Boston Area Liberation Medic (BALM) Squad

Basic Street Medic Training, January 10-12, 2003

This course is designed as a complete introduction to action medical knowledge and skills. The completion of this course will prepare you to serve as a street medic at political actions. Street medics also serve as a source of health care information and resources within their communities, and so the training is open to anyone who wishes to gain greater first aid/medical knowledge to use in their lives and to share in their community. We cover Basic Street First Aid (from treating bleeding wounds to splinting sprains and breaks to calling 911 for emergencies), Weather-Related Injuries, Street Operations Tactics, Initial Patient Assessment, Psychological First Aid, Chemical Weapons Treatments and Aftercare, and Stress Management and Treatment. We can also provide Skills Evaluations for folks who want them.

You do not need to have any previous medical or first aid training in order to attend this course.

What Information Will Be Covered in the Training?

Practical information on taking care of yourself and your friends if you plan to attend protest events. While the focus will be on urban street protests, much of the material may also be applicable to wilderness situations. This includes preparing for actions, personal care, affinity group safety considerations, weather-related hazards, detox and aftercare, and your questions.

Street Operations Tactics, including a presentation and discussion of codes of conduct and ethics, team makeup and teamwork, calling for backup, and dealing with police/EMS, how/when to move patients and how to conduct triage.

Basic Street First Aid, including Initial Patient Assessment, treating bleeding wounds, splinting sprains and breaks, calling 911 for emergencies, and weather-related injuries.

Psychological First Aid. How to recognize and assist people with emotional distress whether it results from physical injury, excessive stress, or traumatic experience.

Chemical Weapons Treatments and Aftercare. Covers a review of current chemical agents in use, a discussion of personal protection gear (gas masks, respirators, etc), and a complete introduction to tear gas and pepper spray decontamination and treatment protocols with demonstrations, hands-on practice and role-plays.

Schedule

The training will begin on Friday evening, January 10, and will continue through Sunday afternoon, January 12. Exact class times are TBA. We will provide specific information about the training schedule and other logistics to registered participants before the training weekend.

Food and Housing

We hope to supply some vegan food for participants during the training. We also encourage participants to bring extra (preferably vegan) food to share if they can. Also, on Saturday night after the training session, we plan to have a vegan dinner for all training course participants.

Housing during the training weekend is available on a first-come-first-served basis. If you will need housing, please contact the BALM Squad as soon as possible. When you request housing for the training weekend, please tell us about any allergies, dietary restrictions, or other special needs you have so we can try to accommodate your requests.

Costs

We have a sliding scale fee from $0 to $100 for this training course, and we welcome barter in place of money. We do not want financial restrictions to keep anyone from taking this course. We anticipate that our cost per trainee will be about $40, and we hope that donations from participants will cover our costs.

Our Trainer

Registration Information

Space for this course is limited, so please provide us with the information asked for below as soon as possible. Once we receive this information, we will reserve a space for you in the course. If your plans change, please let us know as soon as possible so we can let someone else have your spot. All information you give us is confidential, and will not be used in anyway that is not directly related to this training.

To register for the Basic Street Medic Training, write to the BALM Squad at bostonmedics@riseup.net or call us at 781 529-3642 and give us the information requested below. We expect this course to fill up quickly, so the sooner you register, the more likely that you will be in the course. We will have a waiting list if the course fills up. It is particularly important to contact the BALM Squad promptly if you are coming from out of town and will need a place to stay during the training.

Please provide the following information when registering for this training course:

Your Name:

Phone Number(s) where we can leave messages regarding the training:

Email Address:

Best way to contact you:

Best times to contact you:

The tentative schedule for the training is Friday, Jan 10 from 6 - 10 pm, Saturday, Jan 11 from 9 am - 6 pm, and Sunday, Jan 12 from 10 am - 5 pm.

• Can you come to all of the sessions?
• If not, which sessions will you miss?

Do you have any other concerns or considerations we should know about?