During July 2024, Naval Medical Leader and Professional Development Command (NMLPDC) held the annual 4-week in-person Military Tropical Medicine (MTM) didactic course for 43 students at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences. The didactic phase of the course was immediately followed by a 2-week hands-on field experience for 92 students throughout eight tropical infectious disease endemic locations around the globe during August 2024.

Military Tropical Medicine students gather mosquitoes during the annual 4-week in-person Military Tropical Medicine didactic course. (U.S. Navy photo)

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Military Tropical Medicine students participate in an experiment on mosquitos during the annual 4-week in-person Military Tropical Medicine didactic course. (U.S. Navy photo)

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Military Tropical Medicine students in the annual 4-week in-person Military Tropical Medicine didactic course pose for a group photo. (U.S. Navy photo)

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The MTM course, offered as in-person and online, provides tri-service military medical providers with didactic content and hands-on field experiences to diagnose, treat and prevent infectious diseases to protect the Joint Force against tropical endemic health threats and provide healthcare to partner nations during global health engagement missions.

“We often don’t receive this content in medical school or graduate medical education programs,” said Capt. Todd Gleason, MC, USN, MTM course director. “Our student body is [tri-service] nurses, physicians, lab technicians, pathology residents and aerospace medicine residents and we are able to discuss the power that we bring to the team.”

Select students who completed the MTM course (in-person or online) had a follow-on opportunity to engage with host nation military medical ships, hospitals, laboratories, and various healthcare professionals during 2-week field experiences in Brazil, Thailand, Liberia, Peru, Ghana, India, Honduras, and Tanzania to apply knowledge gained in the classroom to work on the ground in austere tropical environments.

Capt. Katie Shobe, MSC, USN, NMLPDC Commanding Officer, had an opportunity to visit one of the field training sites. “I participated in the mission to Peru, where we conducted several exercises in Lima and Tumbes, including cultural familiarization, visiting the Lima Peruvian Naval Hospital (Centro Medico Naval, or CEMENA) and their patients, Naval Medical Research Unit-SOUTH to learn about their mission and projects in the AOR, learning to conduct surveillance with mosquitoes, cysticercosis in pigs, small mammal trapping and baiting, and rodent necropsy. “

In addition to the classroom and field experiences, Capt. Gleeson and his fellow MTM course team members, LCDR Tupur Husain, MSC, USN, HM1 Danielle Spivey, USN, HM1 Michael Boateng, and HM1 Jayden Ryan, USN administered an online asynchronous MTM course from August 2023 to June 2024 for 287 students, which greatly expanded course access to military medical providers who cannot attend the in-person option.

“I came away with profound gratitude and appreciation for what our NMLPDC MTM team does, including coordinating with our partner organizations in the 8 OCONUS locations,” said Shobe. “An immense amount of work goes into the 4 weeks of coursework and labs. Bravo Zulu to the MTM Team!”

Continuing on the momentum of the highly successful in-person, virtual, and field exercises this year, the MTM staff will hold the following upcoming course options over the next year for tri-service medical providers: Online-Asynchronous course (September 2024 to June 2025), in-person course (July 7 to August 1, 2025 in Bethesda, MD), and field missions (1 August to 17 August, 2025) in Ghana, Brazil, India, Peru, Liberia, Honduras, Tanzania, and Thailand.

Interested tri-service medical providers can visit the CAC enabled NMLPDC course site for additional MTM course information at:

https://obiwan2.health.mil/sites/nmfsc/apps/ACR/SitePages/courseInfo.aspx or via email:

usn.bethesda.navmedleadprodevcmd.list.nmlpdc-mtm@health.mil

Naval Medical Leader and Professional Development Command (NMLPDC) is the cornerstone of Navy Medicine’s leader and professional development supporting Force Generation and Development of the Naval and Joint Forces. NMLPDC is a tenant command located at Naval Support Activity, Bethesda, MD.