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Médecin de Guerre: Sauver des vies à l'hôpital Militaire de Kandahar
En 2009, le Dr Marc Dauphin s'engage dans une mission qui changera sa vie à jamais. En acceptant d'aller soigner les blessés à l'hôpital militaire de Kandahar, l'urgentologue des Forces armées canadiennes s'expose à vivre les pires scènes d'horreur de sa carrière, mais aussi des instants de grâce, des moments où la vie se révèle plus forte que tout. Ce témoignage nous fait vivre, de l'intérieur, son quotidien dans un pays défiguré par la guerre. Le médecin y relate les cas critiques qu'il a rencontrés et les choix déchirants auxquels il a dû faire face. Surtout, il rend hommage aux enfants, aux soldats et à toutes les victimes qu'il a côtoyées. Ce livre raconte aussi leurs histoires comme autant de leçons de courage et de résilience.
304 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
22 people are currently reading
158 people want to read
About the author
Marc Dauphin
5 books11 followersMarc DAUPHIN, MSM, CD, MD
Major (ret’d) Marc Dauphin was born in Montreal. He attended high school and CEGEP at Le Petit Séminaire de Québec (now Le Collège François de Laval), and studied medicine at Université Laval in Québec City. It was while he studied medicine that he enrolled in the Canadian Forces. Upon graduating, he served in Esquimalt BC, then in Lahr Germany. Upon completing his service, he practiced family medicine in Mont-Joli. Preferring emergency medicine, he moved to Rimouski where he worked in the ER and the ICU for eleven years. Moving to Sherbrooke, he practiced ER medicine there. He taught emergency medicine at both Laval and Sherbrooke Universities. He was also a coroner for 12 years.
In 2007, the CF approached him to serve in Germany, as a reservist, at the US Armed Forces Role 4 hospital in Landstuhl where casualties from Iraq and Afghanistan were stabilized before being evacuated to North America. Concurrent to this mission of stabilization and organizing the Air-Evacuation for our injured soldiers, Marc Dauphin also suddenly took on the added responsibilities of being the Officer Commanding the medical clinic at Geilenkirchen, 300 Km to the north. The 6 month mission turned into almost a year. For this, he was awarded the Chief of Defence Staff Commendation.
Upon returning to Canada, the CF once more approached him to take on the responsibility of being the last Canadian Officer Commanding the Role 3 NATO facility in Kandahar, Afghanistan. This he did, from April to October 2009, during a period where all records for numbers and severity of casualties were broken, mainly due to the Obama surge in troops. For this mission, he was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal which he received from the Governor General, His Excellency, the Right Honourable David Johnston, in 2011.
From 2010 to 2012, Major Dauphin was Base Surgeon in the 41st CF Health Services Clinic, in St-Jean, Montreal, St-Hubert and Farnham. During this period, he appeared as a spokesperson for the CF in multiple media, printed, radio and video. From September 2012 to February 2013, he was the Regional Surgeon for Quebec, in charge of the Valcartier, Bagotville, and St-Jean clinics.
Marc Dauphin retired from the CF in February 2013 because of age regulations. He has been married for 36 years, and has two adult sons, and two grandchildren. He is both a published author (L’anneau de Gabriele, Les Éditions Libre Expression, Montreal, 1998) and a painter.
He will soon (Fall 2013) be publishing a book (Combat Doctore) about his experiences in Afghanistan. He hopes to begin teaching at La Faculté de Médecine de l’Université de Sherbrooke (The Sherbrooke University Medical School), in the fall of 2013. With his wife Christine, Marc Dauphin is engaged in writing a seven book series of novels about a German family throughout the XXth Century.
Marc Dauphin earned the Meritorious Service Medal (MSM), The NATO Special Service Medal, the General Campaign Star, the Canadian Forces Decoration with bar (CD1), and a Chief of Defense Staff Commendation (2010).
Major (ret’d) Marc Dauphin was born in Montreal. He attended high school and CEGEP at Le Petit Séminaire de Québec (now Le Collège François de Laval), and studied medicine at Université Laval in Québec City. It was while he studied medicine that he enrolled in the Canadian Forces. Upon graduating, he served in Esquimalt BC, then in Lahr Germany. Upon completing his service, he practiced family medicine in Mont-Joli. Preferring emergency medicine, he moved to Rimouski where he worked in the ER and the ICU for eleven years. Moving to Sherbrooke, he practiced ER medicine there. He taught emergency medicine at both Laval and Sherbrooke Universities. He was also a coroner for 12 years.
In 2007, the CF approached him to serve in Germany, as a reservist, at the US Armed Forces Role 4 hospital in Landstuhl where casualties from Iraq and Afghanistan were stabilized before being evacuated to North America. Concurrent to this mission of stabilization and organizing the Air-Evacuation for our injured soldiers, Marc Dauphin also suddenly took on the added responsibilities of being the Officer Commanding the medical clinic at Geilenkirchen, 300 Km to the north. The 6 month mission turned into almost a year. For this, he was awarded the Chief of Defence Staff Commendation.
Upon returning to Canada, the CF once more approached him to take on the responsibility of being the last Canadian Officer Commanding the Role 3 NATO facility in Kandahar, Afghanistan. This he did, from April to October 2009, during a period where all records for numbers and severity of casualties were broken, mainly due to the Obama surge in troops. For this mission, he was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal which he received from the Governor General, His Excellency, the Right Honourable David Johnston, in 2011.
From 2010 to 2012, Major Dauphin was Base Surgeon in the 41st CF Health Services Clinic, in St-Jean, Montreal, St-Hubert and Farnham. During this period, he appeared as a spokesperson for the CF in multiple media, printed, radio and video. From September 2012 to February 2013, he was the Regional Surgeon for Quebec, in charge of the Valcartier, Bagotville, and St-Jean clinics.
Marc Dauphin retired from the CF in February 2013 because of age regulations. He has been married for 36 years, and has two adult sons, and two grandchildren. He is both a published author (L’anneau de Gabriele, Les Éditions Libre Expression, Montreal, 1998) and a painter.
He will soon (Fall 2013) be publishing a book (Combat Doctore) about his experiences in Afghanistan. He hopes to begin teaching at La Faculté de Médecine de l’Université de Sherbrooke (The Sherbrooke University Medical School), in the fall of 2013. With his wife Christine, Marc Dauphin is engaged in writing a seven book series of novels about a German family throughout the XXth Century.
Marc Dauphin earned the Meritorious Service Medal (MSM), The NATO Special Service Medal, the General Campaign Star, the Canadian Forces Decoration with bar (CD1), and a Chief of Defense Staff Commendation (2010).
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
November 24, 2013
This is essentially Dauphin’s thoughts on the war told in a series of events and anecdotes. There are some scenes that you can’t help but be affected by, such as the story near the beginning of the book about the guy trying to save his kids arm. As far as it being a glimpse into the world of the military field hospital, the book is brutally honest about what really happens to soldiers.
While the events can be moving the book as a whole is pretty inaccessible. It is jargon filled and some paragraphs feel more like a jumbling of letters then actual speech. I know the military loves its acronyms but when writing for a general audience the author should try and pull back on that a little bit. This book felt more like listening to the raw tapes of a military doctor talking then an edited work. There is no pacing in the stories and as a whole the book feels like it jumps all over the place.
This is one of those cases where a ghost writer should have stepped in and worked with Dauphin. In the hands of a skilled writer this could have been a riveting and emotional tale but as it is the book feels like an amateurish attempt at a memoir.
http://homeofreading.com/combat-doctor/
While the events can be moving the book as a whole is pretty inaccessible. It is jargon filled and some paragraphs feel more like a jumbling of letters then actual speech. I know the military loves its acronyms but when writing for a general audience the author should try and pull back on that a little bit. This book felt more like listening to the raw tapes of a military doctor talking then an edited work. There is no pacing in the stories and as a whole the book feels like it jumps all over the place.
This is one of those cases where a ghost writer should have stepped in and worked with Dauphin. In the hands of a skilled writer this could have been a riveting and emotional tale but as it is the book feels like an amateurish attempt at a memoir.
http://homeofreading.com/combat-doctor/
January 18, 2014
I first saw Marc Dauphin on Foreign Correspondent, Sally Sara's fantastic story of Marc. I knew I had to read this book. I was not disappointed. At times Marc seems blasé about the patients that come his way, and their outcomes, but you learn this is the thick hide all those who work in jobs like his must wear, and not without leaving scars. Thanks Marc for taking us inside the Role 3 Hospital , a fascinating insight. highly recommended.
July 14, 2022
“All right people, listen up. I know we're tired. I know we haven't had any sleep for hours, days even, for some. But these soldiers coming in have no one else to turn to. Were it for them. What were about to do for them will change their lives. It will change your lives.”
“My final thought is for those of our brothers and sisters who didn't come back, and who paid the ultimate price for the freedom we all enjoy freedom from ignorance, freedom from oppression, freedom to speak our minds, to agree or disagree, freedom to send our kids to school, freedom to worship or not, freedom to dress the way we want to. And simple freedoms like listening to music or watching a movie. The freedom to walk down the road without the fear of blowing up. Freedom to respect the flag… That same flag they saluted before they died. And the same one we drape over their coffins. Just remember that we all owe these guys.”
“My final thought is for those of our brothers and sisters who didn't come back, and who paid the ultimate price for the freedom we all enjoy freedom from ignorance, freedom from oppression, freedom to speak our minds, to agree or disagree, freedom to send our kids to school, freedom to worship or not, freedom to dress the way we want to. And simple freedoms like listening to music or watching a movie. The freedom to walk down the road without the fear of blowing up. Freedom to respect the flag… That same flag they saluted before they died. And the same one we drape over their coffins. Just remember that we all owe these guys.”
January 30, 2025
Dr. Dauphin describes the best healthcare system in the world, the Canadian Armed Forces' Role 3, where the delay between onset of pathology and medical care is 90 minutes. Not only is this far better than Canadian civilian health care (where the same delay is months or years) and American health care (where people die because they are uninsured), but it is better than the French Military's "special forces" health care where, as per Dr. Nicolas Zeller, the delay between onset of pathology and medical care is two hours to several days.
September 5, 2017
This book provides some insight into the reality of the war in Afghanistan from the perspective of the medical staff whose job it was to attend to the gruesome aftermath inflicted by weapons of war. Young soldiers evacuated to the field hospital with horrendous wounds, that in the past would have been fatal, but now with modern medical technology, highly skilled surgeons, nurses and technicians were being successfully treated. The book has good technical content allowing the reader to be present in the trauma bays while the patient was being assessed and stabilised.
Although a military field hospital with a primary role to treat wounded coalition soldiers; many Afghani civilians, Afghani soldiers and police, and even wounded Taliban fighters were were also provided with care.
This book is about the doctors, nurses, technicians and wards people on a 6 month rotation to Afghanistan, primarily from Canada, but also from other countries. The medical staff were full-time military, reservists and civilian professionals. The story is told by the author, Dr. Marc Dauphin, an ER physician.
He pulls no punches when describing the work undertaken. His descriptions are as graphic as the wounds themselves. The elation and 'adrenaline kick' of a busy trauma room with medical staff working to capacity, to the 'basement level lows' following the death of a young innocent child who could not be saved or of trying to explain to an elderly Afghani father that his son no longer had any legs and so could not support the family.
This was everyday work, often done with little sleep and the occasional rocket attack by the Taliban. Combine this with heat, sometimes in the 60's, dust and sand that got into everything, and the continuous grind of more and more work, not to mention the emotional high and lows.
The story ends with the end of the rotation and the adjustment back to 'normal life'. An adjustment not so easy for some!
A very good book, highly recommended.
Although a military field hospital with a primary role to treat wounded coalition soldiers; many Afghani civilians, Afghani soldiers and police, and even wounded Taliban fighters were were also provided with care.
This book is about the doctors, nurses, technicians and wards people on a 6 month rotation to Afghanistan, primarily from Canada, but also from other countries. The medical staff were full-time military, reservists and civilian professionals. The story is told by the author, Dr. Marc Dauphin, an ER physician.
He pulls no punches when describing the work undertaken. His descriptions are as graphic as the wounds themselves. The elation and 'adrenaline kick' of a busy trauma room with medical staff working to capacity, to the 'basement level lows' following the death of a young innocent child who could not be saved or of trying to explain to an elderly Afghani father that his son no longer had any legs and so could not support the family.
This was everyday work, often done with little sleep and the occasional rocket attack by the Taliban. Combine this with heat, sometimes in the 60's, dust and sand that got into everything, and the continuous grind of more and more work, not to mention the emotional high and lows.
The story ends with the end of the rotation and the adjustment back to 'normal life'. An adjustment not so easy for some!
A very good book, highly recommended.
November 2, 2016
For any military doctor, nurse, healthcare professional, medic or corpsman, this is a must-read. Also for anyone interested in these kinds of people or subjects it's highly worth reading.
Dr. Dauphin's writing is personal, authentic, and painful, and someday I'd love to meet the guy. I highly recommend viewing the video of the authors tv interviews - it adds an essential element to your understanding. I first saw the Kandahar hospital (you cannot imagine what it was like) in 2009, when it was extremely busy and I think it was about the time the author was there, when I was deployed to Helmand, and then I deployed to Kandahar when there had been already been built a beautiful new building instead of the ramshackle hut that had handled the busiest years of fighting. Heres a link: http://www.abc.net.au/foreign/content....
Another bit of supplementary material for the A-students out there is a short-lived Canadian TV series "Combat Hospital" http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1829891/. It's of course highly fictionalized, like the way "ER" tv show was so different from the real Cook County Hospital (we're all much better looking, obviously) but... in some general respects you get the flavor.
Lastly I'll add the 30 minute movie we made when out there in the new Kandahar hospital in 2014. The pace of action slowed, we had a rare group of people posted there, and so we made this video on our down-time. It's shot on-location at Kandahar, and the actors are our company mates. https://vimeo.com/156371050.
Dr. Dauphin's writing is personal, authentic, and painful, and someday I'd love to meet the guy. I highly recommend viewing the video of the authors tv interviews - it adds an essential element to your understanding. I first saw the Kandahar hospital (you cannot imagine what it was like) in 2009, when it was extremely busy and I think it was about the time the author was there, when I was deployed to Helmand, and then I deployed to Kandahar when there had been already been built a beautiful new building instead of the ramshackle hut that had handled the busiest years of fighting. Heres a link: http://www.abc.net.au/foreign/content....
Another bit of supplementary material for the A-students out there is a short-lived Canadian TV series "Combat Hospital" http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1829891/. It's of course highly fictionalized, like the way "ER" tv show was so different from the real Cook County Hospital (we're all much better looking, obviously) but... in some general respects you get the flavor.
Lastly I'll add the 30 minute movie we made when out there in the new Kandahar hospital in 2014. The pace of action slowed, we had a rare group of people posted there, and so we made this video on our down-time. It's shot on-location at Kandahar, and the actors are our company mates. https://vimeo.com/156371050.
December 1, 2013
Eye-opening, horrifying, celebratory, distressing, honest. These are some of the words that came to mind when I closed the book for the last time. Readers will cry when they read parts of this book, so have some Kleenex handy.
Combat Doctor is the story of Dr. Marc Dauphin, an ER doc who is also a Canadian Army reservist. He ran the Trauma Centre at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan for six months at the height of the war.
Dauphin's style is edgy — he spares no one the agony of death and injury in a war zone, but it is also an amazing testimony of those who save lives in extreme conditions. It is also celebration of the international staff's dedication and his leadership. Dauphin also tells his tale of PTSD that he suffered on his return to Canada. Illustrated, too, but with photos of the place and people not the blood and gore.
Highly, highly recommended. Everyone should read Combat Doctor, if only to learn the advances made in trauma care that will benefit everyone in the next five years.
Combat Doctor is the story of Dr. Marc Dauphin, an ER doc who is also a Canadian Army reservist. He ran the Trauma Centre at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan for six months at the height of the war.
Dauphin's style is edgy — he spares no one the agony of death and injury in a war zone, but it is also an amazing testimony of those who save lives in extreme conditions. It is also celebration of the international staff's dedication and his leadership. Dauphin also tells his tale of PTSD that he suffered on his return to Canada. Illustrated, too, but with photos of the place and people not the blood and gore.
Highly, highly recommended. Everyone should read Combat Doctor, if only to learn the advances made in trauma care that will benefit everyone in the next five years.
November 17, 2013
I don't know anything about war. This author does. He is Canadian, an ER doctor, and a preserver of life. He demonstrates why Canada has the international reputation it does in theatre of conflict. I learned how compassion is practiced in places where it has to be conserved. I would consider this essential reading for Canadians to understand ourselves, our commitments, and how we have to choose a place in a complicated world. You don't have to agree with author's viewpoints, but in the end this is a chronical of reality, and he provides enough education that you can draw your own big picture meaning from the moments of detail.
December 1, 2022
Excellent book
Thank you writing this very well written book.
Marc Dauphin book has shared an insiders view of the dedicated talented teams he led in outstanding and excellent urgent medical and surgical care shown to critically injured service personal and civilians in war torn Afghanistan.
Thank you writing this very well written book.
Marc Dauphin book has shared an insiders view of the dedicated talented teams he led in outstanding and excellent urgent medical and surgical care shown to critically injured service personal and civilians in war torn Afghanistan.
January 17, 2023
Awesome Necessary Read
A beautiful terrible story of a Canadian Battlefield surgeon and the amazing teams who cared for wounded soldiers, civilians and even children in Afghanistan. They developed strong bonds in the intense dangerous situations but coming home proved dangerous as well. May God Bless and Keep them.
A beautiful terrible story of a Canadian Battlefield surgeon and the amazing teams who cared for wounded soldiers, civilians and even children in Afghanistan. They developed strong bonds in the intense dangerous situations but coming home proved dangerous as well. May God Bless and Keep them.
December 31, 2013
I received this book as an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Very compellimg read. I was nervous to read since my husband is in the military, but I feel it is a story every american should read. Gives good insight to what is happening over there
Very compellimg read. I was nervous to read since my husband is in the military, but I feel it is a story every american should read. Gives good insight to what is happening over there
October 21, 2015
Kudos to Dr Marc Dauphin and the Canadian Forces Health Services for serving our country at KAF. This book brought me to tears a few times...just can't believe what war zones are like. A must read...eye opener about PTSD as well.
April 6, 2021
Outstanding.
Thank you Dr. Dauphin for your service. Outstanding and gripping, fascinating reading. This from an airline pilot, not a medical professional. You did good work. Feel good about it.
Thank you Dr. Dauphin for your service. Outstanding and gripping, fascinating reading. This from an airline pilot, not a medical professional. You did good work. Feel good about it.
July 18, 2013
Adrenaline-racing, heart-pumping action.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews