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SWAT medics, also known as tactical medics or tactical emergency medical supports (TEMS), provide emergency medical care to law enforcement personnel and civilians injured in SWAT operations. SWAT teams are called to situations that regular law enforcement teams are not equipped or trained to handle. These kinds of missions often have the potential to be highly violent and practicing emergency medicine under these circumstances requires an immense amount of discipline, training, and experience. However, if you are up for the challenge, becoming a SWAT medic can be an extremely rewarding career! If you’re curious about how to achieve this goal, read on to learn more about becoming a SWAT medic.
Qualifications & Pay for SWAT Medics
- Start your journey as a police officer, firefighter, or EMT before becoming a SWAT medic.
- Pass the National Tactical Officer Association’s (NTOA) TEMS course if your department requires it.
- If you’re hired to be a SWAT medic, complete your department’s specialized training program, drills, and target practice. The average base salary is about $97,000 per year.
Steps
Question 1 of 7:
Is it hard to become a SWAT medic?
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Yes, it can be pretty challenging to meet some of the requirements. SWAT medics fulfill an exceptionally specific role on the SWAT team. They have to be equal-parts trained fighter and skillful healer. You need experience in law enforcement, medical training, proficiency with firearms, a reputation for having a level head, and a fair bit of luck to land one of these roles. [1] X Research source
- Part of this has to do with the fact that there are very few openings out there, and many SWAT teams don’t even employ a medic. As a result, it can take a long time to find and land one of these positions. [2] X Research source
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It can be tough since there's no set process to become a SWAT medic. This isn’t the kind of job where you go to school, get certified, and fill out a resume to apply for jobs. [3] X Research source SWAT teams rarely accept open applications. In most cases, medics are recruited/promoted to the SWAT team after serving with a fire or police department. In some situations, SWAT departments will reach out to a reputable local nurse ask them to join their team. [4] X Research source
- You will likely need to spend the first portion of your career as an EMT, nurse, doctor, police officer, or firefighter. Departments tend to put veteran officers with a ton of training and experience in these roles, so don’t get discouraged if it takes some time.
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Question 3 of 7:
What are the qualifications for SWAT medics?
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Become a police officer or firefighter . Unless you’re directly recruited to become a SWAT medic as a medical professional, start your journey as a police officer or firefighter. [9] X Research source This process differs a lot from area to area, so look up the requirements where you live and apply for the police academy or the fire academy depending on which strikes you as more interesting.
- The police academy often takes 3-6 months to complete. The fire academy is usually 6 months, but there’s often a trainee apprenticeship period that takes 1-2 years to complete.
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Start as an EMT to take it slow or complete departmental medical training. If you don’t want to become a police officer, become an EMT first and apply to become a police officer whenever you feel like you have the adequate experience. If you’re already a police officer, ask your supervisor about your department’s medical certifications. They’ll point you in the right direction to get the departmental training you need to become a SWAT medic. [10] X Research source
- EMT training typically takes 6 months to complete.
- Starting out as an EMT is probably the hardest way to become a SWAT medic, since the SWAT team really prefers hiring veteran law enforcement officers. However, if you don’t think you want to fall back on a career in law enforcement in the event you don’t get on to the SWAT team, then becoming a certified EMT is probably the way to go!
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Get into the SWAT team first if your department has no SWAT medics. If a SWAT team doesn’t have a medic already, they probably aren’t looking to hire one. In this case, work as a police officer for a while before you apply to join the SWAT team. Once you’re on the team, ask your supervisor about opening a medical position. [11] X Research source
- You typically need to work as a regular police officer for 2-3 years before you can get into the SWAT team.
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Question 5 of 7:
What kind of training does a SWAT medic need?
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You’ll complete a departmental training program once you’re hired. SWAT medics go through some fairly complex and specialized training since, depending on a given situation, you may be fending off criminals, performing emergency medicine, or both. Often, your department will send you to a specialized training program where you’ll complete a highly immersive program over the course of a week or two.
- These programs differ from department to department, since SWAT team procedures are specific from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.
- Many departments will require you to complete an interview, pass a written exam, and demonstrate you’re physically fit before or after your training program begins. [14] X Research source
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Get ready to do a ton of drills and target practice. Due to the fact that SWAT teams are typically placed in high-risk situations with firearms, most departments have some strict requirements when it comes to firearm skills. You’ll likely need to get a lot of practice to pass these departmental shooting exams depending on your background. [15] X Research source On top of that, you’re going to get a lot of practice by drilling with the SWAT team so that you internalize everything you need to know in a critical situation. [16] X Research source
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Tips
- Firefighters may seem like an odd choice for SWAT medic roles. The reasoning here is that firefighters often go through the same kind of emergency medical training you’d need on a SWAT team, and firefighters have experience in high-pressure emergency situations. [19] X Research sourceThanks
- Unfortunately, since SWAT teams don’t list their requirements or disclose their hiring process in many jurisdictions, you may not be able to just look up the optimal path to landing a role on the SWAT team. A lot of this is just going to be persistence and hard work!Thanks
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References
- ↑ https://journals.lww.com/aenjournal/fulltext/2003/10000/the_history_and_evolution_of_tactical_emergency.3.aspx
- ↑ https://journals.lww.com/aenjournal/fulltext/2003/10000/the_history_and_evolution_of_tactical_emergency.3.aspx
- ↑ https://youtu.be/iZX6IMidAUc?t=61
- ↑ https://www.redbookmag.com/life/money-career/a2237/1007-volunteer-swat-team/
- ↑ https://journals.lww.com/aenjournal/fulltext/2003/10000/the_history_and_evolution_of_tactical_emergency.3.aspx
- ↑ https://www.redbookmag.com/life/money-career/a2237/1007-volunteer-swat-team/
- ↑ https://www.ems1.com/ems-education/articles/tactical-ems-an-overview-QGxV4ZSohIhSxOQt/
- ↑ https://www.policemag.com/blogs/swat/blog/15318776/how-long-should-you-stay-in-swat
- ↑ https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-2009-09-15-0909140521-story.html
- ↑ https://www.ems1.com/ems-education/articles/tactical-ems-an-overview-QGxV4ZSohIhSxOQt/
- ↑ https://www.police1.com/swat/articles/how-to-become-a-swat-team-officer-d84Kzax7nlNPxvkz/
- ↑ https://public.ntoa.org/AppResources/publications/Articles/2611.pdf
- ↑ https://www.ibscertifications.org/roles/tactical-paramedic
- ↑ https://www.ntoa.org/pfq/
- ↑ https://youtu.be/iZX6IMidAUc?t=321
- ↑ https://www.mariettaga.gov/278/TEMS-SWAT-Medic-Team
- ↑ https://www.comparably.com/salaries/salaries-for-swat-medic
- ↑ https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-2009-09-15-0909140521-story.html
- ↑ https://behindthebadge.com/cut-from-the-same-cloth-anaheim-medics-an-integral-part-of-swat-team/
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