# Navy Corpsman Vs Paramedic



## jwilbz03 (Feb 4, 2011)

Anyone have any advice at what route to go? I am trying to decide what life I want to persue either the civillian or the military. I feel I would get a whole lot more emergency experience being a corpsman. What do you do you guys think?


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## truetiger (Feb 4, 2011)

You may even consider going to college and studying something completely irrelevant to EMS. It wouldn't hurt to have something to fall back on incase you discover EMS isn't for you.


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## clibb (Feb 4, 2011)

jwilbz03 said:


> Anyone have any advice at what route to go? I am trying to decide what life I want to persue either the civillian or the military. I feel I would get a whole lot more emergency experience being a corpsman. What do you do you guys think?



I have heard that navy corpsman are similar to EMT-B, I can be wrong though. Talk to your superiors and see if you can get a chance to go to an NREMT-Paramedic school.


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## jwilbz03 (Feb 4, 2011)

I'm at a college in florida which will certify me in the National registry. I am doing EMT-B right now and am trying to figure out if I want to persue paramedic or corpsman after. I love EMT B and can't stop researching and studying to gain more knowledge.


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## rwik123 (Feb 4, 2011)

clibb said:


> I have heard that navy corpsman are similar to EMT-B, I can be wrong though. Talk to your superiors and see if you can get a chance to go to an NREMT-Paramedic school.



From what I've heard, all medics in all services are trained to the EMT-B (NREMT) level. Even if they practice advanced skills, in the civilian world, they will still only hold a basic cert. The only service men that are paramedics in the civilian sense are the Air Force's PJs


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## jgmedic (Feb 4, 2011)

rwik123 said:


> From what I've heard, all medics in all services are trained to the EMT-B (NREMT) level. Even if they practice advanced skills, in the civilian world, they will still only hold a basic cert. The only service men that are paramedics in the civilian sense are the Air Force's PJs



And Ranger medics, and 18D Army SF medics, I believe SEAL and Recon corpsmen as well.  Basically the special ops community medics AFAIK, maybe some of our veteran members can illuminate. I entertained the idea of the military paying for my P-card, but I was about to get married and the training pipelines for most spec ops is long and very intense.


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## fast65 (Feb 4, 2011)

jgmedic said:


> And Ranger medics, and 18D Army SF medics, I believe SEAL and Recon corpsmen as well.  Basically the special ops community medics AFAIK, maybe some of our veteran members can illuminate. I entertained the idea of the military paying for my P-card, but I was about to get married and the training pipelines for most spec ops is long and very intense.



+1

That's what I was about to say. I'm pretty sure that all of the SF medics hold an NREMT-P card.


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## carbonated (Feb 4, 2011)

A friend of mine is a corpsman in the navy and told me he was trained to the LVN level, but focused on emergency response.


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## jgmedic (Feb 4, 2011)

carbonated said:


> A friend of mine is a corpsman in the navy and told me he was trained to the LVN level, but focused on emergency response.



My brother-in-law is a corpsman and I asked him, at I believe E-4 they can challenge LVN with a certain number of hosp-based hours and approval from their command, so it's not a sure thing but can be done. He said for P-card, you have to be SEAL, Recon or a ship based rescue medic off a chopper.


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## carbonated (Feb 4, 2011)

jgmedic said:


> My brother-in-law is a corpsman and I asked him, at I believe E-4 they can challenge LVN with a certain number of hosp-based hours and approval from their command, so it's not a sure thing but can be done. He said for P-card, you have to be SEAL, Recon or a ship based rescue medic off a chopper.




Ahh ok that makes sense. He's an E-5, must've challenged. Thanks for clarifying.


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## Smoke14 (Feb 4, 2011)

I assume you are a younger person...

Work 25 years and get a pension with the military. After that work for another company and get SSI and a 401 if you are smart.

Work 45 years and get SSI, and if you were smart a 401.

Your choice. :unsure:


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## jwilbz03 (Feb 4, 2011)

Yeah I am 21 years old, so my options are open to pretty much anything, but in class I heard someone state that corpsman were doing emergency craniotomies to alleviate skull pressure in severe trauma out in the field. I suppose this is untrue? I was under the impression the corpsman had a lot more flexibility to medical procedures than paramedics but I must be way out of line because I have yet to see anyone mention this.


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## Akulahawk (Feb 4, 2011)

A VERY good friend of mine is a Navy Corpsman. In the civilian world, he's trained to the EMT-B level. He _can_ challenge the LVN now, if he wants to _and _has the appropriate hospital/clinical time.


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## clibb (Feb 4, 2011)

jgmedic said:


> And Ranger medics, and 18D Army SF medics, I believe SEAL and Recon corpsmen as well.  Basically the special ops community medics AFAIK, maybe some of our veteran members can illuminate. I entertained the idea of the military paying for my P-card, but I was about to get married and the training pipelines for most spec ops is long and very intense.



Hmm, I was told the SEAL medics are trained at a Physician Assistant level.


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## rwik123 (Feb 5, 2011)

clibb said:


> Hmm, I was told the SEAL medics are trained at a Physician Assistant level.



The SEAL medics go to the armies 18D school. From what I've dug up from some quick google searches, the 18D course will get you within a few classes of getting into PA school...not qualifying you as a PA. It gives you good practical knowledge on become a PA, but lacks the educational component required of being a true PA.. But in the army, an 18D can essentially act as a PA would in the civilian world.


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## HotelCo (Feb 5, 2011)

clibb said:


> Hmm, I was told the SEAL medics are trained at a Physician Assistant level.



From what I can find, they're only trained to the 18D level. PA seems a bit of overkill...


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## Akulahawk (Feb 5, 2011)

For what the SF folks do, PA would be overkill... 18D would fit perfectly. Paramedic with a LOT of extra training.


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## SanDiegoEmt7 (Feb 5, 2011)

A navy corspman and 68w are combat or hospital based medics they will have similar duties and abilities.  They both receive a NREMT-b level civilian cert although their skills in device can be much greater.  It can be quite frustrating if you end up transitioning to the medical world.

"Special Forces" medic is specifically the army also known as 18Delta.  All special operations medics (recon, SF, rangers, seals, PJs) will attend the the first half of the 18D which basically the "p school" portion of the program with a strong focus on trauma.  They do hospital and field shifts as well.  Graduates of this portion have intermittently been able to test for the NREMT-P in the past, but recently they have an affiliation or agreement that accredits their school so everyone tests. At the end of this first portion the medics return to their respective services, while the 18deltas continue on to learn field surgery, dentistry, and veterinarian skills among other things.

I had a friend who loved being a corspman, worked with recon for a portion of his enlistment, had some crazy stories, and when he got out of the service he worked as an EMT because he lacked any other civilian qualifications.  

Make your choice on where you see yourself staying for good. Unless you don't mind a little backtracking when make the transition.


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## jwilbz03 (Feb 5, 2011)

SanDiegoEmt7 said:


> A navy corspman and 68w are combat or hospital based medics they will have similar duties and abilities.  They both receive a NREMT-b level civilian cert although their skills in device can be much greater.  It can be quite frustrating if you end up transitioning to the medical world.



^ That's what I heard. I heard the only reason a corpsman can't come out as a paramedic in the civilian world is due to the lack of medical experience, but their trauma is far more advanced. My instructor is trying to put together a bridge program so corpsman only have to test out of a medical portion in order to get their paramedic cert.


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## Afflixion (Feb 5, 2011)

http://emtlife.com/showthread.php?t=19749
http://emtlife.com/showthread.php?t=21454
http://emtlife.com/showthread.php?t=17624

This whole argument has been beat to death in those threads. I would get into it again but I won't. Also SOC aidsmen (they are not called medics) are NOT trained to the PA level I can personally vouch on that one.


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## ZootownMedic (Aug 12, 2011)

*You are all wrong.....*

I hate to be the one to set everyone straight but you are all wrong. The 18 Delta course and the SOCM course (Special Operations Command Medical) do not teach to the NREMT-P standard. Now this is not to say that 18 Delta's, SEAL Corpsman, or other graduates of the SOCM course aren't damn good. I was a Airborne Ranger myself that served in 3/75 Ranger batt and my best friend was a 18D with 10 SFG. They are all trained to the NREMT-B level. Here's a catch though. My friend who was a 18D just graduated from Paramedic school in the civilian world and his internship was waived and he was allowed to sit for the NREMT-P exam after class was over. SOCOM headquarters at Ft. Bragg is recognized by the NREMT to the Paramedic level. Heres the thing to remember. Special Operations medics are trained extremely well and my experience with them is that they are all amazing medics BAR NONE. However....they are all usually used to dealing with healthy, young individuals and there training is usually based around that as well as trauma. Take medical emergencies especially ones involving geriatrics or peds and they are far behind the knowledge and experience of civilian medics. There lies the difference. Hope this helps everyone out with a little knowledge. Oh and yes USAF PJ's are NREMT-P's but they are the absolute creme of the crop when it comes to military medics.


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## EMTnelly87 (Nov 19, 2012)

clibb said:


> Hmm, I was told the SEAL medics are trained at a Physician Assistant level.



pretty much yes...a Navy Seal medic are usually IDC (independent duty corpsman). Their program is very similar to Physician Assistants. an IDC in the navy can see patients and write prescriptions just as a PA...when most IDC retire or are discharged, they usually challenge the board for PA and start working as a PA. I know 2 people for sure that has done this...one was a Chief (E-7) and one a Petty Officer 1st class (E-6).

I would say that most corpsman straight out of Naval Hospital Corps School are trained at the level of EMT-B, tactical combat casualty care, and a NUMEROUS amount of nursing skills. If you go to Field Medic Service School AFTER your initial corps school, then you learn about more medications, needle decompressions, and a slew of other skills. we don't however learn endotracheal intubation.

in our packs we carry a slew of different pain medications as well as an atropine autoinjector pen in case of a biological chemical attack. some medications we carry only a paramedic would be allowed to administer. we get to do alot of pretty neat things without permission from a medical director. I was a corpsman in the navy, and now i'm in paramedic school. there's ALOT of things i don't know, but it's very easy for me to understand considering i have alot of background in emergency medicine


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## EMTnelly87 (Nov 19, 2012)

rwik123 said:


> The SEAL medics go to the armies 18D school. From what I've dug up from some quick google searches, the 18D course will get you within a few classes of getting into PA school...not qualifying you as a PA. It gives you good practical knowledge on become a PA, but lacks the educational component required of being a true PA.. But in the army, an 18D can essentially act as a PA would in the civilian world.


this is absolutely fallacious information. SEAL medics go to field medic service school either camp pendleton in san diego, or camp lejune in north carolina, AND they also go through Independent Duty Corpsman school which is a NAVY advance school (C school) not Army.


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## lightsandsirens5 (Nov 19, 2012)

I'm pretty sure SOCOM is at MacDill AFB in Tampa. Not at Ft. Bragg.


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## VFlutter (Nov 19, 2012)

EMTnelly87 said:


> pretty much yes...a Navy Seal medic are usually IDC (independent duty corpsman). Their program is very similar to Physician Assistants. an IDC in the navy can see patients and write prescriptions just as a PA...when most IDC retire or are discharged, they usually challenge the board for PA and start working as a PA. I know 2 people for sure that has done this...one was a Chief (E-7) and one a Petty Officer 1st class (E-6).
> 
> a NUMEROUS amount of nursing skills.



Do you have any links to support that? Just curious. What type of program is the IDC program? How long is it? Call me skeptical, but I find it hard to believe they are allowed to challenge for PA without being awarded advanced degrees. 

Also, there was a PJ medic in the nursing class before me so apparently even though they do "numerous amount of nursing skills" they still have to go through nursing school to practice in the civilian world. There is no challenge that I know of.


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## EMTnelly87 (Nov 19, 2012)

ChaseZ33 said:


> Do you have any links to support that? Just curious. What type of program is the IDC program? How long is it? Call me skeptical, but I find it hard to believe they are allowed to challenge for PA without being awarded advanced degrees.
> 
> Also, there was a PJ medic in the nursing class before me so apparently even though they do "numerous amount of nursing skills" they still have to go through nursing school to practice in the civilian world. There is no challenge that I know of.



to practice as an RN, YES, but in certain states (california i know of) Hospital Corpsman with a certain number of hospital hours can challenge the board for LVN. if u going through an entire program, it doesn't matter if you've done or know a skill, you're going to have to do it again because it's apart of that curriculum. 

here's the information for IDC

http://doni.daps.dla.mil/Directives...s/06-300 General Medicine Support/6320.7A.pdf

and here's the course catalog
http://www.med.navy.mil/sites/nmotc/swmi/Pages/CourseCatalog.aspx


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## RocketMedic (Nov 19, 2012)

jwilbz03 said:


> Anyone have any advice at what route to go? I am trying to decide what life I want to persue either the civillian or the military. I feel I would get a whole lot more emergency experience being a corpsman. What do you do you guys think?



Exactly the opposite. Unless you're a Special Forces medic, you will see far more on the civilian side than the military.


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## RocketMedic (Nov 19, 2012)

jwilbz03 said:


> Yeah I am 21 years old, so my options are open to pretty much anything, but in class I heard someone state that corpsman were doing emergency craniotomies to alleviate skull pressure in severe trauma out in the field. I suppose this is untrue? I was under the impression the corpsman had a lot more flexibility to medical procedures than paramedics but I must be way out of line because I have yet to see anyone mention this.



That is highly untrue. The only setting you would ever see that would be on a ship or in a forward aid station, and it would be done by a PA or MD.


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## RocketMedic (Nov 19, 2012)

Another weird quirk of the military is that your training and scope of practice will literally vary by the unit you are in at the time. There is little internal consistency.


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## zmedic (Nov 20, 2012)

A few things to consider:
1: The US military is pretty much out of Iraq and winding down combat operations in Afghanistan, so the stories you've heard of the crazy experience of some medics over the last few years probably won't be your experience. There will just be less wounded to treat over the next two years. So you could potentially spend a lot of your time on a base not seeing a whole lot of sick patients. 

2: I'm all for following your dreams. But you should keep clear in your mind that the vast majority of those doing medicine in the military are not special forces. You have to get into SF first before you get all that training. So if you medical career revolves around becoming a SEAL medic you should think long are hard if you would be happy if you don't get into the seals are a regular medic. 

3: The reason to join the military is because you want to be in the military. If you want to learn medicine there are a lot more direct routes. Ie paramedic school, PA school etc. Remember that the military medics spent part of their time learning medicine, part of their time learning all the rest what they need to be in the military (patrolling, shooting, regulations etc.) Nothing wrong with that. But don't look at the military as a shortcut to getting to where you want to be in medicine.


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