Military medics, corpsmen could help fill shortage of primary care providers

Since Medics and Corpsman are primary care providers in the military there is no reason for them not to meet and exceed requirements of civilian medicine.

Most of the military medical personnel are much better trained than most civilian providers, but are not recognized as such.

The military needs to provided documentation certifying personnel in civilian roles, such as EMT, Paramedic, and specialty medical programs that are recognized as completing the training necessary to transfer from military to civilian.

http://www.usphs.gov

Guys, listen to me, OK? I've been all over this longer than God's been alive...I tried God only knows how long when I was in to be allowed to be on the clinical side, honest, I got virtually nowhere, no matter what I did...if you all really wanna do it, trust me, go on here, look up the Jr and Sr COSTEP, the USPHS analogues to ROTCs and USMC platoon leaders course (PLC), all of those programs, incl COSTEP, can be used for grad level, not just undergrad...I entirely applaud the gist of the article, plus, God knows, I'd have done that, or that whole thing to encourage enlisted to go med while in...you can also look up the USUHS, the service school in Bethesda, MD, and look into their PhD programs, as well as their DNP for nursing, if you're inclined to go that way...before my total perm disability, I'd wanted to go USPHS, I'd trained under one of their O-6 levels in what I was going for, it just never happened...now I'm not telling all of you that the gist of the article is wrong, I'm just saying I'd wanted to go to USUHS, and got just about precisely nowhere, I can assure you that a sizable fraction of all the academy and ROTC grads in the country, let alone civilian students, wanna go to that place...you wanna try osteopathic, to go for a D.O., as opposed to an M.D., by all means, have at it...you wanna try for an NP, being as they have unrestricted licensure to treat, without needing physician signoff, also have at it...there'd been a whole thing in USPHS about letting them have warrants, which the law allows, though they've never used them, to let paramedic level clinical staff, with at least associates, try to be of use there, I'd seen stuff on that, debating the whole topic...USPHS has a whole thing for use of their psych-related clinical staff to be used by the other services, on 3-yr tours, look it up, you'll see the site, I never understood why that was never opened to other clinical fields, to my way of thinking it certainly should've been, by all means...all I'm saying is, I spent a whole slew of time getting my clinical allied health doctorate before my total perm disability, I trained in 10 different teaching hospitals in three different states, treating some 10000 patients, assisting with some 200-300 surgeries, so believe me, I've been around just about every clinical block there is, aside from OB/GYN, pediatrics, and some more anesthesiology...I applaud the sentiment of the article, and, for those who want the day to day routine of patient care (which I definitely don't, I don't have the temperament for the sheer plodding routine of it, despite years of trying to adapt to it), I suppose what the article suggests could certainly be valid, I'm merely saying that, at least to me, the grass is always greener on the other side of the septic tank...I've wanted to volunteer with USCG Auxiliary, as they actually let clinicians volunteer in their facilities, as well...I've looked at Medical Reserve Corps (MRC), which is supervised by USPHS as part of HHS, for helping in natural disasters, hurricane relief, tornados, earthquakes, that kind of thing...I just don't have the temperament, as I'd said, and got totally disillusioned, after doing seven years of residency before my disability, of which I finished six...so while I can, as I'd said, applaud the sentiment of the article, having tried to actually go to USUHS many times, incl having looked at their PhD programs (which civilians can actually apply to, I've been told), I'm just about as utterly disillusioned as one human being can possibly be about clinical stuff...I've got four physicians in my family, all of whom, candidly, are, at least to me, utterly arrogant twits, with egos roughly the size of Mt Everest...I don't deny by any means the potential validity of using allied health to fill such a void, I just utterly despair of ever having been able to manage the sheer rote day to day banality of actually doing it, which, I can assure all of you, I had more than my share of, guys, honest...if you'd all wanna chat about the whole thing, I'd certainly be most willing, as well as to try to amplify on my various thoughts on the whole topic, and, of course, that being said, I likewise realize I'm being an inveterate, thoroughly disillusioned cynic, I entirely grant that, however, I just figured that, given what I know, I just figured you might all possibly glean something from my admittedly skewed, disillusioned perspective, such as it is, you know? I hope that was at least of some interest, if nothing else...I included the USPHS website here, just in case any of you might possibly care to look through it, OK? Many thanks....

When I ETSed in 1985. I transitioned very easily into civilian EMS. I understand that, at least in the Army, medic take their National Registry exam. SOF medics are certified as National Registry paramedics. While their skill set tend to be more expansive that equally certified civilian medics, their patient population tend to be health military personnel. Exception being those who work at facilities that care for defendants and retirees. I work in Richmond, VA, where for a time we were a training area for SOCM medic training. Haven been down that road years ago, when you have been treating primarily trauma in the military population, the first time you have to start an IV in a 350 grossly obese woman with CHF and COPD it can put you at a serous pause. A short path from a military medic/corpsman to a primary type provider does not exist at this time. Due to funding, even the paramedic to RN bridge programs have gone away, even during the current nursing shortage. The push now is for a BSN and those programs were basically a AS paramedic to ASN RN transition. The move into civilian EMS is not difficult. The excitement and brotherhood of the Fire/EMS/LEO family can fit very well for a vet. The support of your brothers and sister help make the transition to civilian much easier. Many find their home there. Going back to school for your RN is much easier. Been there, done that, too. PA school requires a BS to get in, as does medical school. Nurse Practioner requires a BSN. EMS May be just a gap filler for those who want to move on to the RN or further. If you aren’t careful, you may find a home there. As for me, I went from EMS/LEO to RN. I maintained my paramedic and still volunteer in Fire/EMS and as a member of Team Rubicon. You skills can take you far.