Tactical EMT Certification?

[HF-EMS]

Hi guys, i am working on becoming a tactical Medic, and test out for my ALS cert this weekend. I know there are tactical medicine courses (BTM/ATM), such as those offered by Cypress Creek, etc. My question is, is there an actual Certification for Tactical Medic/Tactical EMT, or is it just a specialty you can be trained in? Also any help on where to get started with a PT regimen would be greatly appreciated.

--HF-EMS

[chbare]

HF-EMS, DHS offers the CONTOMS course. It is 5 days long and you get about 60 hours of training. At the end of the course providing you pass the written you get EMT-Tactical credentials through DHS. They require affiliation with a tactical team and NREMT-B credentials prior to being accepted into the course. You will learn good information regarding mission planning, Intel gathering, and prepping the team commander with the medical threat assessment. CONTOMS is not SWAT 101, but you do get a very basic tactics overview and get exposed to riot control agents. CONTOMS is not combat trauma management or field surgery 101, and most of your treatment will consist of BLS interventions. If you are looking for a shooting oriented course, you may want to check out the Tactical Medicine course offered by Gunsite. As far as physical requirements and tactical training, you need to check with your team commander.

Hope this helps,

chbare.

[HF-EMS]

Thanks, It does. The reason I posted this was, though not currently on a team, I am really interested in TEMS. While working on my ALS cert this year, I have been reading alot about Tactics and trauma medicine. And for myself i bought a BDU uniform shirt, and have adorned it with a subdued NYS EMT patch, matching American Flag, and Name stripe. SO my actual question is this, a friend got me a Tactical EMT patch for the shirt, is it inappropriate to wear it?

Thanks again for the help.

-HF

[Dustdevil]

Wear it where? Are you talking about gearing up in BDU's for your daily EMS responses? :?

I don't think there's any law against it. There isn't here. Although far be it from NYS to make some really, really stupid laws. But you will definitely get ostracised by every other provider in the area as a wannabe wanker if you do that. We've had a couple guys around here do that and everybody laughs behind their backs.

Trauma medicine is sort of a misnomer when referring to Tactical EMS. Best I can tell, none of these courses really teach you anything about medical care that you didn't (or shouldn't have) already know. It's not about EMS. It's all about TACTICS and how to function within a tactical team. Your medical knowledge is already assumed. So that patch doesn't make you a trauma god. It just tells everybody you wasted a week and a couple thousand dollars learning how to crawl in the mud with a gun. Doesn't exactly inspire confidence in your medical abilities.

I believe most medical professionals would have a lot more respect for you having a degree and some advanced medical certifications than a subdued patch from a week of playing army. And so will the real cops and military medics you meet.

[chbare]

HF-EMS, we live in a free country and frankly I do not care how many patches somebody wears. However, you may misrepresent yourself by wearing BDU's and tactical patches, and people who actually provide tactical medical care could take offense. I would personally refrain from wearing the uniform around. I would urge you to concentrate your energy on learning how to be the best EMT possible. Take a biology or anatomy course, this will help you out in the streets or in the ER much more than an EMT-Tactical card. You can focus on learning tactical medicine when you get on a team.

Take care,

chbare.

[PRPGfirerescuetech]

Want to be a tactical medic? These guys are right on. A/P, any trauma based course you can get your hands on, empty the box of and WMD/Bioterrorism education you can get, as well as your basics.

Tactical medicine is simply the use of medicine in a situation requiring big guns, guys in black, and inevitably one guy with more radios than there are channels (this is usually the fire chief actually).

Learning to operate within these confines isnt difficult. Learning to perform good medicine in these confines, defines your quality.

...and if you walk around wearing a BDU shirt with tactical patches on....your an idiot, and i hope someone hits you.

XOXO

PRPG

[HF-EMS]

Thanks guys,

I would never wear the shirt on an actual call with a tactical EMS patch on it, it was mainly given to me as a half joke/half anticipation of me taking a course. I would never dream of impersonating someone, i have too much respect for what you guys do, thanks for the input.

Thanks for confirming what I thought guys, the patch will go with my collection like I planned, good luck and g-d speed all

That said Dust, they do make some stupid laws in NY, lol

--HF

[Leon]

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If you want some action (it sounds like it) come and work in South Africa. You will soon be a TEMT.

You will learn a lot of skills working with the locals. Working through gun fire ect. Come and enjoy yourself

:wink:

[somedic]

HF-EMS: This has been stated in previous posts. Here goes:

Tactical medicine is simple stuff. There are physical tasks that are different than ordinary EMS operations. A lot of teams want experienced medics on their roster. Gain some street experience.

You have already bought your own sexy uniform with patches..WHY? Thats posing plain and simple.

If you really want to be a "tactical medic", I suggest you enlist in the armed services and learn real life tactical casualty care.

Be careful of fly by night "tactical"medical schools with names like MISSION FIRST that teach you next to nothing and steal your money.

Physical Fitness: Start by finding out what the teams requirements are. A basic program you can follow is the simple Army APFT (thats Army Physical Fittness Test) which consist of a two mile run, push-ups, sit-ups. Pracitce these as a beginning. and test your self weekly for improvement.

Back to experience. I have seen normally good medics freak out in tactical situations. These were very experienced people in EMS. Id hate to see some one fresh from EMT or Paramedic try to support a tatical operaton with no experience.

Good luck to you.

Somedic

[Doczilla]

If you wear a "tactical EMS" patch or subdued patch when you are not attached to a team or haven't taken a tactical EMT class, you will be labeled a variety of things: squirrel, nimrod, or mall ninja. And it will virtually guarantee that no team will want to have you.

Could be worse. You wear a SEAL Trident or Special Forces tab without earning it, and you will die unmercifully.

Being part of a SWAT team is all about THEM wanting to have YOU. And SWAT guys tend to be an insular group. If you don't have an "in", it will take a whole lot of groundwork and good will. And that still guarantees nothing.

The training is a place to start. BLS providers don't provide much to the team, as the officers themselves can provide that level of care. Paramedic level training is necessary unless you are a sworn officer already that is part of the team. As far as tactical training goes, here are some courses, in no particular order:

CONTOMS (www.casualtycareresearchcenter.org. Essentially the standard. This is the traditional "EMT-T" course, and they do an excellent job of it. Addresses many different aspects of tactical medicine, including preventive medicine and extended ops.)

Cypress Creek (www.ccems.com/catt_team/class.html)

Blackwater (www.blackwaterusa.com. A good well-rounded course which includes a good bit of basic SWAT ops and shooting.)

International School of Tactical Medicine (www.swatdoctor.com, run by the docs who used to run H&Ks program)

Tactical Element (www.tacticalelement.com)

Global Medical Rescue Services (www.gmrsltd.com. These guys are VERY well respected in many circles. If you are going to do medicine in remote environments, I would go nowhere else but here.)

Having done 2 of the above courses, and Basic SWAT at the police academy, and extensive training with the team here, I can tell you that the courses, like paramedic school, teach you just enough to be dangerous. Search the forums here and at www.lightfighter.net for more info.

The question is, do you want to do this because you are interested in medical care in austere environments, or because you want to dress up and shoot people? If you want to do both, then see your Army recruiter. There you will get the best kind of tactical medic training there is.

'zilla