How shall we train?

The prosecution of modern war and the competing missions of peacekeeping, humanitarian missions, and beneficiary care place great demands on the military medical system. Meeting the military medical training challenges of the new millennium requires the best trained and most experienced medical personnel possible. Various strategies for initial and sustainment (continuing) medical training are available to ensure that the medical force is ready for the next mission. Accredited programs both in and out of the military are the mainstay of training for both enlisted personnel and officers, with professional certification serving as the standard for competency. Clinical sustainment training can take place in military medical treatment facilities, civilian institutions, or a combination of the two. When direct patient care opportunities cannot provide the proper mixture of experiences to maintain certain skills, short courses, distance education, and patient simulators can play important roles. Because each training strategy offers certain advantages in different settings, it is likely that military medical departments will need to use all of them. An optimal training environment benefits from all strategies used, in combination or separately.