Quote:
Originally Posted by SeanM
|
Thanks for the link.
I would have to disagree with that assessment because to me it's a little short sighted. The 18D course past and present was not designed to be a stepping stone into a civilian job. The people that created the curriculum don't want men to go through two years of training, spend one year on a Team and go elsewhere, leaving a Team with no Medic. No Medic means that the Team is non-deployable.
The EMT-P certification was approved to give 18D's the certification necessary to allow us to work in non-military Hospitals BTW. It was not set up strictly to provide an 18D with a job later on.
There are jobs in the medical field out there, and an 18D would make a great candidate for a lot of them, but you'll have to go through some form of training to get one for a variety of reasons. I was told that even with the NREMT-P certification, some states may still want you to get state certified, do a train up, etc. Kinda the same situation in reverse with some 18D students wanting to challenge the 18D course based on past qualifications.
Would a FP Physician tired of his job make a good 18D? On the FP side, he would be the go to guy for questions, but he might not be able to land navigate. If he can't find a point and get to an area on time, what' the point in having him? That's just one example and there are thousands more on both sides of this discussion.
I heard that there is talk in the Medical Head Shed at Bragg to get the 18D students through some type of PA certification within the existing course curriculum. They would not get nationally certified as a PA until right before they retired. Theoretically they would then enter the civilian world ready to go. I don't know the accuracy of that rumor and would not bet the house on it. I think it would be a long term solution to an age old problem we have in the community with keeping the best and the brightest. Some old school and new school heads will collide if this idea matures into fruition I'm sure.
The 18D training helped me and wally, no doubt about it, but we still had to go through some form of training to get our current jobs. We're both doing OK thank the good Lord.
Follow your heart. Don't do something you're not ready to go all the way with. The guys on the Team's deserve 100% of you and more.
Good luck.