RAF Medic

Sgt Louise DaSilva

I joined the RAF in 1998 straight from secondary school as a RAF Medic. I had wanted to join the RAF from an early age. After completing Phase 1 training at RAF Halton I proceeded to Defence Medical Services Training Centre (DMSTC) at Keogh Barracks to complete Phase 2 training.

I enjoyed my Phase 2 training a great deal. Part of my training included a placement at MDHU Peterborough for 10 weeks. During this time I did a placement with NHS Ambulance to gain experience in dealing with emergency medical procedures which was excellent.

On completion of Phase 2 training, I was posted to work in the Medical Centre at RAF Wittering. There are a number of sections within a medical centre in which you can be employed these include the administration office, medical boards, dispensary, medical stores and the treatment room. You are also expected to act as the Duty Medic for the station and this can mean responding from anything to an aircraft emergency or a medical emergency on the station.

I have since completed a number of postings to different stations and deployed on out of area tours to the Falklands, Qatar and Iraq.

The highlight of my career so far has been my OOA tour to Iraq where I was employed as part of the Immediate Response Team (IRT). The IRT was responsible for responding to emergencies within theatre working on the back of Royal Navy Seaking and RAF Merlin helicopters.

I have also spent time as part of the Critical Care Air Support Team (CCAST) as the Flight Nurse Assistant (FNA). I enjoyed this job a great deal, it was very rewarding working as part to the team helping to bring back seriously ill individuals to the UK.

This trade offers a range of areas in which you can be employed from Medical Centres to Deployable Aeromedical Response Teams (DARTS) based within Tactical Medical Wing (TMW) and I would strongly recommend it to anyone.

SAC Karen Vernon RAF Medic

I joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) in 2003 after working for 4 and a half years for a large car insurance company. I decided to join the RAF as a Medic as I wanted to travel and have a challenging and rewarding career.

The duties of a RAF Medic comprise, supporting the daily running of a Station Medical Centre, this includes undertaking medical administration, medicines management and dispensing medications from the pharmacy, carrying out medical boards and ambulance duties in support of the station and flying commitments.

My first tour of duty after completing basic and trade training was at RAF Brize Norton, home of the RAF’s transport fleet. This tour lasted 5 and a half years, during this period I was exposed to a myriad of duties as previously mentioned. In addition I supported the Parachute Training School which provided medical cover on a parachute drop zone, this gave me immeasurable clinical experience in field conditions. During this period I was given the opportunity to complete a tandem parachute jump.

I am currently based at RAF Waddington home of the Intelligence Surveillance Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance fleet. One of the major events carried out at this unit is the RAF Waddington International Airshow, an annual event that has afforded me the pleasure of working with a variety of international forces.

The high points of my career to date are deploying on operations to Iraq in 2006/2007, providing medical cover in America for the Air Concentration Exercise during 2009 and more recently Afghanistan during 2010/2011. These deployments have greatly increased my clinical skills and given me the opportunity to work alongside other British and National Services.

The RAF offers a huge amount of adventurous training activities and educational courses to enhance your personal and professional development. Furthermore, the RAF Medical Services also give you the prospect of selection for Paramedic training; this is an avenue I am presently pursuing. It is with pride that I serve as a RAF Medic and would encourage others to consider engaging in this or any other trade as the camaraderie and esprit de corps is like nothing I have experienced in civilian life.