Suffering from severe medical trade indecision!

[Vix134]

Hey everyone,

I was advised to come here today by a recruiter thinking I'd be able to communicate directly with members of various medical trades - so fingers crossed, that's what I find!

Basically, I'm completely torn between several trades. I know for a fact I want to work in the medical branch, but whenever I think I've settled on one trade, part of another appeals to me, or I hear an opinion about my current choice which makes me think twice.

I'd love to hear from anyone that is, or knows, an ODP/medic/MSO/nurse, just to get some direct input? There is so little information around regarding details of non-operational and operational lifestyles, just the odd paragraph here and there -- and I'm quite reluctant to make a decision on a career based on these!

Here are the main issues I've been confronted by:

- is the ODP trade really as monotonous and repetitive as I keep being told? The idea of it is exciting to me now, but I can't help but listen to the constant stream of people telling me I'll find it so un-challenging, I'll be bored of it within a year or two.

- is the medic trade really as admin-based as I'm being told? I understand they're used in clinics on bases etc, but are they actually involved with more of the front-line, first-aid, emergency, in-the-thick-of-it action or is this left to nurses and MOs?

- is it only the nurses and MOs that are involved with aeromed evacs, CCAST, DARTs etc, or can other medical trades apply to train for involvement in them?

I realise this has turned into a message of quite lengthy proportions - but I'm not really sure where else to turn; nobody at the recruitment office is from a medical background and I can't for the life of me find any numbers to call for these types of enquiries!

So basically, to sum it up, if anyone as any inkling on ANY of these questions, I'd be ridiculously grateful.

Thanks!

Victoria

 

[Sniffer]

Hi Victoria,

Whilst I am none of the trades you have mentioned I have worked alongside some of them, so I will give you a quick precis, however this is purely my opinion:

RAF Medic - Great if you love admin, there should be a review of the trade name as the majority of time is spent dealing with paperwork, especially if located in primary care (ie: Station Medical Centres). These guys are then thrown into the deepend when out on ops as they potentially could be the first to a behind the wire incident having suffered massive skill fade due to lack of practical experience. Not great prospects in the longterm as comparative jobs on civvy street dont pay very well.

ODP - Not a massively taxing job on a day to day basis, however Ops could be a different matter. Consider the types of injuries the guys on the tables could potentially have. Unsociable shift patterns in UK and long hours when deployed. Also limited posts available, due to lack of military hospitals. Locations available: Peterborough, Birmingham, Cyprus, Gibraltar. Civilian recognised qualifications.

Nursing - There are various areas of nursing. There is your general run of the mill, med centre type, seeing patients on a daily basis, running well woman clinics, smoking cessasion, and giving innocculation etc etc. Then there are those who work in specific area, ward nursing, occupational health, etc etc. Civilian recognised qualification.

As far as I am aware only MO's and Nurses deal with aeromed type stuff but I could be wrong.

MSO - After almost 7 years I still cannot work out for the life of me what these guys do, other than get up the noses of the rest of the medical branch.

Given a choice, personally I would go with nursing every time, but thats just me.

Are you located near a Unit? It may be worth trying to organise a visit to the medical centre at your neearest RAF Unit.

Best of luck.

 

[Anonymurse]

My questions to you would be :
What is more important the job you are doing or the service you are joining? Also what are your qualifications?

My opinion is that the future of the RAF medical services lies in its core business area – aeromed (Inc CCAST and MERT). I think the role of the RAF medical services in providing operating theatre capability and laboratory services are limited as there is too much cross over with what the army provide. Someone will possibly rationalise in the future and wind both trades down, leaving the Army as lead service.

Therefore I believe RAF ODP not a good long term choice. ODP and Army better option if you could live with being in the Army. On tour very challenging, and when not on tour same as being in the NHS.

Medics do a lot of paperwork, but get the opportunity to train as paramedics and deploy with MERT. Also train as Flight Nursing assistants and deploy with CCAST and main aeromed sqn.

RAF nursing is going towards all degree based. Main opportunities are intensive care (for CCAST), Emergency Room (for MERT) and general nurse (for aeromed role). It can take a few years to get in to the speciality of your choice. Lots of opportunities for management and teaching in long term.

MSO- haven’t a clue, other than lots of paperwork, planning, teaching and drinking tea. Great promotion opportunities, but as far as I know all commissioned. All other jobs open to various levels of entry.

All are very different jobs and it will depend on what you like doing now as to what role you will enjoy in long term. If vomit and phlegm are your thing, nursing could be the way forward if not MSO could be your bag.

Good Luck

 

[Vix134]

Wow...blimey guys, thanks a million! Those posts have been more helpful and informative than any information I've received over the past year!

To answer questions - I'm 24, qualifications up to degree level (Animal Science and Veterinary Nursing), and have always been most taken in by the emergency, first aid type work. Clinics and ward work are less preferable but understandably an inevitable part of the job at some point!

If I decided to go down the route of student nurse, could I specialise as a theatre nurse or the like eventually? It's just the surgery etc that appealed to me most about ODP work, hence my initial decision toward that area. In an ideal world I'd could combine being primarily theatre-bound non-operationally with being involved in aeromed operationally.

However, I understand I say this all now never having been theatre-bound for great lengths of time as part of a job -- and a lot of people have no problem telling me it eventually gets very monotonous, hence the indecision now!

It's interesting to hear your opinions on the medics - one of you seems to think they may as well not even be called medics any more, while the other has mentioned all this lovely enticing information about working with MERT, CCAST and aeromed...and it is these three which appeal to me most!

So basically, thanks to your help, what it now boils down to is...nurse or medic?!

Thanks once again, you've been immensely helpful! x

 

[JPJ83]

Most medics spend 99% of their working RAF life in primary care - i.e. a med centre on a station, mostly doing admin, with the occasional bit of first aid.

Some will be posted to various "front line" jobs, including aeromed, CCAST, etc for a brief period, and may end up in training roles if that way inclined. A small number will successfully apply for paramedic training and end up doing MERT far more often than they ever wanted to.

Nursing, again, is predominantly either primary care, or A&E/ITU in an NHS hospital or MDHU. I don't believe there are many RAF theatre nurses, but it's worth talking to the liaison team if you're genuinely interested. Am not certain what the current situation is regarding recruitment into critical care specialities.

 

[Vix134]

Hi,

Thanks for that input! I've just come off the phone with a member of the nursing liaison team who filled me in, said pretty much the same as you guys, but did actually say I could specialise as a theatre nurse - so that's one more positive factor on the nursing side of things.

My friend very helpfully (or not) threw another spanner in the works last night by informing me of the combat medical technician role in the army (I'd not considered any trade outside the RAF beforehand), which sounds almost perfect - but the idea now of switching services completely feels enormous in my head, I've known nothing but the RAF side of things inside out for the past few years! x

 

[JPJ83]

Depends how close you want to get to the action, whether you mind constantly being away from home on exercises or deployments, etc.

Also, bear in mind that plenty of people leave the Army to join the RAF, but not many go the other way.

 

[Vix134]

Interesting closing point, I'll bear that in mind!

Being close to the action isn't a factor that bothers me - not in a nonchalant, it'll-never-happen-to-me way, but because the whole reason I want to join up and be on the medical team is to make a difference where I think I would be needed most - i.e. on the frontline! I just respect and admire regiment/infantry types so much, because they're out there putting their lives on the line almost daily, and I'd quite like to pay them back by helping them at their core - not sat in an office somewhere filling in medical forms and making appointments.

But while the army could offer me that side of things, the RAF offer me aeromed and theatre nurse training etc...which appeal to me just as much!

What do you do, out of interest?

 

[Reformed Scribbly]

Don't forget that we have RAF medics embedded within the deployed rock sqns along similar lines to the army. I don't know too much about the role so couldn't say much in detail. Again the NLT/MDLT could pad out some more info.

 

[Blanche]

Don’t' become a medic you are over qualified and you would find it boring as. The only good point of being a medic is the training as it is with the army and navy. There is no scope to become a paramedic either.
The branch ODP is closed for another year.
Look into Radiographer? Although I hear from a friend that the branch is closed for 2 years as she was the last they took.
MSO is all about HQ and admin. Even if you were a qualified paramedic and an MSO you’d be pushing papers.
Student nursing all the way! The possibilities are endless once your qualified.
If I could change trade from medic I would in a heart beat.
Best of luck

 

[Vix134]

Hey guys, thanks so much for your input - very very gratefully received! If anyone's interested, I've decided to go for student nurse after all. It appears, from everything I've been told, I'd get the best of every world with this trade, and all the challenges that go along with it.

Once again, a very big thank you! Let's hope I find myself passing out from Halton this time next year!

x

 

[Dribble]

Hey i applied as RAF gunner but was rejected as graded CP4 colour blind so i am going for RAF medic awaiting trade re opening. Without trying to sound to gun-hoe i would actually like to get invovled in operations (i do understand i will spend alot of time doing an admin role - but whenever i get the chance id like to get hands on). Because i was graded unable to do regiment gunner this wouldnt stop me trying to become a medic based with the raf regiment would it? I always wanted to be in the raf reg so even if i sneak in 'the back door' even if only for a small time of my raf career i would like to do it!