tactical EMS

[ThatPrivate]

I started paramedic school this pass Monday. I completed EMT-basic class in December. During my basic class my instructor talked about different career opportunities within EMS. Other then 911 the one that interest me the most is tactical EMS. I plan on taking a tactical medical operator course over the summer and get my TEMT certificate. My question is how do you find TEMS jobs? I plan on living in either Georgia, South Carolina, Maryland or Virginia and working primary 911 in a medium busy system (8-12 average call per shift). If anyone can help me out I would greatly appreciate it.

 

[DesertMedic66]

Check with the various police departments. They should be able to tell you if their swat medics are working police officers (aka have to get hired with PD) or if they outsource to ambulance companies/fire departments.

 

[mycrofft]

See other threads and PM people identifying themselves as tactical medics and ask them personally!

Don't be afraid, we don't bite,


but Luno might shoot you if you make a sudden move.

 

[Luno]

Shot out...

I started paramedic school this pass Monday. I completed EMT-basic class in December. During my basic class my instructor talked about different career opportunities within EMS. Other then 911 the one that interest me the most is tactical EMS. I plan on taking a tactical medical operator course over the summer and get my TEMT certificate. My question is how do you find TEMS jobs? I plan on living in either Georgia, South Carolina, Maryland or Virginia and working primary 911 in a medium busy system (8-12 average call per shift). If anyone can help me out I would greatly appreciate it.

I'm not gonna shoot. But what I am going to do is provide a little bit of a lens to help "that private" focus. When looking at any "cool guy" job, rather than focusing on how cool it is, how about looking at what unique skills or abilities that you can bring to your team.

How has your life brought you to the conclusion that you would be a good fit, or even what differentiates you from the next "cool guy" who wants the t-shirt? Do you bring a wealth of patient contact and clinical time, and working in environments that they work in? Do you even understand what they do, much less what your role would be, and how you're a good fit?

Are you physically fit? Because if you are in the stack, you will be carrying a standard load out, as well as medical gear, and expected to not only move well with the team, but when they're hurt, your work starts, so if your fitness level is the same as your team, you're anywhere near ready.

How is your planning/project management skills? You're going to need to be a constant resource for that commander, not only having an idea of how to stabilize prior to evac, planning the evac, coordination with local EMS and resources, contigency planning, risk assessments, but also medical assessments for your team prior to any activity.

How are your instructor skills? You need to be able to instruct a version of TCCC to your team, or whatever you feel that your team will need to be able to perform should you not be there or are incapacitated. You may have to brief local EMS on how your operations are conducted, hot/warm/cold zones, and how patients will come from your team to their transport.

How is your understanding of finances as they impact an organization, and balancing the needs/wants of a team, as it affects your plan as the medic? There are limited budgets for most teams, and everyone wants the latest "cool guy" gadget, can you adequately define why the IFAKs for your team need to take priority? Can you sell why the medical training you need to give your guys is more important than another round in the shoot house which everyone else wants to do? Can you convince your guys that it's important?

Do you have a solid understanding of what is going on with high velocity trauma, and the skills that are needed to stabilize it until your team can exfil the patient to transport?

What is your understanding of protective operations and how medical planning fits into the operational plan?

All these questions are things that I've learned the hard way. As a tactical medic, the title is cool and you can wear the t-shirt, the reality of what I've learned is that you are a worried mom, constantly planning, mitigating risk, juggling a bunch of balls, trying to keep bad things from happening, fighting for your team, stealing everything you can't get authorization to buy, training, researching, clinical rotations to keep your p/erishable skills fresh, and if you're not on a dedicated team (very few, even fewer with medics) all that, balanced with your regular job.

All that is after you've found a team that will work with you. There is no week long course that is going to teach you this job. Any EMT can find a podunk police department with a couple of fat guys in black and velcro with M-4s and tag along, maybe even get the patch. Being a proficient tactical medic is an entire world different...

 

[abckidsmom]

What Luno said. I wish all the people who identified a cool guy job they wanted to do would make such a great checklist of things they need to focus on to be successful in that role, and then actually applied themselves to acheiving those tasks.

I find that civilian tactical jobs (where you don't work in the law enforcement agency, but help them out) are as random as the calls coming in, and the ones who are going to be tapped for the job are not the young, gung-ho people, but the proven ones with years of experience and a lot of mellow in them.

 

[Luno]

I <3 abckidsmom!

 

[mycrofft]

"All these questions are things that I've learned the hard way. As a tactical medic, the title is cool and you can wear the t-shirt, the reality of what I've learned is that you are a worried mom, constantly planning, mitigating risk, juggling a bunch of balls, trying to keep bad things from happening, fighting for your team, stealing everything you can't get authorization to buy, training, researching, clinical rotations to keep your p/erishable skills fresh, and if you're not on a dedicated team (very few, even fewer with medics) all that, balanced with your regular job. "

That's how you get called "Doc". Watch them for signs of hidden injury or illness (they will not want to "let down the team" or be "a sh$tbird), , and intervene when the powers that be try to cut your training or other preparedness issues.

 

[ThatPrivate]

I'm not gonna shoot. But what I am going to do is provide a little bit of a lens to help "that private" focus. When looking at any "cool guy" job, rather than focusing on how cool it is, how about looking at what unique skills or abilities that you can bring to your team.

How has your life brought you to the conclusion that you would be a good fit, or even what differentiates you from the next "cool guy" who wants the t-shirt? Do you bring a wealth of patient contact and clinical time, and working in environments that they work in? Do you even understand what they do, much less what your role would be, and how you're a good fit?

Are you physically fit? Because if you are in the stack, you will be carrying a standard load out, as well as medical gear, and expected to not only move well with the team, but when they're hurt, your work starts, so if your fitness level is the same as your team, you're anywhere near ready.

How is your planning/project management skills? You're going to need to be a constant resource for that commander, not only having an idea of how to stabilize prior to evac, planning the evac, coordination with local EMS and resources, contigency planning, risk assessments, but also medical assessments for your team prior to any activity.

How are your instructor skills? You need to be able to instruct a version of TCCC to your team, or whatever you feel that your team will need to be able to perform should you not be there or are incapacitated. You may have to brief local EMS on how your operations are conducted, hot/warm/cold zones, and how patients will come from your team to their transport.

How is your understanding of finances as they impact an organization, and balancing the needs/wants of a team, as it affects your plan as the medic? There are limited budgets for most teams, and everyone wants the latest "cool guy" gadget, can you adequately define why the IFAKs for your team need to take priority? Can you sell why the medical training you need to give your guys is more important than another round in the shoot house which everyone else wants to do? Can you convince your guys that it's important?

Do you have a solid understanding of what is going on with high velocity trauma, and the skills that are needed to stabilize it until your team can exfil the patient to transport?

What is your understanding of protective operations and how medical planning fits into the operational plan?

All these questions are things that I've learned the hard way. As a tactical medic, the title is cool and you can wear the t-shirt, the reality of what I've learned is that you are a worried mom, constantly planning, mitigating risk, juggling a bunch of balls, trying to keep bad things from happening, fighting for your team, stealing everything you can't get authorization to buy, training, researching, clinical rotations to keep your p/erishable skills fresh, and if you're not on a dedicated team (very few, even fewer with medics) all that, balanced with your regular job.

All that is after you've found a team that will work with you. There is no week long course that is going to teach you this job. Any EMT can find a podunk police department with a couple of fat guys in black and velcro with M-4s and tag along, maybe even get the patch. Being a proficient tactical medic is an entire world different...

I'm currently in the military (PFC). I live the tactical environment. Yes I am physically fit I love ruck marches. I workout everyday at least 2 hours a day. I am beginning my paramedic career and I just wanted to learn about other type of paramedic work there is other then 911. My instructor said I would be a good fit for tactical paramedic work but I don't know where to begin looking for more information.

 

[MrJones]

I started paramedic school this pass Monday....

You started paramedic school this past Monday and you feel cocky enough to list EMT-Paramedic as your level of training?

Outstanding.

:rofl:

 

[ThatPrivate]

It says student.

 

[MrJones]

It says student.

Really?

 

[Veneficus]

cool guy jobs

That was a great post by Luno. I just wanted to add something to it only partially related to the OP.

In order to get a cool guy job, you must first be a cool guy.

It sounds stupid, but...

Most of the really desirable jobs, like tac med, require a proven track record. You have to be a known quantity.

That requires experience, which is gained 2 ways.

1. High volume

2. Long time in

In some places you will see more patients in a year than some will see in 5, 10 or even a career.

In any trauma environment, you need to have lots of experience before you are on the all star team so to speak.

That means a lot of dealing with the less desirable aspects of the job until you are good at them.

As I often profess, all trauma is medical, and it is the toughest part of medicine. You have got to have your medical knowledge at a high level. Anyone can put on a tk or pack a wound, it is what comes next that will set the stage for success or failure.

Be ready to spend a lot of time in school. I would also remind people, in order to be an emergency doc, you are looking at 3-4 years post grad training. To be a trauma surgeon, 7-9. Not saying that you want to be a surgeon, but it does show how much that needs to be learned I think.

Knowing who has what and what comes next. Again, anyone can say "send the patient to the level I." What if you have multiple patients, which multiple or the same level of acuity? If you flood 1 facility, you will overwhelm it and your people will suffer for it.

As the medic, your circle is going to expand outside of your employer. You will deal with flight teams, hospitals, EMS, industrial health, etc. You will have to demonstrate your ability to all of them. So it will require not only knowledge, but people skills, and the ability to understand and work with their concerns.

Nobody starts as the play maker.

There are many people with as much or more qualifications than you. You have to work your way in. That is a tedious process of often having to do things nobody likes or wants. If you are good at it, you get the chance to do something better. If you cannot be trusted with the mundane stuff, you will not be put in a position to do something important.

As you succeed, and there will be failures, you will get more and more "cool guy" stuff to do. But it takes time and you have to be where the action is.

Not trying to discourage you, but I would impress upon you that your goals are going to be a process bigger than simply applying for a job.

 

[RocketMedic]

I would question the need for a tactical medic in most places. there isnt much need that cant be filled by a standard ems crew staging and CLS training.

 

[Veneficus]

I would question the need for a tactical medic in most places. there isnt much need that cant be filled by a standard ems crew staging and CLS training.

Easy overtime.

Easy overtime, my friend.

 

[Handsome Robb]

For what it's worth I have a year and a half of EMS experience, tested for our TEMS team, did "exceptionally well" from what I was told and was passed over for the spot because of my lack of experience.

You have to pay to play. I can't really say much more, Luno wrote out a great response. Like he said, there's a lot more to TEMS than just stacking up, breaking down doors and "taking names".

It's department dependent but from my experience and talking with others TEMS is usually a division of the EMS agency and not the police department. Here, at least, you're a 911 medic first and a TEMS medic second. You work a regular street shift and rotate weeks being on-call for TEMS.

Finish medic school, get some medic experience under your belt and then start checking out the "cool guy jobs".

 

[phideux]

I only know one guy that carries the T-Medic tag. His main job is not EMS, he is a police officer, assigned to the SWAT team, that is also a medic. A couple things I think are noteworthy, it's all about the experience. every member on that SWAT team is over 30, and has 10+yrs under their belt on the force. Physically fit, no brainer of course. The guy with the medic patch on his back is pushing 50. I don't think you are gonna get out of medic school, take a TEMS class, and put on your swat uniform and roll. Spots on special teams like that are earned, not given.
Plus it's not the action all the time, super exciting job alot of folks think. 99.5 percent of his job is just routine, average, run of the mill police work.

 

[Luno]

Amazing....

I would question the need for a tactical medic in most places. there isnt much need that cant be filled by a standard ems crew staging and CLS training.

Please read the part about velcro and fat... There is a lot that cannot be filled by a standard ems crew, and as another 68W you should know what cannot be accomplished by CLS training...

 

[mycrofft]

I would question the need for a tactical medic in most places. there isnt much need that cant be filled by a standard ems crew staging and CLS training.

I cannot tell you when a tactical medic would have been actually of use in my area, and I worked alongside LE for 22 years.

 

[RocketMedic]

Please read the part about velcro and fat... There is a lot that cannot be filled by a standard ems crew, and as another 68W you should know what cannot be accomplished by CLS training...

There is no reason for most community police departments/sheriffs etc to spend the time and money to maintain a "tactical medic" when they could have a 911 truck staged at the corner 7/11 on a dedicated standby.

Obviously, the rural "let's hike 80 miles into the brush to go find some pot farmers" that you see on National Geographic is an exception, as is something full-time dedicated like Dallas SWAT or LAPD or other high-use/high-risk teams. Then it makes sense to dedicate a medic or team of medics to that unit. But for a lot of American agencies, I just don't see a real functional difference.

Why does Edmond, OK need an armed tactical medic?

I'm thinking it's mission creep and warrior fantasies combined.

 

[VFlutter]

Apparently our SWAT team has a EM Physician who regularly works calls. I guess he got bored and wanted some adventure.