International Medical Corps Training Manual: Unit 13: Orthopedics
This manual seeks to provide a resource for the training of health workers who would serve in under-resourced areas during conflicts or disasters. The purpose is to train field health workers quickly and give them the skills to treat the majority of the wounded and ill in situations when whatever previous health care system there may have been is overwhelmed. Developing capacity and self-reliance by training people from affected areas empowers individuals and to regain control of their lives and destinies.
Based on a “Systems” approach the manual covers basic anatomy and physiology and then focuses on the symptoms, physical findings, natural history, and differential diagnoses of the illnesses and injuries most likely to be encountered. Treatment protocols are outlined, using those medications and materials likely to be found in under-resourced environments, including the generic medications of the World Health Organization Essential Drugs List.
This manual is also meant to be carried into the field as a ready reference for field health workers, including medics and community health workers, as well as more highly trained medical personnel who may happen to find themselves practicing out of their areas of expertise. This manual does not intend to supersede local or national healthcare systems or protocols, but to provide an adjunct in an emergency when, as often happens, the perfect may be the enemy of the good.

The Manual comprises seventeen units:
1 Cardiology
2 Dermatology, Immunology, and Allergic Disorders
3 Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders
4 Ear, Nose, Throat, and Dental Disorders
5 Genitourinary and Renal Disorders
6 Gastrointestinal Disorders
7 Hematology and Oncology
8 Infectious Disease
9 Neurology
10 Nursing Care
12 Ophthalmology
13 Orthopedics
14 Pediatrics
15 Pharmacology
16 Pulmonary Disorders
17 Tropical Medicine

Founded in 1984, International Medical Corps is a leading first responder to natural disasters, conflict, and disease and is one of the most effective and efficient humanitarian organizations operating today.
In an emergency, International Medical Corps assists those in urgent need anywhere, anytime, no matter what the conditions, providing lifesaving healthcare and healthcare-related emergency services—often within hours. Speed saves lives during the initial hours following a disaster. Our Emergency Response Teams deploy fast and begin their lifesaving work immediately, even in the most challenging environments.
As conditions ease, our focus is training. Our programs pass essential skills into local hands, preparing those in disaster-prone areas to better withstand adversity. Embedding these skills into the community lies at the heart of what we do: build self-reliance. It gives people hit by tragedy a sense of ownership over their own recovery and the ability to shape their own future as they rebuild.
By providing healthcare through training, International Medical Corps goes far beyond simple direct delivery of aid—saving millions of lives while training thousands of health care workers who have in turn gone on to train others and care for their own communities. This multiplier effect is both high-impact and highly sustainable, helping the world’s most vulnerable recover, rebuild, and once again become self-reliant.
Since its founding, International Medical Corps has delivered more than $2.5 billion of training and program services to tens of millions of people in more than 75 countries.