Applying Military Medical Training to Civilian Careers

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the need for Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) is expected to grow rapidly all the way up to 2018—faster than many other professions. 

Much of this growth stems from the aging baby boomer generation, which will require EMTs to be on-call for all manner of medical emergencies. As elderly patient populations swell, particularly in many of today’s increasingly understaffed hospitals, the need for EMTs will be acutely felt. What’s more, as hospitals begin to specialize in specific medical conditions and diseases, EMTs will be needed to transfer patients to more specialized facilities. 

 

So who will fill the growing need for qualified, experienced EMTs? One place they’ll come from is the pool of Corpsmen leaving the service. Yes, it’s a tough job market. even for combat vets with special medical training and field experience saving lives. But the growing ranks of Corpsmen leaving the services will become a much needed resource that can fill this EMT gap.

 

Many combat medics believe that their military training and experience will help them land a good job in the civilian medical field. Unfortunately, this is not usually the case. Instead, many are finding that much of their training and combat experience simply won’t translate to the professional licenses they need in the civilian health care field. The opportunities are not only limited but at a lower level.

 

That could change. Lawmakers in a number of states are determined to make the transition to civilian careers a lot easier for veterans with special medical training and combat experience. They’re proposing bills that would require state agencies to evaluate whether military experience can be applied to various professional licenses.

Some licenses mandate hundreds of hours of training and work under supervision, which many supporters note, combat medics already have. They say that it’s not only fair for veterans, but that it makes sense for taxpayers who shouldn’t have to foot the bill for training medical professionals twice. Veterans insist that the changes are long overdue, especially for high-demand careers like nursing and EMTs. 

 

According to a recent Bureau of Labor Statistics report, Iraq and Afghanistan vets had a slightly higher unemployment rate than civilians with no military service--10.2 percent of recent war veterans were unemployed while 9.3 percent of non-veterans were out of work.

Corpsmen and combat veterans should be given all the help they need to become EMTs. Their service should be honored and giving these fine men and women a job and a career in the civilian sector is one way we can thank them for their service.