Leah Mathew - Department of Emergency Medicine
3, 2, 1 blast off! When you think of emergency medicine, you likely don't associate it with anything beyond Earth and its inhabitants. But today, we’re broadening our horizons and considering how Emergency Medicine can play a role in space!
As space tourism is slowly becoming more accessible, there is a new need for healthcare professionals who specialize in space medicine, leading to the development of a two-year Space Medicine fellowship under the category of Emergency Medicine.As space missions become longer, it becomes more likely that a medical emergency could happen beyond the sky. Thus, we need doctors trained in emergency medicine and space safety skills to work alongside astronauts (and tourists) during their preparatory training, in space-bound vessels, or aboard the International Space Station.
There are many different things to take into consideration in space medicine. One of the most important points discussed in research is how the lack of gravity in space drastically affects our hearts, circulation, electrolytes, immune function, muscles, etc. Our bodies are equipped with many tools to self-regulate and adapt to space. To be a space physician, it would require a deep understanding of all the changes that take place in the human body while in space and how healthcare treatments will have to be altered to address them. This is no simple feat which is why space-crafts are a unique and complex medical setting. The article closes out with the sentiment that although we have learned many new things about medicine in space, there is still a lot that we don’t know. Space medicine is a field that will need further research and the fellowship will need to continuously evolve as the need and our understanding of it increases.
References:
Stewart LH, Trunkey D, Rebagliati GS. Emergency medicine in space. J Emerg Med. 2007 Jan;32(1):45-54. doi: 10.1016/j.jemermed.2006.05.031. PMID: 17239732.
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