 Hey, good afternoon. How's it going? I'm Lieutenant Commander Andy Baldwin. I'm a Navy physician and just back from a very incredible trip to Kenya over in Africa where I spent about a month's time and Then came back here and I ran a marathon yesterday and then scooted down here to DC to be part of a really innovative social media experiment if you will and I want to Welcome everybody who's following along live stream today and welcome your question. So Just before we get to that though. I want to give an overview of what Navy medicine is Why I joined the Navy and why you should care so if you might not know this but 70% of the earth's surface is water and 80% of the world's population Lives near the water and then 90% of all the cargo and the Commerce that goes around the world happens through the water. So if that waterway isn't safe then Then we're not safe then you're not safe then you're not getting What you need and that's what the Navy does what it's why it's really important that we keep those secure waterways throughout the world So that's that one of the Navy's main missions is being out there forward presence deterrence so that people like pirates aren't interrupting the flow of commerce if there's a wartime that you're Not gonna take on the United States because we have a forward presence over there Navy medicine is Actually a six billion dollar enterprise I don't think many people realize that six billion dollars. There's 63,000 healthcare members as part of the Navy medicine team and we take care over one million Eligible beneficiaries that's all sailors marines And their families and then also veterans who've served our country so gallantly so I Made the decision when I was a high school student to go to ROTC at Duke to get my Commission as a naval officer and then also I got a scholarship to medical school to become a Navy physician and Subsequently went on to become a Navy diver a diving medical specialist and developed a true love for doing humanitarian assistance mission and Taking care of our sailors and Marines So I hope that gives you a somewhat of an umbrella Understanding of what Navy medicine does now how to how the heck did I end up in Kenya? He probably are wondering that well back in 2004 Tsunami occurred in Southeast Asia and We hadn't been very proactive before we had been responding to some disaster relief as the Navy But in this case the US hospital ship mercy went and responded and what we saw was the impact that this had on People's hearts and minds and how they viewed the United States Navy and How they viewed the United States and so one of the key parts of our maritime Doctrine for the Navy and the Marine Corps team and the Coast Guard became What we call manning training and equipping our force do not just respond when there is a disaster, but to train to provide humanitarian assistance throughout the world so I'm a third-year resident in family medicine at Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton and It's wonderful because one of our months that we're there. We have the option to do a full-out rotation Somewhere in the world and I chose to go to Kenya to a very remote and rural area there where I operated in austere environments and trained for just the type of humanitarian assistance or disaster relief mission that is a core part of our Navy medicine mission as part of taking care of our sailors and Marines and and their families and really Going after that key mission of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief if you don't train for it, then when it happens you're not ready to do it so that's what I was doing in Kenya and It's been an incredible experience and I'm happy to take your questions. We have an incredible team here right now That's going to be providing them to me. So Ask away and anything that you want to know about the Navy Navy medicine Dr. Andy Baldwin It's cool to be here and I and I hope you continue to stay with us So Paula is wondering What the Kenyans taught me I went over there and provided a lot of medical care and education, but you know the one thing that I really took away from Kenya Paula is the level of respect that those people have over there and How they operate as a true community and taking care of each other they have very little resources and A lot of them have suffered from HIV AIDS and passed away have suffered from malaria and They don't if you pass away you die and you can't eat That's just the kind of the way it goes. It's not life is valued in a different type of way over there Just based on the resources you have so in order to really Solve that I believe The area at least where I was you know the sense of community there was tremendous and I went and I spoke to groups of students and These high school students just sat there completely poised and That would never would have happened in the United States and every everywhere I went passing by cows and goats and sheep you're expected to shake a stranger's hand and if you pass by somebody without greeting them it's seen as a sign of disrespect so They really taught me a lot about the sense of community and frankly it brought me back to The days when when I grew up in Pennsylvania in farmland there, so thanks for a question Susan asks whether it's possible for others to do rotations like I did and Navy medicine absolutely. That's why I Join Navy medicine and that's Why I'm talking with you today to tell you how you can do these rotations in remote areas as part of other medical school training programs sure it could be possible, but I've Been to over 40 countries now throughout the world providing medical care Serving the United States Navy as a Navy physician and if you wanted to stay in one place and not move around and not have these international experiences Don't join Navy medicine if you want to have those opportunities absolutely come our way and You'll be glad you did question about whether I had spent any time on our Navy medicine hospital ships and indeed I have I Deployed with the US hospital ship comfort in 2009 to Haiti Central America and South America Actually just prior to when the comfort responded to the crisis in Haiti after the earthquake So it's exactly why we do these type of missions the fact that we were able to go and respond so quickly To the crisis in Haiti was due to the mission that I was part of in 2009 And then let me tell you why it's so crucial and it helps us back here in the United States as well from a public health standpoint When I was down in Nicaragua and Columbia and El Salvador the types of diseases that I was seeing Down there are things that I just read about in textbooks that you very rarely see here in the United States and so as Healthcare providers being exposed to that and having that experience and treating that and bringing that knowledge back to the United States is crucial and in further Crises that come up us as Navy healthcare providers Having that knowledge base now. We're more adept at treating these type of illnesses and I know nowhere did I see that more than in Kenya this past month the number of malaria cases that I treated the HIV AIDS The parasites that so many of the patients that I saw had a lot of kids didn't have any shoes and the route that Certain infections can penetrate Animal-borne illnesses rabies and brucellosis that you get from cows all these things were very eye-opening to me to see and It's why I love Navy medicine so much that you get such a breath of experience. It's not the same old things that you see in the u.s. In a common medical practice So thanks for being with us in we're gonna have another question right now. Cappy Kevin would like to know what would you tell med students finishing school who are unsure about choosing family medicine as a specialty? So what would I tell medical students that are finishing school about choosing family medicine as a specialty? Well, I'm a big family medicine fan Obviously, I'm a family medicine resident and I didn't always used to be that way I actually came out of medical school and I wanted to be a surgeon I did my internship in general surgery at the Naval Hospital in San Diego and then it was really my operational experience after that internship that opened my eyes to the the true benefits of being a family physician all the humanitarian assistance missions that I did the The breadth of care that you can provide as a primary care provider and how much I loved the continuity of care seeing my patients Come back and get better and how gratifying that was that's why I chose family medicine and as a family medicine doctor in the in the Navy The things that you can do are wide-reaching you can be a physician that helps people Serve underwater on ships on the water up in the air you can be on a battlefield with the Marines You can be in hospital settings You can be very intensive in maternal and child care and you also do can do a lot of global health work From a public health standpoint. So if you're looking for a lot of different options You're someone that may get bored easily doing just one thing family medicines for you And the best family medicine training programs around are in the Navy. Trust me X summers Would is asking how do you prepare emotionally to deal with such an intense experience as yours? In Kenya recently. I'm traveling with a team to Ethiopia in a few months. What should we prepare ourselves for? So how am I doing emotionally right now, I'll be honest with you I coming from living in a mud hut for a month in rural Kenya and seeing the type of things that I did every day and then going and running back-to-back marathons and jetting down here today and back to the United States where there is definitely a Some culture shock Hey, I wanted to give a plug out To the wounded warrior hiring conference, which is going to be live streaming tomorrow Excuse me Wednesday, Wednesday morning at 8 a.m. So the wounded warrior hiring conference check that out The question before we went down was about how someone should prepare emotionally for a trip to the third world country developing nation where you're really going to see It's a pretty emotionally challenging thing and I Definitely am readjusting getting back to the United States You know what however you can deal with it by By writing it out by talking to people, but there's definitely a lot of what we call compassion fatigue that can occur when you see some of the Unfortunate things in impoverished areas and I think the thing that you Can best do to prepare yourself to go over is Go over with an open mind and try to Not go over with such an American mindset that your definitive medical care will be provided These are different countries your your largely visitors in in these areas and you need to Realize that they don't have the same type of healthcare systems that we do and Really it's that perspective that you gain You know, which you come back with a completely different Almost paradigm shift on the way that you view Our lives here in the United States and having that experience as a Navy Physician and Navy healthcare provider is I think crucial to be able to operate in times of need when we are on humanitarian assistance missions or on disaster relief missions and I Definitely even just talking about it right now helps me to to process a lot of what I saw and did over there Hey, you know, I gotta give a shout out to the Navy corpsman I just took the taxi over here from the train station in DC and You never know where you're gonna find someone that's been a Navy veteran. This guy was a Navy corpsman I was telling him I was coming over to do this and he's sporting a Navy captain on the side It does global force for good you know Navy is everywhere and it's Something that you can immediately connect to and have a dialogue with that's what it means to be part of the Navy and Marine Corps team and So I just gotta give a shout out you go Navy global force for good. All right, we'll go to the next question now Okay, Jonathan asks could you discuss the dual mission of Navy healthcare? And the warfighter role as well as the humanitarian role and how the Navy uses healthcare to spread the message of peace and hope Great question from Jonathan about there's a dual role that we have as a Navy in war fighting and and then also the humanitarian element from Going over and making friends and providing peace and it's the Navy medicine standpoint we take care of The sailors and Marines that are out there on the battlefield that are in submarines that are on ships that are in the air protecting them taking care of them if they get injured and then the medical diplomacy side is where we go out and we help to instill a sense of security by Providing health care to those in need and by so doing you gain trust and there's more order and there's less propensity for terrorism and by creating a stronger secure World and by making friends. That's what I love. It's a what we call a soft power and it's what we're doing more and more of In Navy medicine great question Jonathan. I take it that you probably have some Navy medicine experience and good on you Courtney wants to know who What personalities who your who is your favorite person to run with at the marathon New York yesterday? It was my favorite person to run with in New York yesterday You know actually it you know between Mario Lopez and Apollo ono I mean Apollo is a great friend of mine and you know he came out there and he rang it ran a heck of a race But the Jenny Finch who's the Olympic softball player actually started dead last and and then every person that she passed she Gave some money to charity for and so I think she passed upward of Like 25,000 people so I didn't actually run with her But I thought that that concept of starting last and doing it for charity was a was really cool. So 50 close to 50,000 people ran in New York yesterday. So it was a it was an honor to be out there and I Was running for charity and thanks for that question And Mike It was also as a triathlete says his Achilles left foot is crackly and wants to know what the causes may be Mike you're a triathlete and you have a left crackly ankle or Achilles Amen, you need to join Navy medicine or join the Navy So that I can see you as my patient and then I'll take care of you. All right sound like a plan Lucy would like to know how you were able to culturally connect with the Kenyans during your recent trip So a big part of Kenya is Obviously their culture and their beliefs and they a Lot of it was just being open-minded Again, I lived in a mud hut for a month. I ate ugali pretty much every meal, which is there From their corn flour mixed with mixed with water and I also sang a lot of songs with them. I tried to Show the utmost respect. They're very ceremonial and everything that they do and I also love to run with them Believe it or not every everybody runs there as much as we try to promote health and exercise here in this country You don't need to do that over there because every kid as soon as they can walk is running And so every morning I would get up and go running and even the cows over there run so those are some of the cultural things I was able to embrace over in Kenya and I Also tried to teach them some of our American culture Most importantly How we as health care providers in the United States truly Take the Hippocratic oath and we'll provide medical care No matter whether they you can pay for it or not as one of the things that I got pretty upset about over there was There You can't pay for medical care It's tough and you won't get it and a lot of you see a lot of people die So that's probably the hardest thing I dealt with when I was over there Susie would says asked about Healthy lifestyles you do a lot of work with children in the US regarding healthy healthy lifestyles How much of that was translatable to the Kenyan children you work with? great question from Susie about the healthy lifestyles and here in the United States versus overseas and It's it's that's an interesting question because Here I've done a lot You know childhood obesity is an epidemic here in the United States and the amount of chronic disease We're seeing it and our children at an early age heart disease diabetes It's just disastrous and so I speak a lot on the importance of physical activity a healthy diet and That's something that's very important for our sailors marines and their families as well It's what I talked to all my patients about each and every day. I see clinic now going over there to the to Kenya I was in a very rural area and a place where as I mentioned kids are running everywhere they go and Where everything that they eat is not processed. It's grown very fresh and so here I was in front of a group of hundreds of students and what I usually would talk about About hey, you need to be active. Hey, you need to eat healthier I couldn't really say that and It put me in an interesting position one of how to describe the kids in the United States What I could talk to them about is the importance of believing in themselves like just a little thing like a pair of shoes or Talking to somebody having someone talk to them that you can believe in yourself Here's the way you need to be healthy to wear shoes to Practice good hygiene to drink clean water providing those things and getting an education. Those are the things that are going to lead to their ability just to to realize their dreams to succeed and So it was definitely a different dichotomy in an impoverished area You see a much different Approach to talking to these children. So thanks for that question Susie and If you're interested in Navy medicine, please pursue that Susan would be very interested to know what other areas of the world can Navy medical professionals Expect to have the opportunity to work as well So Susan anywhere there's water even places where there isn't water. Navy medicine is there Now whether it's below the sea on ships up in the air or with our Marine Corps team out on the battlefield We have naval hospitals worldwide I've been stationed in Hawaii. I've been over to Bahrain in the Middle East, Kuwait Italy Japan All throughout Southeast Asia and we also have a Very the majority of our forces of our Navy medicine team is here stateside The big three hospitals that we have are in San Diego Horsemouth, Virginia, and here in Bethesda, Maryland near Washington, DC They also have regional hospitals one of which I practice out in Camp Pendleton, California So that's one thing about Navy medicine if you're up for it if you want to travel the world There's there's a place for you in Navy medicine Varun would be interested to hear if there's any one aspect of Navy medicine you could change if you could There's one aspect of Navy medicine if I could change I would Well, that's a tough one. I always say that the greatest decision I ever made in my life was joining the Navy and I was a farm boy from Pennsylvania and hadn't traveled outside of the United States until I was 20 years old and that's when I was with the Navy and Since then I've been to 40 countries. I've worked with the Best team I've ever been a part of the people that you meet in the Navy well, you'll be friends with for life and Just the fact that I have been fortunate enough to be able to get an education have it paid for by the Navy and then To serve my country doing what I love truly what I love is part of a global force for good in these humanitarian assistance missions that I've been on If the Navy if Navy medicine will continue to send me and the other healthcare providers out there Practicing medical diplomacy humanitarian assistance The more I can do that the better Brenda would be interested in hearing about what you're doing in the Navy today So in the Navy today, I am a third-year resident in our family medicine program It's one of our academic training programs that is offered at the Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton out in Southern, California I have approximately 10 months to go in that training program and then after that I will go on and Serve in a capacity. They're on board ship with the Marine Corps team. I Could be with a dive unit again that I really don't know but I'm gonna be talking with my detailer about that and As long as it involves the capacity to practice global health care on there Mike has a question about your thoughts on how can you combat athletic injuries and Produce so many great runners Yeah, you know that the two top runners yesterday at New York City Marathon were both named mutai Jeffrey And then he got first smashed the course record and then a manual mutai got second And you know the when I ran Nairobi Marathon last weekend. There were about 300 elite Kenyans in the in the front pack and The the thing that produces a my opinion these great Kenyan runners is that they're doing they've run You know thousands of miles by the time they're Ten years old they run everywhere they go. It's their mode of transportation. They don't have cars they They don't have motorcycles. They they walk for hours. They walk and run for hours on end as it means to survive and It's been known in their country and at altitude where they train that this is a way to provide for your family to Succeed and become a great runner and so that pride they have in running Is something it's almost instinctual there as part of their culture and I Love training with them. They're the most gracious and and giving people and before I left I I brought over four bags full of sneakers and soccer balls and Even my my watch I gave to the nice boy Isaac who ran with me every morning. That's what humanitarian assistance is all about is You know, they're gonna remember Somebody part of the US Navy team. Yeah, that's been helping them to live their best life Oh Donna asks what what have you learned from your time on TV? And would you would you go on TV again if you had the opportunity? What have I learned from being on TV? That's what Donna asks. Well, I Went in as I said a TV virgin I didn't really didn't know what reality TV was all about then I went on the the bachelor four years ago and From that you you learn a lot one about yourself about how much editing they do after the fact and How important it is to always project your your your true self and your true values and if you live by your values and You continue on that path. There might be a lot of things that happen in life, but if you're able to project your thoughts and And help others going on TV and the public platform that it gave me has allowed me to do A lot of good will I go on TV again? Not in a reality TV Show type of way if it's a documentary that highlights what we do is part of Navy medicine as part of the team Global force for good. Absolutely. I will and if it's a documentary that helps with the public health issue global health issue absolutely, I will and I'm very I I'm gracious and thankful for the time that I had on television no regrets But I wouldn't do that type of show again There's a question from Twitter about sailors deployed around the world, especially ships and subs in Small environments any recommendations to remain fit at sea? It's tough The question is about remaining fit at sea and when you're on a Los Angeles class submarine which I've been in the past Any space is it is it is very crucial? And so we actually will jam these air climbers or treadmills into the engine room and you get the nuclear reactor right there And you're wearing your dosimeter or making sure that you're not getting too much radiation And the sub is going this way and that and you're trying to stay on the treadmill and avoid that water pipe above your head Hey, if you're determined to do it you can do it use a lot of stretch bands a lot of plyometric exercises even running in place and It's tough, you know, you don't have a Vast field or track where you can work out obviously on board a ship or a sub But if you're determined to do it, which you should be you can make it happen Simone and Simone and asks about volunteering in Kenya The main hurdle that she dealt with was feeling like she couldn't help She asked I wonder if you ever feel like that and how'd you handle that situation? That's a great question Simone about feeling of being helpless in certain situations in Kenya and I Definitely felt that way. I can recall it one day, especially where I had two patients that were gravely ill and needed health care attention at a hospital and the hospital there Doctors were on strike for a variety of reasons and these patients didn't end up making it and We didn't have the resources. We didn't have the antibiotics at hand. We didn't have the What these patients needed to get to get care and as a medical provider As a Navy doctor, I knew what we needed but Just did not have those resources and this the structure that was there wasn't supporting us and That's a time where again, you need to take yourself out of your mindset here in the developed first world and realize that This is the way things are here and sometimes you can't do everything You can just do to the greatest of your ability with what you have at that present time Got a question from Navy intern His question is as a Navy intern about to be assigned as an undersea medical officer Are there opportunities to participate in humanitarian assistance and disaster response mission? Well, hey Who ya I'll tell you that right now. You're Going the right route as a undersea medical officer. That's what I did and who ya deep sea and there are always opportunities in the Navy to do humanitarian assistance mission and You'll get there and no matter where you choose to go. I encourage you to Talk to everybody around you and tell them that if a mission comes available that you're the man to do the job, you know, so seek it out and make it be known and The opportunities will find you I guarantee you there's a lot more opportunities to do humanitarian assistance missions within Navy medicine than there are in the civilian world. Okay on Twitter Exercise works has asked any chance you clever medics could design an easier way of giving adrenaline to arrests than IV Interesting question that I'm not sure exactly what we're doing in terms of giving adrenaline IV. I know there's other routes that are being looked at subcutaneously Intramuscular endotracheal tubes But what I can tell you is that we have a very robust Navy Medical Research Center and So much of what comes out of what we see and treat on the battlefield or Underwater or on ships or in the air is Translated back in helping our medical care here in the United States And for instance the the combat trauma care that the research that's come out of that is being used each and every day Now in trauma centers around the United States the malaria research That we do through the Navy Medical Research Center is cutting edge and is helping to provide Malaria cures throughout the world So if you're interested in research, you don't just need to be a physician in Navy medicine, but our research teams are constantly innovating and traveling around the world to do so thanks for your question Andy is asking via Twitter. What surprised you most about your recent trip to Kenya? Sandy my recent trip to Kenya what surprised me most about it. Oh wow I was very surprised one by the level of respect and Dignity that these people maintain it in such an impoverished area it would not be uncommon to see a Someone walking or running in a full suit and tie surrounded by muddy areas and cows and also I mentioned earlier, but the The formalities in which they greet everyone who passes by them and How much that sense of community plays into their their culture was really eye-opening and many times I Said wow, you know the American mentality of you know get it done very individualized is Much different over there where we have this great sense of community in many ways it reminded me of Navy community Navy medicine structure in which we are so intricately connected and it's definitely a team mindset versus that of a individual Thanks for that question Melinda is asking continuing the discussion of Kenya. She's asking what efforts do you see? Being done locally to prevent the spread of HIV AIDS while you were there Melinda great question about HIV AIDS and the progress that's been made over the past decade in HIV screening the education on what HIV AIDS is and how it's transmitted family planning and the help that's been given from Pharmaceutical companies and from numerous governments around the world to provide To provide the medicines. It's it's outstanding and USA ID and concert with many others around the world these organizations including The US Navy have done a lot Towards educating people on this their rates have gone from upwards of 40 percent down to less than 5 percent. It's really a remarkable story on how How key education and provision of resources can help and really save lives if the trouble is now You have a lot of orphans and taking care of them Is what I saw there's numerous homes there Taking care of these kids that don't have parents and you see a lot of grandparents and aunts and uncles taking care of a large group of kids and That's so so important Michelle has a question about the Military and the Navy's detailing system She wants to know how you became a resident of camp panel and was this something you applied for or were you given orders to go there? So the whole detailing system in the Navy is is something where you try to Get the best fit for for both parties involved. Obviously there are needs of the Navy where Where there is water where there are Marines where there are sailors You're gonna have a need to treat so I'm not gonna be able to go to the middle of the country Maybe another branch of the service might be better for that my ability to Be part of the family medicine program at Camp Pendleton was due to My applying for that position and in getting accepted into it and There are other family medicine programs that are tremendous So Jacksonville, Florida has one Pensacola, Florida Camp Lejeune, North Carolina and also up in Bremenham Washington and so Those are also optional programs that I could have done many residents will train in and outside institutions and And then come back into the Navy and serve their time as physicians Michelle question and she wants to know what the path to becoming a Navy medicine professional is So if you want to be part of the Navy medicine team if you like what you're hearing and you want to follow a Path similar to me or similar to some flight surgeons out there or orthopedic surgeons or OBGYN docs or You want to be a physician's assistant the Navy nurse Navy dentist if you want to be part of the Navy Healthcare team the best thing to do is to go on to the Facebook and Look at the Navy medicines page like it send a tweet to at Navy medicine and Really get engaged with the conversation familiarize yourself of what Navy medicine is all about and through that you can find your local recruiter to talk to and We'll set you up on the path to becoming a part of the Navy medicine team Okay, and We've got time for one last question and this one is from Eric in Los Angeles one last question from Eric in Los Angeles All right, he's very interested in Navy corpsman and how long the EMT nursing process For corpsman would be what does it take to make a Navy corpsman? so Eric to become a Navy corpsman first kudos for wanting to go that route I think Navy corpsman are the you know, they're the true heroes amongst us. They're the ones that are the most decorated People in the military and all of our history. They're out there Right there on the battlefield taking care of our sailors and Marines to do so to become a corpsman you enlist in the Navy and you go to Navy Station Great Lakes and you go through boot camp and then you pro-rate Once you take the exams Saying that you want to become a Navy corpsman and then you'll go to core school, which is currently Taking place now down in San Antonio, Texas as a joint venture amongst all the military branches and After that you differentiate on where you want to go whether you want to be a Corpsman as part of a dive team if you want to be a corpsman as Part of a fleet Marine Force with the Marines if you want to go on a ship if you want to work in a hospital Whatever you want to do you state that and Pursue that route and if you got any questions you can always Hit me up on Facebook or Twitter. I'm at dr. Andy Baldwin or go to the at Navy medicine Twitter handle or go to the Navy medicine Facebook page and Ask away and we'll get you where you want to go. That's one thing. I piece of advice I have for everyone and I've sure learned it in the Navy's if you want something if you have a dream Go for it. Ask for it. Let it be known. Don't just expect that something is going to be given to you And I hope that you listening today. You've learned a bit more about the Navy medicine team I had an incredible experience over in Kenya operating in a steer environment learning Better ways and techniques to provide a humanitarian assistance care. I'm grateful to my family medicine program back there at Camp Pendleton Marine Corps base at the hospital there in Southern California. I'm grateful for the Navy for giving me this opportunity and I Want to thank captain serrat and the folks at chin foe for putting this on today We apologize the server crash. There were too many people Wanting to log on so next time we got the increase our capacity and If you got more questions we Oh, yes one last thing so coming up It is Veterans Day. It's just a number of days away and we're trying to reach 400,000 fans on our US Navy Facebook page. So do us a big favor. We're close and Go online go on Facebook and like the US Navy I'm Navy Lieutenant Commander Andy Baldwin coming to you from Washington DC and It's been a pleasure being with you this afternoon. Thank you