© 2024 Ideastream Public Media

1375 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44115
(216) 916-6100 | (877) 399-3307

WKSU is a public media service licensed to Kent State University and operated by Ideastream Public Media.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Is War Good for Medicine?

Military physicians have played a role in most medical breakthroughs - everything from treatments for infection and infectious disease, revolutions in trauma care, and innovations in telemedicine and prosthetic technology. While these advancements may have originated on the battlefield in the treatment of injured soldiers, the benefits have served all of humanity.

 

At the same time, these advances keep the United States military at full physical force, allowing it to continue to engage in long-standing conflicts that are often more deadly for civilians than the troops. Soldiers can now physically survive severe injuries; this also takes a toll on their emotional and  physical health, and there's been a noticeable increase in post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD).

 

So, is war good for medicine? How have the military medical breakthroughs benefited society - and what's next on the horizon? And, after years of continuous combat, are we offering our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines the best care we can or is there more we can do?

Vice Admiral C. Forrest Faison, III

Surgeon General and Chief, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, United States Navy

 

Toby Cosgrove, M.D.

Executive Advisor; Former President and CEO, Cleveland Clinic

 

Dan Moulthrop

CEO, The City Club of Cleveland

Natalia Garcia is a digital producer for the education team at Ideastream Public Media.