Closing the Trauma and Critical Care Gap: A Paradigm Shift through Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality.

A nationwide surgeon shortage, particularly with general surgeons and trauma surgeons, continues to plague the civilian and military systems readiness. To fill this shortcoming, we provide a narrative review describing current and potential uses of augmented reality and virtual reality (AR/VR) for synthetic training environments which could significantly improve the Army's wartime medical readiness through improved skills of surgeons and non-surgeon providers. Multiple studies demonstrate the potential benefits of AR/VR in cost, time, and critical medical skills for enhanced care delivery.

Unit Collective Medical Training in the 75th Ranger Regiment.

The 75th Ranger Regiment's success with eliminating preventable death on the battlefield is innate to the execution of a continuous operational readiness training cycle that integrates individual and unit collective medical training. This is a tactical solution to a tactical problem that is solved by the entire unit, not just by medics. When a casualty occurs, the unit must immediately respond as a team to extract, treat, and evacuate the casualty while simultaneously completing the tactical mission.