A team of volunteer rescue and trauma care medics who are trained by some of Australia’s best in severe trauma, advanced resuscitation and remote field care in high complexity scenarios.

Good, better, best.

Rescue Medics Australia provides agile teams of rescue paramedics, medics and advanced responders; volunteers who train in a wide variety of ‘high stress drills’ in the field, ready to operate in difficult contexts where trauma care is required.

A little bit different. What you need to know.

Our team members are experienced in advanced skills for treating critically injured and ill casualties in a variety of remote locations and high complexity situations. We provide much more than basic first aid, CPR and an annual refresher on advanced resuscitation; it’s a good start, but not enough for our team.

We are not a just network of volunteers. Rescue and tactical medicine teams need to know each other very well. So, we train together in different scenarios, in different locations and in different team formations; pairs, triads, unit. We learn to work with each other and adapt very well in a variety of difficult situations.

We prepare for different types of crises at a variety of locations to increase our preparedness. Our training is focused on intensive scenarios in the field, at locations where real trauma may unfold. There is nothing like performing a casualty response drill in the dark of night for a remote accident or in a high risk crowd situation.

Our experience in pre-hospital trauma care includes spinal injuries, blunt force trauma, abdominal and thoracic bleeding, amputations, junctional haemorrhages, head/neck and facial injuries, open and complex fractures, major penetrating wounds, severe burns, critical illnesses and complex airways, heatstroke and hypothermia. Our kits are customised for complex trauma (not basic first aid).

Our providers of rescue and tactical medicine training are some of the best in Australia, with international deployment experience in combat zones and other austere contexts. They are doctors, paramedics, nurses and combat medics who specialise in tactical medicine for remote, austere and complex contexts. They deliver intensive field-based training scenarios. There is nothing ordinary about the training for our core crew!

In search and rescue contexts we provide trauma care and advanced life support for casualties with crtical injuries and illnesses. We do not provide retrieval or transport, but we do provide execeptional evacuation coordination with emergency services, prolonged field care (sometimes over many hours, or longer), until ambulance, aeromedical or other transport is available.

Our medics train for various types of disasters and complex situations in different locations.

We aim to be (very) adaptive and prepared for difficult situations.

Want to know more?

  • On our clinical governance committee we have a Chief Medical Officer and Intensive Care Paramedic, who support our crew of rescue and trauma care medics, including: paramedics, nurses, advanced life support medics (Diploma-EHC), medics (CertIV-EHC), former armed-forces combat medics (TCCC-CMC) and advanced responders.

  • Some crew leaders have a clinical scope of practice (e.g. paramedics, nurses, advanced life support medics (Diploma-EHC Paramedicine) or medics (CertIV-EHC Paramedicine or Cert III Medic).

    Other members of the rescue medic crew (EMRs) have Advanced First Aid and Advanced Resuscitation (HLTAID014 and HLTAID015) with a current RTACC or (if a veteran) a former TECC certificate.

    All crew members will need to participate in annual training for rescue, advanced resuscitation and oxygen therapy, severe trauma care and remote field care (see below: The Annual Muster: RTMC).

  • 3-4days of drills. Are you ready?

    All of our most senior/core crew members are invited to participate in our "annual muster" for our Rescue & Tactical Medicine Course (RTMC); an intensive 3-4day long-weekend immersion for delivering pre-hospital trauma care and life support in complex casualty response simulations, operating in teams with mixed skill levels for disasters, search & rescue, and massive public gatherings with features of high complexity.

    Each year, the RTMC will be adapted to meet emerging/ongoing needs of crew members, our key partners (QAS, SES) and the communities we serve.

  • Crew members are also invited to participate in regular monthly CPD webinars. These focus on specialist trauma care topics that are relevant to our local coastal and hinterland settings.