SWAT Doctor

I know physicians who are members of a SWAT team, and I witnessed some of the training sessions. In this SWAT team the physicians comprised a separate unit, but trained along with the police officers, although I believe that the physicians carried only pistols and not the automatic weapons the regular SWAT members carried ( MP-5's). They do the same physical training, and practice in simulated rooms, houses, etc along with the rest of the team. In real combat they would probably wait outside.

They had to train first as reserve police officers and go through the local police academy training and pass a background test, as would a police officer.The rationale was that the physicians would be available to provide maximum care to victims who were pinned down and could not be evacuated. I agree that there are likely to be few situations in which a physician skills would be able to provide better care than an EMT, especially since "scoop and run" is the best treatment for most trauma patients, but the police like having physicians available in the event that they are needed, and it's certainly true that there could be some cases in which a physician on scene could provide better care than an EMT.

The physicians liked it because they were able to obtain gun concealed carry permits in a county where it's almost impossible to get one otherwise, and of course, the training is interesting and fun. The doctors are on call most of the time for emergencies. From what I was told, after a couple of years, my friend was called up for duty a couple of times a month, but never saw an injury. Of course, as we see from the news, we'll probably see more need for SWAT activity and perhaps more need for physicians on the scene in the future.

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SWAT Doctor