The aim of this handbook is to provide guidance for trained anaesthetists working for the ICRC and to offer advice in areas where practice will differ from that in their home ountry. It is designed to supplement the practical training
given in ICRC war-surgery seminars and to support the work of the ICRC in war surgery. Anaesthetists working in austere environments will generally be expected carry out a far broader range of tasks than at home. For example, they will often need to help with the triage and clinical management of patients in the emergency room and on the ward, as well as preoperatively assess and optimize all patients for surgery. As team members, they need to be prepared to assist in decisions regarding the limits of treatment for patients, given the capacities of the staff, the workload and the available resources. At various times they may also find themselves acting as theatre runners, porters, lab technicians and assistants in sterilization services.