What have you seen Combat Medics do down range that was out of the scope of practice?

I made a response , question was do you know what intubation is, I think I could have worded it better, I meant no disrespect , if you can spell it I am sure you know what it is, again my apology and no disrespect .

I made a response , question was do you know what intubation is, I think I could have worded it better, I meant no disrespect , if you can spell it I am sure you know what it is, again my apology and no disrespect .

After the Army, "downrange", I whitnessed a former army medic and a former navy corpsman work together to save the life of a man on our team. To be brief, the local doctors, by their ignorance, were trying to kill our team mate. Our medical pros had to argue with the local doctors and guard their patient. They guarded and treated him 24/7, for a week until he was evacuated to home country care. He survived only because of those 2 pros. God bless the "Docs".

On the subject of Combat Medics, this fall is a motion picture called (Hacksaw Ridge) will come out. It's about the life of one of the greatest Combat Medics in history, Desmond Daus. I would recommend everyone on Rally Point watch it. A trailer is now available if you wish to watch it.

Not really downrange, but when I was at Carson, my Senior Medic used to drop his Med gear (hiding from the 1SG) and walk the line with us. He ran patrols with us, he pulled fireguard, etc. He basically turned himself into our Medical Grunt!

Started my career as a Medic. Scrubbed surgery from 17 to 21 years old. Absorbed knowledge at a
very fast rate. The two Surgeons I scrubbed with taught me to perform minor surgeries on my own. My eyes and hands , knowledge of anatomy became very good. I went on to study after my tour, earned a couple of college degrees, went back in the service to fly airplanes. Guess you could say I went from defense to offense. No one ever complained or questioned my ability. I found my fellow airmen appreciated anything I could do for them. Treat your medics well, they do work hard to earn your respect. Compassion is a strength not a weakness.

A combat medic in my unit had way too much to drink at a unit function, so some other combat medics took IV solution from our classroom supplies (we were a training unit) and flushed her out in the barracks.

In a perfect world once a medic hits E-5 they should be sent to the W1 course at Bragg. When I was tasked as a Medical OC/T with 1st Training Brigade USACAPOC I ran into a few senior NCOs that had not had the pleasure of having thoughtful PAs & Doctors that I had who went out of their way to train any medic that wanted to learn. These were medics that worked in hospital units or with a FST before getting transferred to a CA unit. They had no idea what it is like to not have surgeons with an OR right there. They would try to sharp shoot me about scope of practice or the proper way to package a patient. The NCOs that did this had no idea what is to have to wait hours for evac to arrive while trying keep someone alive all by your lonesome. If you are going by the official scope of practice people wll die. I am pretty confident in stating that there are quite few service members alive today because a medic did what they had to so someone could live. I have tried to train medics that believe because they outrank you they know better and they are usually the ones to tell you are going beyond the official scope of practice as laid out by AMEDD. This is why I think W1 should be required when a medic becomes an NCO, so the NCOs who lead are trained up as much as possible. We DO set the example. Well I did at one time before getting the blue ID card.

When I taught at the Medical NCO school we conducted and certified passers with the ACLS card, even giving Instructor Potential. Also, at the end of training we would have a hands on exercise known as the Goat Lab where an anesthetize goat would be provided for advances procedures such as cut downs, cricothyroidotomies, and chest tube insets ions. The soldiers working under the PA who are trained by him/her are actually working under his license/certification and they are responsible for medical actions the soldier takes. The soldiers are there to assist the PA and Docs and if the PA it's kind of the person on the grounds responsibility to utilize their personnel as the tactical situation requires. IMO of course.

This was not a combat situation and was long ago but I never miss a chance to give our medics a pat on the back. The only surgery that I have ever had in my life was done by an SFC medic at Ft. Jackson who removed a tumor from my neck. From beginning to end this medic handled all of my treatment and I was extremely impressed by his knowledge and professionalism.