1. For every eat-snake medic that you see, remember that there
are many other good medics who do their job as best as they can be
it in the medical center or outfield.
2. I can tell you that drawing of blood is not a skill which can be
learnt in a textbook. It is not just about sticking a needle in and
pulling a syringe. I can tell you how to do it right now over
sgforums, but if I give you a needle and vacuum tube and ask you do
try it on someone else, I'll bet dollars to donuts that you'll
fail.
Besides, different people have different physiological makeups. For
some people their veins are closer to the surface, while for others
it's further in. Some people have lots of valves in their veins.
And not to mention hefty people who don't have very visible veins
due to the fat.
Besides, have you ever tried drawing blood samples from fifty guys
within half a day? I have. It wasn't easy for me to keep my mind
straight after that. You can't really blame the medic for missing
the vein if he's tired.
3. Once again, watch the tar and brush. Fair enough, there are
medics who aren't committed to the cause and can't even remember
basic first aid skills. I had one platoon medic who totally forgot
EVERYTHING about POCM (Rockhound and other medics will know what's
this) just prior to alert manning.
I was forced to sacrifice one whole day of off in lieu just to come
back to camp to give that bugger a crash course in casualty
management.
But for every medic like him who aren't conscientious, there are
many others who do their job well.
It would do you a whole lot of good to remember that.
