Sen. Bill Cassidy (R., La.) proposed legislation to clear the way for combat medics to enter the medical profession on Wednesday.
Cassidy, a medical doctor, said that returning veterans are needlessly forced to clear bureaucratic hurdles to become licensed in roles such as emergency medical technicians (EMTs). A medic entrusted with the lives of Americans overseas has proved that he is capable of caring for Americans at home, according to Cassidy.
“Veterans trained as emergency medical technicians in the service should not have to repeat the training that they’ve already had,” Cassidy said in a statement.
Representatives from veterans’ groups said that public policy should be directed at putting veterans to work as soon as possible.
“It’s ridiculous that we’re telling combat medics who have dealt with gunshot wounds that they can’t come home and be school nurses without training,” said Eric Greitens, a Navy SEAL, military advocate, and Republican gubernatorial candidate in Missouri. A large part of the problem is that licensing standards are managed by the state governments, according to Greitens.
“States have to take on this issue, as well. The [Defense Department] can set standards and criteria to signal that these veterans have the proper training and credentials, but it’s up to the states to grant [training] waivers and exemptions,” he said.
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10 comments:
As a Navy Corpsman who was stationed with the Marine Corps for more than 8 years, I would rather have my life in the Corpsman's hands than any one else.
Great job congressman, Navy seals use too observe on my truck for 10 days to observe how we did street trauma so they could use it in the field overseas.
God Bless our Veterans.
The schooling that we Navy Corpsman received is as good as it gets. And the door was continuously slammed in my face at every turn. All I ever got was "Over qualified...under certified" So all that valuable training and the love of my job gone to waste.
When I went to nursing school at Salisbury after seven years of being an active duty Navy Corpsman, I was "generously" granted 1 credit hour for Anatomy & Physiology (a six credit hour course) and 1 credit hour for physical education.
I took the A&P challenge test at Salisbury and passed it with a grade of 92%, including the lab practical.
The rest of the course offerings were just about as challenging (zzzzz.)
Not just combat medics. There are Corpsmen out there whose qualifications include running an entire medical department aboard ships and boats (submarines are boats) with hundreds of crew members.
Thank you, Congressman!
Not all military medics saw action. Just like a lot of EMT folks around here haven't really ran a lot of calls to gain experience. This covers all military deployed or not. I think at least make them test not school. If they fail then a refresher . fail again start over with school. Not every soldier is a hero.
If u dont have anything nice to say about our military. STFU.
Have their service branch positioned/authorized to award them an Associate Degree at end of their hitch based on classroom and practical hours, and provide the opportunity to sit for the national nursing license exam.
With RN in hand they can pursue BSN or MSN if they wish; with RN they can go to work immediately.
It is still proper to have the states determine licensing, but a great deal of reciprocity already exists among the states. So a Federal override is inappropriate.
Not about nice things. Do you want an incompetent medic working on your family who only got the job because he was in the military? Do you think all military are 100% perfect? Or they have all been active as a medic for a couple years after the complete their commitment while searching for work? Its reality bud. Your the type who think no Leo can do wrong as well aren't you? Wipe your chin!
Well if Cassidy wants Army medics to work as EMTA's then maybe they should be trained as EMTA's which they are not and their training is no where close. As a matter of fact I doubt they could pass the test.
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