So like I've said to many others, if you don't have the necessary certificates/qualifications AND extensive experience in medical trauma whatever, it's best not to go this route. Ukraine is not the place to find out if you can be a medic.
A lot of these crash courses are either shit, teach CLS/TCCC, or are specifically tailored for people with civilian medical backgrounds and to help transition them into a combat environment.
I understand you said a year or two. There's only so much training them experience you cam gain in that time frame. Just my personal opinion, but I just don't think that's enough time. Back of an ambulance is not the same environment or conditions.
End of the day, probably can do whatever you want. Many foreigners get away with doing what they want and being who they want. Take a week long course maybe two, no prior medical background. Next thing you know they're hired at places like TDI as medical instructors. So it's whatever honestly. Repeat the same song and dance it'll keep happening.
Guys like Elvis can show up and bullshit his way onto a sniper team, can't even zero a scope, then still gets away with bullshit stories. vOv
I'm glad to have always been surrounded by excellent medics in my unit that I would fully trust. But if I ever found myself wounded with a guy that was never a medic and showed up to Ukraine with nothing but a couple of courses under his belt, no thanks. I'll take my chances and do self aid as long as possible and shimmy my way to someone else like a Ukrainian medic.
Thanks, dude! I appreciate your point of view and will take it all into consideration. Experience is key, after all.
I do have a couple of questions, though. And I'm not trying to be facetious. But how is my current situation different from a civilian fresh out of school with no medic/paramedic experience whatsoever, who decides to join the military, complete all of the necessary training, and gets deployed for the first time as a medic? Would you trust that guy? And if so, is military training the only legitimate way for you to trust a newbie medic? Or would you prefer that only combat vets qualify to become medics?
Again, I'm not trying to be funny or ask questions like a dick. I just want to know what the mindset is and how folks prepare and gain more experience before heading on over there. I asked about the training to get there. If the training provided in the civilian sector is equivalent to, or better than the training provided by the military, why not put that training to good use?
My statement isn't to undermine civilian qualifications. The qualifications of an EMT for instance ARE adequate. The thing though, is transition to a combat setting. There's are differences in the way you have to think and treat people from the back of an ambulance encounter to an ambulance in 20 minutes, vs a forward position and a guy with 10 bits of shrapnel and a couple fractures amd no evacuation for six hours. Civilian side you have the luxury of an ambulance carrying all you could ever need, but now, you have to balance what is practical to fit in a bag. Then there are other things like the way in which you'll go about treating someone that may differ. So the point here is that there are courses designed specifically to teach guys these differences, take their civilian qualifications, and how to translate them to a combat setting. It's perfectly fine and legitimate, best thing you could do. But the problem is you have guys without that experience, weaseling their way into these courses, then calling themselves a combat medic.
My next point is that a certificate alone, in my sole opinion, is not sufficient by itself if you don't have experience working in the hospital or ambulance. Yes, all medics start fresh. But they still have a doctrinal mindset of a military structure and are trained at a good level. Medics also tend to get rotated between line units and hospital duties when they're state side. So they do get some trauma experience.
We, as in my unit, don't look at certificates alone. What I'll say here is more specific to us so please don't take it as the golden ticket answer for all. But if your certs are expired, no good. If all is good, then you still get assessed on your technical and practical knowledge then go from there.
I hope this clarifies better and if you have more questions do let me know
Thanks again! I really appreciate all of this. There's nothing better than learning from someone with experience. I do want to head on over there and help out in whatever way I can. Donating money does help, but I feel like I can and should do more to help while I'm still in my prime physically.
If it's not too much, another question comes to mind. In terms of gaining more experience, besides being directly in the front lines, do you think I could be of more help closer to the front? Like in a civilian city or town where ambulances and medics are still needed? I understand that there is quite a bit of shelling and bombing happening in civilian areas close to the front lines. And taking your points into consideration, that would give me more experience in the field. I'd like to transition to the front eventually. Do you think that would be a good route? Any advice is welcome.
Thanks again for all of this help. It's definitely more in-depth than a majority of posts I've seen in this group. And a big thank you for all of your hard work. It doesn't go unnoticed.
There are definitely opportunities to volunteer in a capacity to support the civilian medical infrastructure. There will be some limitations due to the fact you don't speak Ukrainian and other things related to not being ukrainian. There are also some legal things that are in place.for example I think blood transfusion in the field was only recently passed by law last year. I think. But again there's still the different type of experience that comes into play. Stab point and hospital setting vs field experience. Different units will look at it differently. So you would almost have to tailor your plan that lines up with the expectations of the unit you want to join. It's really a flip of the coin. Different units Different standards ya know.
Honestly though, working some civilian settings are so sketch. Russians are notorious for targeting first responders. Time delay between attacks where the initial strike creates casualties, then the follow ups to target your first responders. Me personally I'd say fuck that.
I can't thank you enough for all of the help and experience you've provided. Being a medic is extremely serious and life altering. That's why I'd love to get more training and experience before heading on over there. If it's okay with you, I might be reaching out to you in the messages if I have any more questions.
So like I've said to many others, if you don't have the necessary certificates/qualifications AND extensive experience in medical trauma whatever, it's best not to go this route. Ukraine is not the place to find out if you can be a medic. A lot of these crash courses are either shit, teach CLS/TCCC, or are specifically tailored for people with civilian medical backgrounds and to help transition them into a combat environment. I understand you said a year or two. There's only so much training them experience you cam gain in that time frame. Just my personal opinion, but I just don't think that's enough time. Back of an ambulance is not the same environment or conditions. End of the day, probably can do whatever you want. Many foreigners get away with doing what they want and being who they want. Take a week long course maybe two, no prior medical background. Next thing you know they're hired at places like TDI as medical instructors. So it's whatever honestly. Repeat the same song and dance it'll keep happening. Guys like Elvis can show up and bullshit his way onto a sniper team, can't even zero a scope, then still gets away with bullshit stories. vOv I'm glad to have always been surrounded by excellent medics in my unit that I would fully trust. But if I ever found myself wounded with a guy that was never a medic and showed up to Ukraine with nothing but a couple of courses under his belt, no thanks. I'll take my chances and do self aid as long as possible and shimmy my way to someone else like a Ukrainian medic.
Big thank you go both of you for discussing this in a way that helps everybody else.
Thanks, dude! I appreciate your point of view and will take it all into consideration. Experience is key, after all. I do have a couple of questions, though. And I'm not trying to be facetious. But how is my current situation different from a civilian fresh out of school with no medic/paramedic experience whatsoever, who decides to join the military, complete all of the necessary training, and gets deployed for the first time as a medic? Would you trust that guy? And if so, is military training the only legitimate way for you to trust a newbie medic? Or would you prefer that only combat vets qualify to become medics? Again, I'm not trying to be funny or ask questions like a dick. I just want to know what the mindset is and how folks prepare and gain more experience before heading on over there. I asked about the training to get there. If the training provided in the civilian sector is equivalent to, or better than the training provided by the military, why not put that training to good use?
That is a legitimately good question, and I thank you for asking. I'll write out my response in a way that I hope makes sense
My statement isn't to undermine civilian qualifications. The qualifications of an EMT for instance ARE adequate. The thing though, is transition to a combat setting. There's are differences in the way you have to think and treat people from the back of an ambulance encounter to an ambulance in 20 minutes, vs a forward position and a guy with 10 bits of shrapnel and a couple fractures amd no evacuation for six hours. Civilian side you have the luxury of an ambulance carrying all you could ever need, but now, you have to balance what is practical to fit in a bag. Then there are other things like the way in which you'll go about treating someone that may differ. So the point here is that there are courses designed specifically to teach guys these differences, take their civilian qualifications, and how to translate them to a combat setting. It's perfectly fine and legitimate, best thing you could do. But the problem is you have guys without that experience, weaseling their way into these courses, then calling themselves a combat medic. My next point is that a certificate alone, in my sole opinion, is not sufficient by itself if you don't have experience working in the hospital or ambulance. Yes, all medics start fresh. But they still have a doctrinal mindset of a military structure and are trained at a good level. Medics also tend to get rotated between line units and hospital duties when they're state side. So they do get some trauma experience. We, as in my unit, don't look at certificates alone. What I'll say here is more specific to us so please don't take it as the golden ticket answer for all. But if your certs are expired, no good. If all is good, then you still get assessed on your technical and practical knowledge then go from there. I hope this clarifies better and if you have more questions do let me know
Thanks again! I really appreciate all of this. There's nothing better than learning from someone with experience. I do want to head on over there and help out in whatever way I can. Donating money does help, but I feel like I can and should do more to help while I'm still in my prime physically. If it's not too much, another question comes to mind. In terms of gaining more experience, besides being directly in the front lines, do you think I could be of more help closer to the front? Like in a civilian city or town where ambulances and medics are still needed? I understand that there is quite a bit of shelling and bombing happening in civilian areas close to the front lines. And taking your points into consideration, that would give me more experience in the field. I'd like to transition to the front eventually. Do you think that would be a good route? Any advice is welcome. Thanks again for all of this help. It's definitely more in-depth than a majority of posts I've seen in this group. And a big thank you for all of your hard work. It doesn't go unnoticed.
There are definitely opportunities to volunteer in a capacity to support the civilian medical infrastructure. There will be some limitations due to the fact you don't speak Ukrainian and other things related to not being ukrainian. There are also some legal things that are in place.for example I think blood transfusion in the field was only recently passed by law last year. I think. But again there's still the different type of experience that comes into play. Stab point and hospital setting vs field experience. Different units will look at it differently. So you would almost have to tailor your plan that lines up with the expectations of the unit you want to join. It's really a flip of the coin. Different units Different standards ya know. Honestly though, working some civilian settings are so sketch. Russians are notorious for targeting first responders. Time delay between attacks where the initial strike creates casualties, then the follow ups to target your first responders. Me personally I'd say fuck that.
I can't thank you enough for all of the help and experience you've provided. Being a medic is extremely serious and life altering. That's why I'd love to get more training and experience before heading on over there. If it's okay with you, I might be reaching out to you in the messages if I have any more questions.
Please, don't hesitate to message me I'm always happy to help
Study up on TCCC
Will do, thank you!
The PPA international combat medic course in Denmark is excellent.
Thank you! I'll into it and hopefully start the process of enrollment sooner rather than later.
Something like this first, mate. https://emsinsfc.com/
Looks like an excellent training program. I'll look into it some more. Thank you!