I'm thinking about being a Medical Technician

[MissLucy72]

Hey everybody

I'm not sure if this is posted in the right spot and if it's not I apologize in advance. I'm a 21 year old female with no military background. It's about time for a change in pace and I think joining the military as a medic would be just what I was looking for. I figure I'd start off in the reserves and see how that goes first. I have my MOA and my EMR with a couple other medical courses under my belt and I'm really excited about doing this. The only thing is I don't have the slightest clue on what to expect. I mean not a lot of things scare me, (although the being up at 5am and all the push ups are going to take some getting used to) but I am still nervous on what its going to be like. If anybody can share some past experiences of being in the reserves..medic or not, it would be greatly appreciated.

Lucy 

 

[Trueblue]

It's hard to say what to expect because different units can be entirely different.

I wouldn't be too worried about the crack of dawn pushups unless you are doing BMQ, most reservist units I know (not saying all of them) were pretty slack and didn't do PT at all.

The reserves would be a good way of testing the water keep in mind they are totally different than reg force. In the reserves if you don't want to go on course, get posted, get deployed etc. you can just say no and that's that. If you are reg force you will be getting posted around, sent on courses, sent over seas etc.

 

[MissLucy72]

"I wouldn't be too worried about the crack of dawn pushups unless you are doing BMQ, most reservist units I know (not saying all of them) were pretty slack and didn't do PT at all"

That was a really great like to read Thanks a lot of your response!

 

[Trueblue]

If you're concerned about the PT aspect take a look at the CF PT standards.

These are the same for Reg force or reserves.

http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/16007.0.html

 

[George Wallace]

........... In the reserves if you don't want to go on course, get posted, get deployed etc. you can just say no and that's that. If you are reg force you will be getting posted around, sent on courses, sent over seas etc.

Trueblue

Do you know anything about the Reserves; you having only gone through BMQ in the last year.?

If you don't go on course, you do not get qualified, nor will you be promoted.  Reserves do not get "Posted".  Yes you are correct in that you do not have to go on deployments if you don't want to, but you still fall under the Code of Service Discipline.  If you don't "Parade" you become "NES" and can face a 5f Release.  So!  Even in the Reserves you have to show commitment.

 

[MissLucy72]

I don't mean to sound ignorant, but what does BMQ,  "parade" NES all stand for? (still new at this)

 

[George Wallace]

This may help (It is a lot of reading):  http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/17309.0.html   



BMQ =  Basic Military Qualification

NES  =  Non-Effective Stregth  ( Think of the High School Dropout)

Parade  =  Is when the unit gathers to work/run courses.  What day and hours they work.

 

[MissLucy72]

That was greatly appreciated. Thank you!

 

[Shock]

Hey MissLucy72,

I joined about a year and a half ago as a med tech in the reserves. My unit is rather small so I'm not sure how relevant this information will be for you however I'll explain what we typically train for when we parade from September-May.

From early September until late October we typically start most nights off training for the BFT, then after that we go to the classroom for medic stuff! This includes a lot of lectures by the NCO's and officer's, scenario's(your acting skills will be tested), and preparation for upcoming exercises and exams. For example, last year we spent quite a bit of time listening to lectures on ITLS for prehospital care providers and then we would do scenarios to apply what we learned in a mock situation. Expect to do a lot of hands on training. If you enjoy the medical field it will be a great experience for you. A lot of members in my unit are nurses, paramedics, and a few are even in medical school. They have a wealth of knowledge to share and will adequately prepare you for future trade courses.

I hope this helps, good luck with it all.

 

[MissLucy72]

Dear Shock,

Thank you so much for your post! I'm am defiantly looking forward to all the hands on training, (although I'm really going to have to brush up on my acting skills). I have such a passion for the medical field and this sounds like such a great experience.

A couple questions:

How large was your unit?
How many member are usually assigned to one unit?
Was there any part of your experience that you didn't enjoy?
Was your basic training modified at all to fit the field you're in?
How often were exams?
Did you get a lot of hands on experiences in real life situations?

Thank you for all your extreamly relevant information!

 

[readytogo]

Hello,

      I am swearing into 15 field ambulance next wednesday for reserve med tech, as i start going through the motions i will try to update as to the process

RTG

 

[MissLucy72]

Thank you readytogo that would be very helpful!

 

[Shock]

A couple questions:

How large was your unit?
How many member are usually assigned to one unit?
Was there any part of your experience that you didn't enjoy?
Was your basic training modified at all to fit the field you're in?
How often were exams?
Did you get a lot of hands on experiences in real life situations?

My unit last year consisted of 24 members(St. John's detachment), however we would usually have between 6-12 people on any given night due to some people being on deployments, others busy with school, etc.

So far in my short career I've had nothing but positive experiences in the reserves. You meet new friends, travel to new places, and learn a lot of interesting things. Sure there will be times that suck on course but when you look back you will laugh about it.

BMQ is the same for all military trades. You can search other threads that will tell you all about what you will learn on basic.

I can only recall two exams last year however they are for QL3 qualified people only so you will most likely not have to worry about them in your first year.

You do not deal with actual patients while training at your unit. What I meant by hands on is that you learn how to do things such as wrap an ankle properly, practice wound cleaning/packing with a grapefruit and hot chocolate powder(sounds odd but is a great way to learn), go through the procedures of various physical exams on each other, practice putting OPA's and NPA's in dummy's, and much more.