The Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19), in conjunction with Canadian military medical personnel, hosted three trauma care courses from July 21 to July 23.

The courses included advanced trauma life support, advanced trauma care for nurses and pre-hospital trauma life support.

Participants in the classes, both those taking the course for credit and those auditing, included Mercy corpsman, nurses, doctors and U.S. Naval Academy midshipmen. Medical personnel from participating nations also attended the courses, which included lectures, presentations, practicals and comprehensive exams accredited by the American College of Surgeons.

"Any anticipated trauma, either aboard Mercy or elsewhere, would require a high level of medical skills," said Lt. Cmdr. Ressurreccion J. Macaspac, training officer aboard Mercy. "The courses, especially ATLS, enables providers the ability to offer advanced medical care in various situations."

With a multinational field of students, the courses offered real-life scenarios to train students to respond to a range of humanitarian assistance/disaster relief situations.

"We want to make sure that we pass on the skills of trauma care," said Canadian army Maj. Andrew N. Beckett, ATLS student course director and instructor. "If any humanitarian mission or multinational operation occurred we want our interoperability to be seamless."

The courses are part of the greater umbrella of medical exchanges taking place between the nations participating in exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2014.

"We're building relationships between our services and countries," said Beckett. "It all goes toward helping provide better care for our patients."

This year’s RIMPAC marks the first time in the exercise's history that hospital ships have participated. Twenty-two nations, 49 ships and six submarines, more than 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC exercise from June 26 to Aug. 1, in and around the Southern California coast and Hawaiian Islands.