Im interested in becoming a winchman and was wondering if anyone could offer me advice on the best career path to take.
Which came first the chicken or the egg? Does it really matter?
Inherent with the crewman (Mil SAR) role nowadays (post 2005) is the requirement and expected standard of SAR rearcrew to be of a Paramedic standard. Whilst within the military it is acceptable that a probationary period is undertaken with lattitude for skill advancement to take place over a 12 month period leading from a basic level (ambulance technician) to advanced level (paramedic); within the civilian world (new entrants)the required/expected standard is Paramedic (as a winchman)from the first day you are on the job.
The military both (RAF and RN down there own pathways) have the luxury of being able to pick and choose by means of SAR pre-select and then SARTU/OCU the best of the bunch that fit the criteria for winchmen, they then train them up medically.
In the civilian world given a robust recruitment process, employing someone already qualified to paramedic level is clearly an advantage (over the less/un-qualified rearcrew wannabee).
In the air, to a degree the winchman can be 'carried' by the rest of the crew to get him on scene (think Direct entry SAR winchmen), however once with the casualty he is (often) on his own, (think very long pulse checks for those new to the SAR world..)
The RAF, in my opoinion have the advantage over the RN largely beacause the SAR role is not seen as front line operations by the RN, although that is/has changed over recent years, there is more likely hood of an RN Winchmen being returned to his Jungley (or other) roots than an RAF counterpart. Note please I said 'advantage', not that one is better than the other.
Finally, one analogy might be that, not all Pilots have pilots backgrounds, many come from all walks of life; however it may be an advantage to them applying for the job if thay have, for example, an aeronautical degree and some aptitude. Likewise, not all crewman have crewman backgrounds, however it may be an advantage to them to have an advanced diploma/degree in Paramedical science, and some aptitude.
Strange then that many of the UK's RAF SAR most daring, dangerous and decorated rescues were carried out by winchmen who were not paramedics
BT, and in there lies the great question of what standard of care is required/expected of Winchmen. The standard (post 2005) is governed by HPC. Whilst (depends how far back you want to go), Scoop and run was the norm; nowadays, accountability and duty of care play a much greater part. If you accept that Mil SAR have to meet the HPC standard, then you have to be able to justify your actions to a greater degree. In the pre paramedic days (lets say at its extreme, only band aids were carried on the a/c) then that was the 'expectation'. Today however, applying a band aid, when the skill set means you can carry out advanced airways/cannulation/IV drugs etc would not be acceptable.
Daring/dangerous/decorated rescues are still carried out by todays winchmen (paramedic qualified) and they may or may not have used none/some/all of those skills to carry that out, however you can be sure that if they were needed, and didn't use them, then questions would be asked. If they didn't need them, then thats a bonus.
