The Role 3 Multinational Medical Unit, situated at Kandahar Air Field in Afghanistan, is an austere single-story plywood building surrounded by monolithic concrete blast barriers. Do not let the severe exterior fool you, however, for inside you will find a world-class trauma hospital staffed by dedicated professionals of 7 different nationalities: Canadians, Americans, Dutch, Danish, British, New Zealanders, and Australians.
The hospital serves a broad population, from the more than 15 000 soldiers and civilian workers on the Kandahar Air Field itself to the tens of thousands of additional coalition soldiers stationed throughout Afghanistan. Care is also provided to Afghans employed in the country’s army and police forces and to Afghan civilians who need medical services to save life, limb, or eyesight.
The Role 3 Multinational Medical Unit provides outpatient and inpatient services, with treatment for conditions ranging from the common cold to severe blast injuries caused by improvised explosive devices (also known as IEDs). As of late winter 2009, the hospital boasted 8 trauma bays; a 13-bed ward; a 9-bed intensive care unit; 3 operating rooms; a radiology suite with computed tomography scanner; a medical laboratory; dental, physiotherapy, and primary care clinics; and a pharmacy.
Pictured on the cover are Lieutenant (Navy) Warren Prokopiw, Officer-In-Charge of Clinical Support Services and the Forward Medical Pharmacist, and Captain Allan Edwards, Clinical Pharmacist with the Role 3 Multinational Medical Unit. The picture was taken by Major Tim Barter, Advanced General Dentist, using a Canon EOS 10D camera and Sigma AF lens.
Footnotes
The CJHP would be pleased to consider photographs featuring rural hospitals and their pharmacy departments or residential care facilities taken by CSHP members for use on the front cover of the journal. If you would like to submit a photograph, please send an electronic copy (minimum resolution 300 dpi) to Sonya Heggart at sheggart@cshp.ca.