11th Annual FDNY Search & Rescue Field Medicine Symposium

May 2 - 5, 2024

The FDNY, in partnership with the FDNY Foundation, is proud to invite all first responders to the 11th Annual FDNY Search and Rescue Field Medicine Symposium (SRFM). FDNY SRFM is a conference that brings military, federal, state, and local medical responders together to share their experiences, best practices, and ideas. Each year, FDNY SRFM Symposium includes current hot topics, the latest medical technological updates, and recent case studies from around the world. FDNY SRFM Symposium takes place over four days, consisting of workshops, lectures, panel discussions, hands-on-skills scenarios, and a vendor showcase with the latest equipment and products.



Host Hotel: Millennium Downtown New York

55 Church Street, New York, NY 10007

To make a reservation, click HERE.


For general information, please call 718-999-2507 or email srfm@fdnypro.org

Want to exhibit at FDNY SRFM? Please call (718) 999-0383


FDNY SRFM Schedule (click tabs to view)

2-DAY COURSES:

Advanced K-9 Veterinary Care Course (May 2-May 3)

  • Course taught by nationally recognized veterinarians in partnership with the Animal Medical Center, the world’s largest veterinary teaching hospital
  • Learn to provide medical care for our four-legged Task Force members! The course includes both basic and advanced assessment, management, and procedures
  • Features live tissue and simulated hands-on experience
  • Certification provided with completion of the course

Difficult Airway Course (May 2-May 3)

  • Course taught by expert faculty
  • Discuss rapid sequence intubation (RSI) and pharmacology
  • Learn advanced topics on the assessment and management of difficult airways
  • Learn an extensive range of airway management techniques and equipment
  • Engage in challenging integrative case discussions and scenarios
  • Certification provided with completion of the course

NAEMT TECC: Hands-On Active Threat Scenario (May 2-May 3)

  • NAEMT certification course on Tactical Emergency Casualty Care (TECC) taught by members of FDNY and NYPD
  • Review best practice treatment guidelines for trauma care in the high-threat prehospital environment
  • Participate in realistic simulated hands-on scenarios

1-DAY COURSES:

Bioskills: Field Limb Amputation and Other Critical Procedures (May 2)

  • Learn the critical decision process field limb amputations and other procedures by NYC’s leading trauma surgeons
  • Review other critical procedural skills such as surgical airway, thoracotomy, lateral canthotomy
  • Participate in a critical procedural skills practical lab

Bite Me! Bites, Stings and Envenomations (May 2)

  • This workshop takes place at the Bronx Zoo which is the largest metropolitan zoo in the United States
  • Learn from world renowned experts on the assessment and management of commonly encountered insects, spiders and snake bites including a demonstration of administering antivenom for snake bites
  • Participate in a guided tour of the Bronx Zoo “World of Reptiles” and exhibits of other things that bite.

Immersive Aerial Search, Triage and Medical Delivery Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (May 2)

  • Understanding effective search methods and strategies employed in search and rescue operations
  • Acquiring skills in aerial triage using the aerial remote triage system, ensuring efficient prioritization of medical assistance
  • Mastering the techniques of medical package delivery via drones for prompt and effective response in critical situations

Lights, Camera, and Moulage! Learn to Make your Scenarios Realistic (May 2)

  • Understand how simulated moulage can be used to add realism to patient care scenarios
  • Learn to build and incorporate moulage to create realistic training scenarios
  • Explore how to create realistic injuries on human models or manikins using basic and advanced techniques including burns, lacerations, gunshots wounds and exposed bones

ABCs of Field Blood Transfusion Workshop (May 3)

  • This workshop is taught by experienced military and civilian subject matter experts in field blood transfusion
  • Examine the strategic stakeholders and steps required to set up a prehospital blood transfusion program
  • Explain established standard operations procedures, protocols and guidelines
  • Review several existing successful national programs
  • Demonstrate and provide hands-on experience through realistic scenarios utilizing high fidelity manikins

Advanced Field Burn Care: The William Randolph Hearst Burn Center at Weill Cornell (May 3)

  • Learn from experts at the nationally renowned William Randolph Hearst Burn Center at Weill Cornell
  • Review the priorities of evaluating and managing a severely burned patient with limited resources including but not limited to triaging and prioritizing the management of burned patients, airway and support ventilation, fluid resuscitation strategies, effective pain management, and best wound care practices

Lithium Ion Batteries and Their Impact on the Fire Service and US&R (May 3)

  • Review the epidemiology of lithium ion battery incidents in NYC
  • Review case studies from the Maui wildfires and other issues related to residential energy storage systems
  • Discuss the challenges associated with lithium ion battery vehicles during flooding incidents
  • Identify the issues of mitigating lithium ion battery vehicle fires
  • Provide effective strategies for handling lithium ion battery fires

Point-of-Care Ultrasound in Medical Special Operations (May 3)

  • Learn from some of NYC’s leading emergency medicine ultrasound faculty
  • Use the latest portable devices and learn the fundamentals of point-of-care ultrasound and its application in the austere environment
  • Participate in ultrasound applications with realistic scenarios

CONFERENCE LECTURES :

Keynote: State of the Union of the FEMA US&R and SUSAR Systems

  • Discuss the current state of affairs of each system and their respective challenges
  • Review future strategic plans
  • Discuss the integration of the two systems when dealing with national disasters

Changing Our Mission Profile: From Earthquake Response to Hurricane Chasers

  • Review the framework of the FEMA US&R system and how it has changed over the years
  • Examine the challenges of maintaining system readiness
  • Discuss how earthquake disaster response is unique from response to other disasters
  • Explore unique approaches to structural collapse / confined space medical operations
  • Discuss how the system can improve to better prepare itself for all types of disasters

Crush Syndrome: Where are We Failing?

  • Explore a retrospective analysis of data from recent international incidents
  • Discuss the possible barriers to patient care management
  • Examine the lessons learned and review current best practices of managing a patient with crush syndrome

Buried Alive: Trench and Engulfment Medicine

  • Review the fundamentals of a trench collapse
  • Explain the standard medical approach to a victim engulfed in a trench collapse
  • Discuss the assessment and medical management of an engulfed victim

Maui Wildfires - Canine Medical Response and Management

  • Discuss the medical needs and management for a complex canine deployment
  • Show how medical teams can be integrated into the management of both human and canine care and why integrated care is important
  • Discuss all aspects of canine care on deployment, including veterinary emergency, routine care, and decontamination

Pediatric Care in the Austere Environment

  • Discuss the epidemiology of pediatric trauma in the austere environment
  • Review the differences in anatomy, physiology and their implications in the austere environment
  • Discuss the management priorities for the pediatric patient in the austere environment

Advanced Analgesia and Sedation in the Austere Environment

  • Explore the challenges of managing appropriate analgesia and sedation in the special operations environment
  • Review treatment options, including the use of regional anesthesia
  • Discuss the considerations when choosing the most appropriate treatment for the patient in austere conditions

Who Turned Out the Lights? Nighttime Field Operations

  • Review the major disadvantages and challenges of operating at night
  • Explain the senses that are lost during the night and how this affects operations
  • Discuss the considerations when choosing appropriate flashlights and lighting

Evolving Military Medicine Beyond TCCC

  • Identify the current challenges facing military medicine
  • Review the methods military medicine has adapted to the changing nature of war
  • Discuss the lessons learned in military medicine and its implications for civilian prehospital care

Search and Rescue in Areas of Conflict

  • Review the operations of search and rescue teams in recent combat zones
  • Explain the obstacles to search and rescue efforts while operating in areas of conflict
  • Discuss methods to successfully manage search and rescue operations amid warfare

Using Ultrasound as Part of the Primary Survey/MARCH Algorithm

  • Explain how the use of point-of-care ultrasound has moved from the hospital trauma room to an essential component of prehospital patient care in the austere environment
  • Discuss how to incorporate ultrasound into the patient primary survey
  • Describe the initial training, skills maintenance, quality assurance and improvement requirements needed for a successful ultrasound program

Public Safety Air Mobility for Medical Treatment and Transport

  • Identify the use of electric aircraft systems to facilitate the transport of medical crews and patients
  • Review the advantages of UAVs including their role in mass casualty incidents in areas with limited access
  • Understand how to implement and integrate the use of UAVs in daily medical operations

Optimizing Training in a Complex World

  • Describe the relationship between education and expertise
  • Explore the factors that influence human learning
  • Examine how to successfully plan training events that optimize operational capabilities

LECTURE TRACK:

Optimizing Human Performance in the Urban Search and Rescue Environment

  • Identity critical performance concepts and principles based on empirical research, anecdotal evidence, and best practices in the fire service, military special operations and professional sports teams
  • Provide a comprehensive understanding of human performance in various operational settings
  • Instill a greater appreciation and understanding of human performance in high-risk endeavors to optimize individual and organizational performance and safety

Getting Lots of People In and Out of Tight Spaces: Principles of Crowd Management

  • Understand the principles that guide crowd dynamics
  • Integrate the principles of crowd dynamics into the development of an effective crowd management plan
  • Appreciate the challenges and pitfalls associated with the movement of large groups of people

Implementation of a Prehospital Blood Transfusion Program

  • Review the current use of blood transfusion in the field, both in the military and civilian environments
  • Review established programs in the U.S. and available data on their impact on patient outcomes
  • Discuss required collaboration and partnerships from blood banks, surgeons, emergency medicine providers and EMS clinicians
  • Examine the challenges associated with implementing a blood transfusion program and how to do it successfully
  • Discuss specific issues such as the risk of transfusing RhD negative females of childbearing potential with RhD positive blood products in bleeding emergencies and addressing the “lethal pentad” during damage control resuscitation

Chlorine As a Weapon in the Urban Environment

  • Explain the chemical and physical properties of chlorine gas and how it influences first responder
  • Review domestic and international case studies involving the use of chlorine gas as a weapon
  • Discuss common patient presentations and their medical management

HANDS-ON SCENARIOS TRACK at the Deputy Chief Raymond M. Downey All-Hazards Disaster Training Site:

Lights Out! Sensory Deprivation Technical Skills Lanes and Scenarios

  • Identify the difficulties providers experience when carrying out tasks in low-light conditions
  • Review effective coping strategies for low luminance and contrast sensitivity
  • Explore how to identify and prioritize medical issues while managing external distractors such as low visibility and other stimuli
  • Examine the challenges to patient assessment in extreme conditions and different methods to mitigate these obstacles
  • Demonstrate effective vascular access, airway management, and hemorrhage control techniques in various challenging environments with low light, noise and other distractors

Confined Space/Collapse Rubble Pile and Active Shooter Scenario in a Subway Simulator

  • Review the principles of rescue awareness and operations to safely rescue a patient from hazardous atmospheres/terrain
  • Conduct triage assessment during mass casualty incidents
  • Demonstrate effective patient management techniques, including airway management, and vascular access within a confined space
  • Review different methods of patient packaging and extrication

FDNY Robotics Unit Demonstration

  • Review the various equipment the FDNY Robotics Unit uses to help manage operations in NYC including fire and EMS operations, water rescue, beach life safety
  • Observe demonstrations of robotics use in reconnaissance, aerial triage, and the delivery of equipment in areas of difficult access



Frequently asked questions (click + to view)

Registration
Participants may register and reserve a seat for the various Pre-Conference and Conference activities by completing the registration form and pay by credit card or by registering by Purchase Order. If you need to register through a Purchase Order please email us at SRFM@fdnypro.org.
Limited Seating
Seats may only be reserved through completed registration. Seating is limited to the Pre-Conference Workshops and Courses. These are available on a first-come, first-served basis. We may not release the information on the number of seats available to these activities so please register early!
Pre-Conference Activities
Participants may only register and attend the Pre-Conference Workshops and Courses with registration for the Conference. Participants will be required to sign in daily to the various Pre-Conference Workshops and Courses and will not be allowed admittance unless you have registered for these courses.
Conference Badge
All registered attendees will be issued an attendee badge and badge holder at registration. Please wear your badge at all times when attending and participating in SRFM activities. If you are not wearing your badge, you may be asked to show proof of your registration and a picture ID.
Food
Breakfast and lunch will be provided on each day of the Conference.
Hotel Cancellation Policy
Hotel cancellations will be subject to the Host Conference Hotel’s cancellation policy and should be contacted directly.
Arriving by Air
The closest airport to the Host Conference Hotel and Conference activities is LaGuardia Airport (LGA). Transportation from the airport will not be provided.
Transportation
Transportation will be provided to attendees to and from the Host Conference Hotel to the various Pre-Conference and Conference activities. If you wish to provide your own transportation, please note that parking will be limited at the various activity sites.
Continuing Education Units (CEU)
CEU credits will be available. Participants must sign in daily in order to receive CEU credit. Please make sure we have your correct contact information in order for you to receive your educational credit.
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