Tactical Emergency Casualty Care Course

Tactical Emergency Casualty Care (TECC)

Developed by NAEMT’s Prehospital Trauma Life Support (PHTLS) Committee, the TECC program is based on guidelines from the Committee on Tactical Emergency Casualty Care (Co-TECC) and the Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) program. TECC incorporates lessons learned from military experience and adapts them to the civilian field of tactical medicine.

This 16-hour course focuses on reducing preventable deaths in tactical situations. Topics covered include hemorrhage control, surgical airway management, needle decompression, strategies for treating injured responders in hazardous environments, pediatric patient care, and techniques for dragging and carrying victims to safety.

The TECC program is built around three key phases, which have been successfully implemented by TCCC-trained personnel in combat situations in Iraq and Afghanistan. These phases are as follows: 

• Direct Threat Care
  Care that is rendered while under attack or in adverse conditions.

• Indirect Threat Care
  Care that is rendered while the threat has been suppressed, but may resurface at any point. 

• Evacuation
  Care that is rendered while the casualty is being evacuated from the incident site.  

TECC focuses on the medical care provided during these phases and offers guidelines for managing trauma in civilian tactical or hazardous environments. Although TECC has a tactical focus, it adopts an all-hazards approach to care, addressing situations outside the typical operations of most EMS agencies, such as mass casualty incidents or active shooter events.

NAEMT’s TCCC course is accredited by the Continuing Education Coordinating Board for Emergency Medical Services (CECBEMS) and recognized by the National Registry of EMTs (NREMT).

Upon successful completion of this comprehensive two-day course, participants will be awarded 16 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) for either Basic or Advanced level providers.