BEING A MEDIC IN THE NAVY

[patti dalida]

Hi everyone- My son's job in the Navy is being a Medic.He is now stationed at Camp Pendleton in California. He is very bored with his job and I'm wondering is it going to get any better for him? What exactly will be his duties? Thanks-Patti

[bowmdg]

My son is a corpsman assigned with the Marines at Camp Pendleton. He has been in for 10 years now, enlisting at the age of 20. He attended college for two years and found it "boring!" That word is popular these days!! He spent the first 7 years as a dental assistant and when this opportunity became available he went for it. He enjoys his work and is now preparing to deploy to Iraq. The Navy has been a good choice for my son. He has matured quite a bit and has found his niche.

[Laura]

Hi,my son is a Navy Corpsman,stationed in Okinawa. He absolutely loves his job and is never bored.He went straight from A school to Okinawa for a 2 yr stint. He has 7 months left. So far he has gone to school received his ACLS rating and also is now a nationally registered EMT. He worked one of the base clinics for over a year and now works the ER at the NavHosp plus pulls duty at the firehouse on the ambulance. He has chosen this field and makes the best of it. Let your son know if he is bored to look into the schools and education opportunities the Navy affords these young corpsman as there are many avenues he can explore.My son hopes to go to Pendleton from Okinawa for his field med training and then with his Marines to Afghanistan as their "Doc". There is a vast world of things to explore and learn and the Navy will help anyone interested, in achieving goals they may have set for themselves.HOORAH CORPSMAN UP!!!!!

[Cathy]

Hi - My son is a corpsman assigned to the 7th Marines, and is currently in Iraq. He chose to go FMF rather than hospital work. (His best friend is assigned to a hospital and doesn't like it). For my son, the road has not been an easy one for most of the past 2 years, but he is finally making his mark and seems to be getting rewarded for all the hard work and sacrifice. His life has become a whole lot less boring these past 5 months of deployment! If your son is more interested in related medical fields he should definitely look into that path. I can personally recommend radiography as a great field (I'm an x-ray tech). My son has never been the kind of guy to give me many details about anything, but from what he has told me in the past, corpsman work for the guys just recently out of A school sounds similar to what a nurses' aide might do in a hospital: take vitals, give IVs, do EKGs, etc. It certainly should get better as your son gains in experience, schooling and rank. I think the main thing is for him to carefully choose the direction he wants his career to go. I wish him the best!

[Lisa Rodriguez]

Hi Patti,
My son Rico is an FMF Doc at Camp Pendleton, he went to Iraq for 6 months with a Marine unit. When he first joined the Navy, 2 years ago, I thought he was going to be on a ship or at a Navy Hospital and was concerned when he was stationed with the Marines. He is very happy being a Doc for the Marines and he has made many great friendships. I like that he is stationed close by, we live in San Diego and he visits every weekend.
I'm sure things will get better for your son as they do rotate duties; sometimes in the field and other times at the clinic.
take care....Lisa

[Sherry]

My son also is a Hospital Corpsman (medic) attached to the Marines. He is serving in Afghanistan right now. He just is entering his 3rd year and finds it interesting. Although he has stated at times that it can get boring, he said it is more what you want to make of it then what they give you to do. In other words...he requests for duties such as more field training, more schooling and has a long term goal. I think that would be the most important thing for your son to have if he does not. It will give him a real purpose and drive to keep improving himself and take advantage of the free schooling and experiences available through the Navy. ( I say free loosely). My Son tested to be a HM2 HC 2nd class E-5...but couldn't be awarded that because you have to have 3yrs in before you can be that level. So, in the mean time he is serving his time at war and will continue his training and re-test when he is out (He will be in 3 yrs then...at the time he was 2wks short )...So, sometimes there will be barriers but like I say, if he has a goal(s) maybe there will be more incentive. And he won't find it so boring. And if after he has tried and he still finds it boring...maybe this is just not the field for him and he could switch(?). Hope something in here helps. Good luck to you and your son.

[Cindy Corpsman Mom]

Hey Patti! If you find out, let me know! My son is also stationed at CP and I see you've already heard from Tamie. If you'd like check out our Camp Pendleton Mom's group. It's a great group of mom's and I'd like to thing we are friendly as well. Tamie is the creator and her son is ahead of my Morgan. Morgan graduated from FMTB in May. Here's my thought, since they are still 'newbies' they get a lot of the grunt work, or they are in the wrong place at the wrong time. Morgan ended up being the Head Admin before they classed up and he didn't like it at all. He would've much rather been working in the hospital. I don't think he realized it was probably giving shots, cleaning out bedpans, etc. Every corpsman has their ups and downs and will continue to. My advice is to take the 'wait and see' option to go along with the 'hurry, hurry, wait' option. Things are always changing. Continue to encourage. Once again, check out the CP group, there may be another mom there whose corpsman may know your corpsman! As Tamie has told you, write if you have any questions. I'll try to help as well. Cindy

[Redcountrygurl]

HI Nancy, I hope this finds you better than you were. My son is also a combat medic but the last thing I heard he was still at Great Lakes but his dad and I being divorced there are alot of things that I don't know and don't get told. But if your son is that bored because I know I was USAF and things can get boring at time, tell him to do what I did and go back to school threw more training, I got my Emergency Medical Truma degree and then things were great. Hope this helps some but here in there your his mom and he needs you and I can still honestly say that even though me and my son don't get to talk much...

[Tammy]

Hello...
If he is doing the FMTB training with the Marines...he will be busy...its just the waiting for this class to end. My son is graduating on the 31st from FMTB at Camp Pendleton...he said the same in the beginning, bored, etc...just wait until its just like being in boot camp again...sharing a barrick with 299 of your closets friends!! By the way...does anyone know what time graduation is?

[Linda Fleshman]

8/18/09
Patti,
Rest assured your son will wish he had some of this down time in the future. For right now, he may want to research what he wants to do with his future, be it in the Navy, or civilian. Has he been to FMF school yet or any sea duty? His job will be what he wants to make of it....
[e-mail]
Linda