When I got into this line of work, I never really thought much medical skills. It wasn’t my job to patch people up…so I thought. I didn’t want to be a doctor or paramedic because I’d rather not deal with blood and gore. In the academy, the medical/first aid training that we received was in my opinion, inadequate when I think of it now. We got CPR dialed in but everything else, not so much.
A few years back, I decided to take a Shooter’s Aid course taught by Magpul Dynamics. I figured I should know how to save my own life or that of my partners’ of one of us got shot. That class was a wake-up call for me. In the academy, we were taught not to apply tourniquets, unless it was the last resort. What I learned was the exact opposite. Everything taught in that class was up to date with all the current medical knowledge that comes from our military’s experience in our current wars. You put that tourniquet on ASAP!
Emergency medicine is every first responders’ responsibility, especially Peace Officers because we are usually at the scene first and although our fellow first responder colleagues (Fire and EMS) have extremely fast response times, a victim bleeding out may not make it until they get to them-and that’s not counting for a hot zone, where they are not allowed to come in.
Looking back at why I chose this profession, I want to help people and make a difference, to save lives. I can only do that with me having knowledge of what to do when it needs to get done!