Online training in TECC/TCCC for Fire and EMS
Fire and EMS inherently work in high-risk environments. By understanding the priorities of patient management, i.e. what is killing the patient right now, you can provide the care that is required without wasting time on unimportant details and treatments which just increase the risk to everyone working in a dangerous environment.All of these factors apply equally in a burning or unstable building after an earthquake or explosion.
Although the first step of an EMS testing scenario is to “ensure scene safety,” In active violent incidents*, you can never 
ensure scene safety. Rather, your goal is to mitigate risk. Fighting fires is not safe, it is inherently dangerous, but you mitigate the risk to rescuers and casualties with training and equipment.
In December 1970 the US government published a study showing what killed casualties in Vietnam. The report identified 3 preventable and treatable causes of death: massive external hemorrhage, tension pneumothorax, and airway occlusion. That data eventually led to the DOD’s Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) guidelines.
Those TCCC guidelines are optimized for patient care on the battlefield. Tactical Emergency Casualty Care (TECC) guidelines used TCCC guidelines as an evidenced-based starting point for managing civilian trauma patients in high-risk environments.
If you are trained to manage those three causes of preventable death in a high-risk environment, doing them at a more typical scene call, car crash, or other accident it is simply easier.
Crisis Medicine’s courses don’t just present what is in the TCCC or TECC guidelines, but also discuss the medical literature supporting or in some cases contradicting guidelines recommendations.
In one sad case, a local fire service was taught all tourniquets are placed “high & tight” on a limb regardless of the situation because that is how their former military trainer was taught. Subsequently, that fire service placed a tourniquet high on the thigh of a forklift operator with a partial foot amputation after a warehouse accident. Eventually, the worker lost his entire lower extremity to the level of the tourniquet. An exceptionally rare and unnecessary complication could have been prevented with proper training.
US Army Special Forces Medics are the best-trained combat medics in the world: however, taking care of a casualty in a wadi in Afghanistan, is not identical to managing a casualty in a nightclub shooting. You need to evaluate the credentials of your instructor to ensure you are getting a complete analysis of the medical evidence behind the techniques, not just something that worked once for them in a bad situation.
Is your service using a TCCC recommended tourniquet? If you are, what is the medical literature in support of the one chosen? What is the evidence supporting its use and efficacy? Most Emergency Physicians don’t know this literature, so even your medical director may not have the most up-to-date information.
We know most online training is mediocre. Ours is professionally filmed on a soundstage with clear audio, scientific backing, and step-by-step skills demonstrations of all the techniques taught. These skills stations will allow Fire and EMS to practice the skills on their own, perfecting their techniques so when called upon to save lives in dangerous situations, they are amply prepared.
*Although traditionally thought of as active shooter events, after the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombing where 264 casualties were wounded, 3 triple amputees, and 3 killed, but no one was shot, the term was changed to more expansively cover these events.
An Emergency Medicine physician can teach you the science. A former special-operations veteran can tell you what works. Mike Shertz, MD-18D can do both. With more than 20-years as a Fire and EMS medical director, and law enforcement experience running a tactical medical program, Mike integrates medicine and tactics to apply them to inherently dangerous environments.
Our Student’s Experience
...Refreshing to watch an online class that kept my attention
After being in Public Safety for over 20 years in a mix of LE and Fire/EMS it was refreshing to watch an online class that kept my attention. Being a Tactical Medic this CE was extremely relevant and will do our team well. I look forward to the other classes Crisis-Medicine offers. I must also add the customer service is amazing. Prompt email response, and genuine willingness to work with us, and doing so the whole time in a nice friendly manner. You can not go wrong by using this group! Excellent job from A to Z.
Very happy I chose to take this online course for TECC/TCCC.
Dr. Shertz presents the full breadth and depth of TECC/TCCC in an engaging manner. His data-driven, evidence-based approach is very well reasoned. Drawing on an apparent depth of experience, he presents the material both lectures and skills in a very clear and efficient manner.
Fantastic training
This was a fantastic training. Lots of great information. I enjoyed how in-depth Dr. Shertz went into the studies which gave the information context. His real-world opinion was valuable as well
As a medical director for several fire departments, I can say it is the BEST trauma course you can take.
I have taken the 5 day TCCC class twice. As a medical director for several fire departments, I can say it is the BEST trauma course you can take.
I can say without reservation on that Dr. Shertz's courses are of the highest quality. He is a talented instructor who explains medical procedures to students at all levels, even in audiences ''with mixed provider levels. His lectures are based on a clear review of the medical literature and include demonstrative photographs and diagrams pulled from disparate sources including textbooks, newspaper photographs, and images pulled from the internet to support his teaching points. His material is always up to date and includes the most recent advances in the field of emergency medical services, TECC, and TCCC.
...One of my favorite online classes in any subject I've ever taken.
Have you ever taken a class, and then been kinda bummed that it was over? This class was so interesting, and well given. The amount of information, plus just the way it was delivered was perfect. Dr. Shertz knows his stuff back and front and sideways. He’s got the resume to prove it. But he doesn’t act like a know it all. He acts like one of your peers showing you the way and it makes the information that much more interesting and easy to digest. This was one of my favorite online classes in any subject I've ever taken. Dr. Shertz and everyone who worked on this should be commended.
A Comprehensive educational experience
I just completed the Complete TC2 course presented by Dr. Shertz. This course was by far the best online course I have ever participated in. Dr. Shertz’s absolute command of the subject matter leads to a very comprehensive educational experience that leads the end user to be able to learn and apply new skill sets as well as confirming existing understanding to a deeper level. The production quality of the lectures, skills and scenarios make the learning process feel much more like it is in a classroom rather than online. The slides, charts and other graphics used are absolutely first class. This online education experience raises the bar for online education.
Enjoyable, knowledgeable, and detailed
The Advanced TC2 online course is very enjoyable.
The presenter Dr. Mike Shertz is very knowledgeable, the way the course is presented is very detailed and the skills that you will learn could save a life, in a tactical or everyday life.
I will be doing the Complete TC2 in the near future.
The material is presented in such a deft manner with illustrative examples and reinforced with repetition that retention of information comes pleasantly easy.
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Well worth the investment!
Yes, as Dr. Shertz says in his intro, he provides a lot of information in these lectures. “Encyclopedic” I believe was one of the terms he used, however, I never found an encyclopedia nearly as interesting nor as engaging as his topics and style of teaching. As an advanced practitioner of medicine, I find the “why“ almost as important as the “what“, and Mike does an excellent job of explaining why certain procedures, techniques, and tools are superior to alternatives.
The material is presented in such a deft manner with illustrative examples and reinforced with repetition that retention of information comes pleasantly easy. Dr. Shertz’s expertise in this subject matter is evident as he proficiently breaks down complex medical concepts for learners of all backgrounds. I am also impressed by the ease of use of the electronic platform. It has been easy to start, stop, and resume lectures as my busy schedule allows. All in all, I have truly enjoyed this lecture series and feel that my medical practice has benefited. My investment in this educational program has been well worth my time and my ducats.
Five-Star, factual information
As a FF/AEMT, I have been exposed to several gunshots in the field. I have had large calibers cause very minimal damage, and small calibers cause death and large amounts of damage. I am an avid hunter and have grown up using firearms and reloading ammunition and had a fairly healthy knowledge of how bullets impacted, and what would cause these differences. All in all, I took this course as a way to confirm or debunk things I had come to believe based on field experience and to use something with a larger pool to gather factual information.
I've sat through hundreds of hours of online training. Dr. Shertz's course was totally different. He was engaging and authentic.
This is outstanding training. I'm a Firefighter, but I spent nearly a decade as a Federal agent, plus several years in two different branches of the military. In these jobs, I've sat through hundreds of hours of online training. Dr. Shertz's course was totally different. He was engaging and authentic. Rather than speeding through slides to get to the end of the course, I found myself taking notes, rewinding lectures, and viewing blocks of instruction multiple times until I was certain I understood the concepts. I appreciated his depth of knowledge and his passion for the subject matter is clear. This is a high-quality course that I'd recommend to both Firefighters and LEOs.
It has been an absolute pleasure to listen to the lectures and learn so much in the process.
I started having an interest in close quarter survival as it is becoming more and more relevant in our environment, working in EMS. With that tactical situations can also be faced and thus it was imperative for me to understand this environment better in order to be prepared should I be faced with such a situation.
Thank you for this very detailed and structured information and course. It has been an absolute pleasure to listen to the lectures and learn so much in the process. The real-life references and examples really bring the content to the point and show the realism of the situations.
It would be great to partake in a face-to-face session with practical application of the content. Being so far away may make that difficult to achieve though.
The online course is very well done and kept my attention throughout. The scenario videos were not only entertaining, they were relevant to the information taught
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I had the unique opportunity to both go to the in-person CTC2 class in Beaverton, OR and finish a portion of the course online because I had to leave early. I have to say that nothing can replace the muscle memory gained and the ability to ask questions and get immediate feedback that the in-person class provides. The practical scenario day was very well done and put you into situations that provided real-world stress. You had to treat very realistic injuries from real situations that have happened around the country. That being said, the online course is very well done and kept my attention throughout. The scenario videos were not only entertaining, but they were also relevant to the information taught and Dr. Shertz narrates during portions to help reinforce the M.A.R.C.H. pneumonic and treatment priorities. Overall, this is one of the best courses I have ever taken. I feel that anyone in Law Enforcement or FIRE/EMS should definitely take one of these courses because of the environment we live in today.
