Forgive my ignorance here folks. My son is getting ready to sign up and he wants to be a medic. I know nothing about the training they go through or where (I think Ft. Sam). If anybody can tell me a couple good links or just give me some good info I would really appreciate it.

http://www.goarmy.com/life/basic/index.jsp

This is a link regarding basic training. its sugared up and may not be exactly what your son will do, but it outlines what goes on.

http://www.cs.amedd.army.mil/68w/


This is a link for his medical training. For the first half (about 8 weeks) he will go to classes the majority of the day so he can pass his test to become a EMT-Basic. The second half is Army medic training where he'll be in the field, learning things that for the most part apply to combat medical situations.

Great, thanks for the links.

What exactly is your son wanting to do long term? Is he wanting to make the Army a career or to get his medic certs and work as a civilian? I ask only to let you know that most states don't recognize the EMT Basic. He would need to get his Intermediate or his paramedic on his own to serve outside of the Army.
My DH is in 68W right now. They told his class last week that they would all be deployed within 6 months and not all of them should expect to come home breathing. (gulp) Maybe this was a tactic to try and wake up some of the immature kiddies in the group, I don't know. There are a lot of stupid 18 year old treating this class like a frat house.
Just get all the info you can and make an informed decision. It is a vital MOS and one to be exercised with pride. Whatever he chooses, best of luck. I will be glad to answer anything I can as honestly as I know.
Blessings

quote:

Originally posted by invisiblewife:
My DH is in 68W right now. They told his class last week that they would all be deployed within 6 months and not all of them should expect to come home breathing.

I think that is SOP for all the DS's at Fort Sam. Of course, some do deploy very soon after graduation (like my son - and he did come home breathing), while others will see the inside of a stateside hospital for most of their enlistment.

quote:

Originally posted by ASA_Lives:

quote:

Originally posted by invisiblewife:
My DH is in 68W right now. They told his class last week that they would all be deployed within 6 months and not all of them should expect to come home breathing.

I think that is SOP for all the DS's at Fort Sam.

I can assure you it isn't. Whiskeys aren't the only "medics" training down at FSH .

quote:

Originally posted by ugajeepgirl:

quote:

Originally posted by ASA_Lives:

quote:

Originally posted by invisiblewife:
My DH is in 68W right now. They told his class last week that they would all be deployed within 6 months and not all of them should expect to come home breathing.

I think that is SOP for all the DS's at Fort Sam.

I can assure you it isn't. Whiskeys aren't the only "medics" training down at FSH .

Correction - I meant 68W DS's. A lot of Medics come out of training, hearing the same thing about deployments.

Yep, they were told that 95% of them would be deployed within 6 months.

I totally understand.

My Whiskey friends told me the same thing.

Its just easy to forget that other MOSs fall under the Medic umbrella. Please don't forget about us, we've got your backs .

I"ve got some input to contribute concerning a comment made earlier. Here in California, an EMT-Basic certification is most definitely recognized and is the minimum requirement for applying to the majority of Fire Deptartments nation-wide. In addition, many if not all Ambulatory services such as AMR will hire EMT-B's regularly.

Not only that- but most Paramedic schools require that an individual work as an EMT for at least 6 months before being eligible to continue on to their training as a Paramedic.

EMT-Intermediates are all but phased out and if your son wants to pursue being a paramedic- More power to him because it will greatly increase his odds of being taken on by a Fire Dept. (if that is indeed his goal).

Basicly the point that I am attempting to make is that becoming an EMT is an absolute necessity if your son is pursuing employment in the EMS industry. You need to be an EMT-B in order to move on to more advanced certificates and training and there is no way to side-step this fact.

This of course excludes careers in Nursing- an EMT-B cert. is not a necessity when pursuing that line of work in the civilian world. (at least in California)

quote:

Originally posted by ArmyHusband:
Yep, they were told that 95% of them would be deployed within 6 months.

The funny this is they told us that too, and about 50% of the CO was NG/AR. Of the people I keep in contact with, about 15% are in Iraq or getting ready to go. It's all trying to scare the kids to take their training seriously and hope that some of it sticks with them. BTW, only like two of my DS's were actually freeking medics!! Go FSH I'm not ever going to get started about how bad our company was. Grrrrr. Delta

quote:

Originally posted by invisiblewife:
What exactly is your son wanting to do long term? Is he wanting to make the Army a career or to get his medic certs and work as a civilian? I ask only to let you know that most states don't recognize the EMT Basic. He would need to get his Intermediate or his paramedic on his own to serve outside of the Army.
My DH is in 68W right now. They told his class last week that they would all be deployed within 6 months and not all of them should expect to come home breathing. (gulp) Maybe this was a tactic to try and wake up some of the immature kiddies in the group, I don't know. There are a lot of stupid 18 year old treating this class like a frat house.
Just get all the info you can and make an informed decision. It is a vital MOS and one to be exercised with pride. Whatever he chooses, best of luck. I will be glad to answer anything I can as honestly as I know.
Blessings

He is going in with an open mind. If after his first enlistment he likes what he is doing he will stay, if not he will get out and try to get into school to be a doctor. I told him that being a medic isnt going to get him accepted into school as a doctor.

but it wont hurt either. He will have a leg up on the medical knowledge, have the money to pay for school and the discipline and maturity that comes with being in the military and the real world experience. He will care about what he is doing more than most of his fellow students in college. The Army is a fine place for a young man to start off his career as a doctor.

quote:

Originally posted by ArmyHusband:
but it wont hurt either. He will have a leg up on the medical knowledge, have the money to pay for school and the discipline and maturity that comes with being in the military and the real world experience. He will care about what he is doing more than most of his fellow students in college. The Army is a fine place for a young man to start off his career as a doctor.

I agree with you a hundred percent, I simply meant that I wanted him to understand that being a medic wont make him a doctor. I learned this first hand, I thought being an MP would get me onto a police department and they couldnt have cared less about me being an MP.

I have been a medic for the last 4 years and have not deployed yet. It really depends on where u get stationed.

One more thing. When I signed up at MEPS they told me I was going to be a "health care" specialist. Then I get to Fort Sam Houston and the big banner on my barracks says "Welcome to Combat Medic School"

quote:

Originally posted by 11321309:
I"ve got some input to contribute concerning a comment made earlier. Here in California, an EMT-Basic certification is most definitely recognized and is the minimum requirement for applying to the majority of Fire Deptartments nation-wide. In addition, many if not all Ambulatory services such as AMR will hire EMT-B's regularly. ...

Hi,
Its been a while since I was a paid on call fire-fighter/probationary EMT at a firehouse, (16 years already) but, I've got a question.

My intial EMT was only an EMT-A, then they had the Paramedic. I can tell that things have obviously been added in between the two and also removed and re-allignend. The easy way I explained my postion to non-medics was that I was an "ambulance driver/paramedic assistant" basically. I was not authorized to give pharmacotherapeutics or to start IVs.

So, is it now emt-a, emt-b and emt-p? If so, it probably was in 1989-1993 when I was active.

Thanks,
MyrnaGen

MyrnaGen-

It is now EMT-B, EMT-I, EMT-P.

EMT-B's are able to give strictly BLS care.. basicly nothing intrusive.

EMT-I's are few and very far between from my experience. This certification allows technicians to insert IV's, ET tubes, and initial cardiac drug therapy.

EMT-P's can do it all (concerning EMS care) plus much more. Including invasives such as chest and trachea tubes and life-saving pharmacology.

You may as well go for the EMT-P since both EMT-P and EMT-I require a residency. (just a thought though)

It is my opinion that although neither of these is considered "definitive" care- Paramedics save more lives than MD's.

quote:

Originally posted by Quest4More:
MyrnaGen-

It is now EMT-B, EMT-I, EMT-P.

EMT-B's are able to give strictly BLS care.. basicly nothing intrusive.

EMT-I's are few and very far between from my experience. This certification allows technicians to insert IV's, ET tubes, and initial cardiac drug therapy.

EMT-P's can do it all (concerning EMS care) plus much more. Including invasives such as chest and trachea tubes and life-saving pharmacology.

You may as well go for the EMT-P since both EMT-P and EMT-I require a residency. (just a thought though)

It is my opinion that although neither of these is considered "definitive" care- Paramedics save more lives than MD's.

Ah, Thanks, gotcha.
So the A was changed to B and they dropped the few invasives, (airway insertion basically). I test for NCLEX-RN tomorrow and hopefully once I am a nurse I can go for the Advanced certificate of life support, (ACLS) and see what happens from there. However, as much as I like working in hospitals there are things I miss about the 'field'.
MyrnaGen

MyrnaGen,

Good luck on your NCLEX-RN test tomorrow.

EMT-B's can insert airways- but are limited to the use of OPA's and NPA's. However, it is not within their scope of practise to insert endotracheal (ET) tubes.

What about the combi-tube?