The job of Health Services Technician is an important one in the United States Coast Guard. They are in effect the first line of defense in the military healthcare system for Servicemembers in the Coast Guard. They deal with routine healthcare as well as emergency situations that present themselves. They tend to work in smaller locations ashore, or on board ship. There are facilities that are large clinics in the Coast Guard, but these are more rare as the Coast Guard itself is a smaller service.
Services provided by a Coast Guard Health Care technician can include assisting dental and medical officers, performing routine and other diagnostic care, helping with testing, x-rays, and clinical lab work. They can at times perform direct medical care to Servicemembers and their families, and even in some cases are required to prescribe lesser medications.
The first duty station for a Health Services Technician in the Coast Guard is normally at a larger Coast Guard or Navy base to help a person learn and work under direct supervision. This is both as training and as a method of helping the Health Services Technician learn from more qualified and experienced medical doctors, nurses and other personnel. This is fantastic at helping sharpen the skills necessary for the Health Services Technician to do their job.
As an individual Health Care Technician for the Coast Guard becomes more proficient, then they are assigned to duty stations that can be independent. As a smaller base, a Health Services Technician can literally be responsible for the basic medical care of the personnel at their duty station. Health Services Technicians can also be tasked to participate in Search and Rescue teams, and can be at times of need assigned to be part of an aircrew or boat crew for Search and rescue operations.
Training begins following boot camp at Cape May NJ. Additional training is provided with a thirteen week Class A school in Petaluma, California. There is extensive training in biology, physiology, evaluation and patient examination, anatomy and other medical related skills. The instruction is intensive, both hands on and in the classroom.
To perform as a Health Services Technician in the United State Coast Guard you should be a people person, and someone who enjoys helping people with dental or medical needs. You should be able to use exacting and meticulous attention to even the smallest detail. Coursework in biology, hygiene, mathematics, chemistry and physics is also desired.
