Reply #6: Combat medics actually have a wider skill set [View All]

[nadinbrzezinski]

that set, in their first training round they are EMT- Basic, like any of their counterpart in civilian life. When they join combat units on patrol they are what you would call intermediate EMTS, aka they can start IVs and use SOME MEDS to fully fledged EMT-P... a few, like Corpsmen attached to subs, are actually well beyond an EMT-P. They are actually certified Physician Assistants, which is well beyond an EMT-P training wise.

What they would need when they come home is a 20 hour course to set what are the local standards and procedures and the state test. Suffice it to say Combat Medics are also certified through the national registry, NAEMT... but the registry is not always recognized by the states.

Realize that on base, combat medics also staff them ambulances that respond to emergencies in military housing. that includes all those other civilian maladies like diabetes, heat strokes, strokes, heart attacks et al. And even young people in good shape get them as well.

Unofficially we used to take american military medics out on calls... and their skill set were just as good as mine, and fully equivalent. Moreover, an urban EMT working for your local fire department... can handle as much trauma as a combat medic, why the military has combat medics and combat surgeons train in what is colloquially known as the gun and knife club... aka the inner city in major cities, and your local trauma center. Now your local EMT-B working for your private Ambulance company... might get a "hot call" once a year... if they are "lucky." Most of the time their skills degrade since they spend most of their shift doing soft transports.

They'd need about a 20 hour course to learn the do's and don'ts. Hell, if I wanted to work in San Diego and moved to Riverside, I'd have to recert fully since medical directors have a slightly different standards on how you do things...