By Julie Lucas, Naval Hospital Jacksonville

Imagine being hand-selected to lead medical training in a foreign country where their main language is a different one than your own. This recently became reality for Expeditionary Medical Facility 150-Mike Lt. Cmdr. Patrick Marsh, who currently serves as the associate director of medical services at Naval Hospital Jacksonville. Marsh led a two-week Trauma Nursing and Surgical Trauma Training at the Angola Armed Forces Military Hospital in Luanda, Angola, Africa.

“I prepared for the job by reviewing material, bringing resources and had an outline of the events to best deliver as much helpful information as possible,” Marsh said.“We did that and then had to pivot as there are just some resources we have that they will never have.”

Marsh was given 18 topics to instruct on, all involving Emergency Trauma nursing, Enroute care and Mass Casualty. He then facilitated a week for an Air Force Emergency Room trauma surgeon to teach to a group of Angolan surgeons.

Three days following training, a real-world event happened where the students got to use the training they had just experienced.

“One of my trainees after going through our Mass Casualty drill found themselves triaging 18 patients, three of which were dead on arrival, and 15 were critical,” Marsh said. “This Angolan Flight nurse stated that it was so helpful we just went through this scenario. It just prepared her even more for this. It was as if we were meant to be at that place at that time to help prepare the team for what was going to happen.”

According to Marsh’s leadership, his enthusiasm not only for medicine but also adventure is inspirational.

“Lt. Cmdr. Marsh’s approach to medicine goes far beyond four walls and treating patients. He has a global mindedness and is taking Navy Medicine to multiple continents. I appreciate the diversity that he not only brings to our facility, but shares with others in his passion for training,” said Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command Jacksonville Commander Capt. Craig Malloy.
Traveling to another country is not intimidating to Marsh, who during his 22-year career has been stationed multiple times OCONUS and visited 111 countries.

“I always take advantage of being in a unique location, and I got to go surfing and caught about 100 of the longest waves of my life,” Marsh said, a native of Chicago, Illinois. “Most people just hang out in the hotel, which I could never do. I don’t care if it’s a 4 or 5 star hotel, because I won’t remember the hotel 5 days from now.”

Marsh currently doesn’t have any future trips on the horizon but as he says, “These are never planned, these adventures find me. I am just happy to be asked to help support the bigger mission. I really can’t believe this has been my job for the past 22 years.”