Former medics find themselves on bottom rung in civilian field

SSG (Join to see), the army has done exactly that already. Medics are required to pass and maintain a National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians - Basic level of certification. This is a civilian organization. AMEDD C&S did this specifically because medics wanted to have a viable job opportunity when they left service back around 1999-2000. The problem there is that EMS falls under the Dept. of Transportation for most states. There isn't a federal regulating agency for this. So the NREMT is nice, but does not automatically translate into a job. Most states offer reciprocity, but that still requires foot work on the part of the veteran.

The real difficulty is that there isn't an honest equivalent in the civilian field for what we do as medics. We are expected to be everything from health technicians (taking vitals, etc) to just shy of surgeons (when operating in isolated areas). All of that on a Basic EMT license. The civilian health care market is more about continuing medical care, not trauma.

The other issue is consistency. Even if the medic deployed, the experience will vary greatly from patrols in "the shit", to a trauma bay in a larger facility, to not doing a whole lot of anything medical. So quantifying medical experience from a combat deployment is just shy of impossible. It falls on the medic to be able to translate his/her specific experience. The Transition Assistance Program does a good job of helping with this.


I've recently separated after 10 years as a medic. I chose not to continue in the medical field. Namely because I knew it would not compare to doing medicine as an Army medic. Having worked in an Army hospital, I saw some of the politics involved in the job and decided it wouldn't be worth the trouble. The best part of being a medic was NOT working in a fixed facility hospital. I enjoyed being out with the men on the ground. There was more responsibility in terms of providing that medical care. There is no position in civilian health care that does that kind of work. Certainly not at entry level.

SSG Genaro Negrete That's better than nothing, however I don't believe a Medic should be satisfied with EMT for anything more than a stepping stone to becoming a Paramedic.

SSG (Join to see) , that's true. Many do pursue the paramedic certification. It wasn't until recently that the Army recognized this an is making all flight medics require a paramedic certification to remain MOSQ. Unfortunately, for non rated medics, the Army will only pay for the minimum required training for the MOS. So those that want more will typically use their TA. But TA doesn't cover the ride-along hours required for licensing nor does it cover the actual licensing exam. A full course at a college will only get your a certificate of training which would allow you to take the licensing exam. Then there is the concern with continuing education credits and patient interaction ours in an ambulance. Those may be tough to come buy for the average medic. AMEDD helped solve the issue by joining with the NREMT to come up w/ an all inclusive training program that would cover both the continuing ed credits and the hands on practice evaluations. Medical Education and Demonstration of Individual Competence (spells out MEDIC...funny that) in TC 8-800 lays it all out. It facilitates the recert process.

Now I'm not saying that some medics are too damn lazy to pursue this added certification, but not all will end up following into a medical field after service. Those that do will already have some motivation to investigate viable avenues. The Interservice Physician Assistant Program certifies and licenses PA's to work in army and air force medical services. A large bulk of those applicants are prior medics/corpsmen.

My thought has always been that medical licensing and certification should be linked to a medics NCOES progression. For example, a 68W goes to WLC; a prereq for that medic would be active certification as a CPR instructor. It helps the unit (they can certify any military personnel) and it bestows team leader level responsibility on that soon-to-be NCO. In order to attend ALC, the medic needs to be certified in Advanced Cardiac Life Saving. Again, it keeps the NCO one step ahead of the medics he/she will be managing in either a clinic or battalion aid station. For SLC, the medic will be required to attend either International Trauma Life Saving or Pediatric Advanced Life Support. This ensures the E7 is in a position to train more medics as a Clinic NCOIC or a battalion's Medical Platoon Sergeant. If the NCO decides to ETS at any point, they now have more certs to back themselves up with when looking for medical jobs in the civilian sector.

combat medic 31 years as well as lpn 20 years iworked in civillian ers the docs trusted me better than rn staff i got burned out because the work i was doing didnt match the pay and training i had its time that the civi world wake the fuck up.

Pretty much. Should it cover more? I honestly don't know. Here's what i DO know: We're always the one teaching the nursing students when there's a joint op, not the other way around.

SPC (Join to see) I'm pretty sure that the Army has a handle on what a 68W needs to know. And I am willing to say that EMT-P probably needs to know more than that. But to have the entire 16 week course = zero in transition is beyond the pale IMHO.

SPC Jan Allbright, M.Sc., R.S., speaking as a former 68W, there's a reason why there isn't a direct and painless path from the military to the paramedic field and that reason is that the knowledge base simply isn't equal in the aspects that our civilian counter parts care about. Combat Medics are supremely capable of handling trauma, but anything clinical is largely put to the wayside for us in our training. A&P, pharmacology, and cardiac are the three biggies that a 68W is quite simply not up to snuff on to the degree required to get paramedic certified, and those are not fields of study that are quick and simple to go over.

The Army could incorporate these things into 68W AIT, but the obvious prohibiting factor in that is the inevitably sharp increase in initial entree soldiers washing out of the MOS which in turn creates a manpower issue in a critical MOS. I'm sure that with a shift in training doctrine this could be overcome, but what I'm saying is that this is not some easy thing that can be slapped into place. This would be a fundamental shift in the training and selection of Combat Medics.

SGT (Join to see) I will give you the A&P, pharmacology, and cardiac, but why does ABSOLUTELY NOTHING transfer out?

I have seen 4N0s that would definitely fall into that category. Had a SSgt under me once go to start an IV, tried 4 times before he came to me for help... the kid had been starting the IV with the catheter running away from the heart (essentially, backwards). Had to move him from the ER

that would work ok...sorta...lol...dang....

As a 68W for the last 8 years, and was a civilian EMT for 2 years prior to entry, and now a Paramedic and EMS Training Officer, it is most often that an individual doesn't know how to portray their skills to a civilian employer. It is important to have and present the school house standards of education to employers so that they can better understand a 68W's skills and knowledge. I have always been a top candidate in hiring processes and have only lost positions to others with more years of experience.

i'm retired havent been involve with med for a while but i'll garuntei i can put an iv in without difficulty, us old bones been doing it for years, can do it in my sleep