Is it better to be a Combat Medic and join as a soldier or join as a Paramedic and join as an officer?
180 views
Additional information
I'm trying to decide if my career will go further if I join at 16 through Harrogate and serve in a front line unit as a Medic or stay at school and apply for Sandhurst before going to University and studying Paramedic Science. What are the promotional prospects as a Medic Vs those of a paramedic and is it easy to get on the promotional courses as a Medic?
Anonymous asked a question to Medical
Category: Career Advice
Date asked: Tuesday, December 14, 2021
Last reviewed: Friday, December 17, 2021
Tori C.
Regimental Medical Officer
Hello,
The paramedic career pathway is a difficult one to advise on. Paramedics, at the moment, join as soldiers and are also CMTs, but they sometimes join in a higher rank depending on their level of experience. You can do your paramedic training through the army if you join as a CMT, it is not guaranteed, but there is a pathway for this (although I believe it can be competitive).
In regards to promotion, you compete against your peers, so how easy it is to promote will vary from year to year, and also depend on how you perform in your role.
If you wish to join as an officer and go to university, I would recommend considering one of the other clinical jobs eg nursing, physiotherapy, doctor, pharmacist, vet etc.. the full range of Army Medical Services jobs can be seen on our 'role finder' page.
I hope that helps!
Friday, December 17, 2021
This discussion is closed, so no new comments can be added.
Did you find this discussion helpful?
Related discussions
I want to join the army as either a driver or an army nurse but I can't do press-ups. Will this stop me from joining?I would like to do joinery with in the army. •Would phase one be basic training in joinery or in army survival kind ?i want to train to become a combat medical technician and wondered if you would advise doing officer training as well?What is better a medical support officer or a combat medic?Should i do medicine then join army or vice versaIf I became a medical corps would I be expected to go onto the battlefields alongside other soldiers during mission etc?Int Corps as a soldier or an officer???Is it possible to become a Physicians Associate in the army?If I train to be a combat medic, could I then go onto doing a university degree to become an army nurse in the future?Do you have to be a qualified doctor before applying or can you get the qualifications whilst being in the army?What’s it like becoming a medic in the army?If I join as an infantry soldier could I become a paratrooper and if so how?If I joined as a combat medical technician would I then still be able to commission into a different regiment and role?If I joined as a combat medical technician would I then still be able to commission into a different regiment and role?As a CMT am I attached to an infantry regiment or attached to a medical regiment? Do medical regiments deploy a lot?