NATO Internship Programme

NATO International Military Staff

International Military Staff, Logistics, Armaments and Resources Division (IMS L&R) 

Mission

To serve as the focal point for Logistics, Medical, Armaments, Research & Technology, Manpower & Personnel, Infrastructure and Finance issues.

Medical Branch

The Medical Branch is the IMS focal point for staffing and coordinating all matters relating to medical and healthcare requirements of the Alliance. In their capacity as the subject matter experts within the medical domain, the Branch provides timely and relevant medical advice to the L&R division and IMS as a whole. The Medical Branch supports COMEDS (Committee of the Chiefs of Military Medical Services in NATO).

Responsibilities of the Medical Branch

• IMS L&R Medical Branch Head is the IMS Advisor on medical issues;
• Liaison with the Strategic Commands (SC) to ensure that SC-generated medical policy, doctrine, and guidelines are consistent with guidance of the Military Committee;
• Provide the Medical Domain subject matter expertise, facilitation and inputs to the NATO Defence Planning Process;
• Review concepts, plans, policies, doctrine and standardization documents and provide advice to IMS on medical aspects;
• Support to NATO Partnership cooperation in the Medical Domain;
• Represent the IMS on medical-related conferences, workshops, meetings;
• Contribute to policy development and liaise with NATO civil planning bodies dealing with medical support provided from national and/or civilian sources;
• Initiate and operate the NATO Situation Centre (SITCEN) Medical Cell during exercises or Crisis Response Operations.

Tasks of the Medical Branch, where an intern could assist or provide support

• Review and provide input for and advice on medical aspects of defence planning;
• Represent Medical Branch at medical or medical-related senior committees, to include inter alia: COMEDS, the Research and Technology Organisation (RTO), Human Factors and Medicine Panel (HFM) and the Bi-Strategic Command Medical Advisors Group;
• Contribute to the development of the NATO policy on environmental protection and liaise with NATO civil and military bodies dealing with this subject;
• Liaise with United Nations / World Health Organization (UN/WHO) working groups to carry forward work in the areas of humanitarian assistance, disaster relief and logistic support for Crisis Response Operations;
• Liaise with the Weapons of Mass Destruction Centre and the bodies, panels, conferences dealing with medical aspects of Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) protection matters, to improve the coordination in medical support, and to prevent and counteract CBRN threats.

Possible topics of interest for an intern include:

• exploring medico-legal aspects of the law of armed conflicts;
• conducting a survey of national rules/regulations for the exchange of military patient medical records between nations;
• analysing the practical legal aspects of patient info exchange;
• studying medico-legal aspects of suboptimal treatment provided by NATO and allied medical personnel to host nation patients in order to assure sustainability of treatment after transfer to a host nation medical treatment facility;
• finding out medico-legal aspects of administering medications to patients on deployments without description in the patient's language.