Education

These unique courses provide special operations active-duty military medical personnel instruction on austere patient management through an intense didactic and hands-on approach. The major focus of these courses is to provide participants with the skills and knowledge to evaluate, stabilize, hand-off or maintain critically ill casualties of trauma within remote, resource-limited settings. Skills stations using task trainers, cadavers, and tissue models are used to demonstrate and provide hands-on training of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Each course emphasizes training on point-of-care ultrasound, point-of-care lab testing, airway and ventilation management, anesthesia and analgesia, as well as numerous invasive emergency and organ-specific surgical procedures. The courses also progressively incorporate high fidelity trauma simulations which allow for blending of the knowledge and skills learned with performance aspects pertaining to planning, resource and time management, teamwork, and situational awareness.

Mayo Clinic in Arizona began offering these courses in 2012 and has hosted more than 1200 United States Military learners from all over the world. The success and demand of the military medicine programs has given Mayo Clinic the opportunity to expand its initiative and host these educational programs tri-site involving faculty from across the Mayo Clinic institution. 

2026 course dates:

• February 2-6 (Critical Care Focus)
• April 20-24 (Critical Care Focus)
• September 14-18 (Critical Care Focus)
• Oct 26-30 (Critical Care Focus)

This course offers education and hands-on training in musculoskeletal and pain medicine. The topics covered will include peripheral joint and extremity anatomy, physical examination, and treatment including demonstration of ultrasound scanning technique and practice in ultrasound-guided procedures using cadaveric models; interventions for acute and chronic spine pain; techniques for regional anesthesia catheter placement; management of upper and lower extremity fracture, dislocation, fasciotomies; and management of service members with amputation.

2026 course date:

• March 24-25

The human performance course provides new tools to optimize physical performance and minimize injuries. The course will emphasize the key elements to achieving optimal performance while promoting physical and mental health and preventing injuries. Exercise physiology, nutrition, metabolic stress and interventions, nutrition and supplements, exercise scheduling and periodization, cognitive health will be covered through lectures. Laboratories will include running analysis and physiologic monitoring. Military medical personnel equipped with this new knowledge will guide the training of the military personnel under their care.

2026 course date:

• March 26-27

This course offers education and hands-on training in management of head, neck and brain injuries to US military medical personnel. The topics will include airway management, hemodynamic and electrolyte management, increased intracranial pressure diagnosis and treatment, and eye/facial injuries. Using cadaveric models, laboratories will include ICP monitoring and management with craniectomy and bolt placement, cricothyrotomy, canthotomy for ruptured globes, and suturing of maxillofacial lacerations. Simulations will emphasize knowledge obtained throughout the course and prolonged field care management.

2026 course date:

• Sept 22-24

The Unconventional Medicine (UM) Course is a four-day experience designed to enhance the participant’s abilities in medical planning and support of operations carried out in environments with limited support. It includes a diverse cadre from the Mayo Clinic and military communities with experience in civilian healthcare, military medicine, and unconventional and irregular military operations. Students will be challenged through small group problem-solving, medical simulations, and skills labs. Access to the program’s online content is also provided. Participants will leave this course better prepared to solve medical problems in a challenging environment while accomplishing mission objectives.

2026 course date:

• April 13-16

This course addresses the evolving challenges of patient evacuation in modern conflict zones, where reduced access, novel transport methods, and prolonged timelines demand more than traditional TCCC principles. Learners will explore tactical and medical complexities across diverse platforms and environments, from point of injury to final destination. The curriculum emphasizes interdisciplinary team dynamics, patient packaging, hand-offs, nursing care, trauma and critical care, and platform-based medicine—including autonomous systems, MEDEVAC, CASEVAC, rotary, and fixed-wing transport. Participants will apply foundational care methods for critically ill and injured patients at various stages of evacuation and engage in innovative approaches to test and assess new solutions in evacuation medicine.

2026 course date:

• August 10-14