.