Who can help me better understand current Air Force medical specialties?

I have posed the same question and concerns to other state EMS and DoH groups and was met with silence. Then, those same agencies start public service campaigns about the shortage of EMS providers and Nurses. I reply to their campaigns with "look at your military medics who have lots of experience" etc, etc and I get no replies from the state. It's all a money making agenda for the universities. I'm in nursing school now and none of my instructors or professors care in the least about military medic experience.

Thanks. Need some human input.

What I meant was you can look at the website and make contacts with them. Top right of the webpage "live chat support" and a phone number below that.

Thanks!

It is true - I resemble that remark! Got my first EMT card at my first duty assignment in 1974 - at NRMC Portsmouth (the infamous Boone Clinic).

We have two missions -

First, get the DOD enlisted schools to expand their curriculum a little bit, so that they can award civilian EMT or paramedic credentials to their graduates (right now, except for the PJs, most lack something - geriatrics, pediatrics, etc. The officer medical schools are all civilian accredited, why not the enlisted?

Second, get DOD (or contractors) to provide "bridge courses" to medics and Corpsmen prior to discharge, so they can take a bridge course, get civilian credentials, and be able to move right in to an EMS job.

I know about the Army and Navy programs, but besides the PJs I don't know what USAF medics learn. Do they have the complete EMT curriculum, almost paramedic, or what?

Thanks!

I feel the pain. As a retired Independent Duty Corpsman, I was fortunate to find a niche job working for VBA in which I could apply my skills and knowledge. There were/are some opportunities to get certifications in the medical field but it would have been as an EMT- Basic, LVN, or phlebotomist. Not necessarily bad jobs but after being a Health Care Provider in-service and trained to run a medical department independent of a Medical Officer, would have been a huge step backward. Some states do or did offer higher level of certification, like California used to allow IDC's to challenge the RN board but no longer.
Part of the issue is going to be budgetary, we did a pilot program at Camp Pendleton of getting some Corpsmen their Paramedic license but it was determined that the cost and time away from primary duties was not worth it for the command.
Most commands have even closed their EMT schools and send the Corpsman to a civilian course to get their certification and even then it is only to fulfill a requirement for on-base EMS services.
It is a worthy cause but will be a hard fight to convince the bean counters that it is a prudent investment for the services, since for the most part the certification would mostly benefit the service-member.

"it was determined that the cost and time away from primary duties was not worth it for the command."

That is for sure the issue - and an IDC should be eligible for more than a basic EMT credential!

What we are going to try to do is take that discretion away from the local bean-counters and mandate it by statute. Wish us luck!