USCG HEALTH SERVICES TECHNICIAN (HS) RATING BADGE

The Medical and Dental rating system of the U.S. Coast Guard has closely mirrored that of the Navy’s since 1948, when the Hospitalman classification was created for non-rated personnel (E1 to E3) and the Hospital Corpsman rating was established for petty officers. (The same structured was established for Dental personnel.)

In 1983, the rates of Hospital Corpsman and Dental Technician were merged to create the Health Services Technician (HS) rating. Think of HS personnel as Oral Hygienists and and Physician’s Assistants rolled into one, delivering both emergency and routine medical care to Coast Guard personnel and their families. Before their initial deployment, typically to a major medical-services facility where they can be supervised as they acquire valuable interpersonal and administrative skills, they spend five months at the HS Class “A” School at Training Center Petaluma in California.

In addition to traditional classroom settings, they receive hands-on clinical experience in a broad array of foundational disciplines: anatomy, wound repair, nursing skills, preventive medicine, sterilization and asepsis techniques, pharmacy operation, clinical services, and management. The move to digital storage and access of medical records in both the military and civilian sectors is addressed in classes on the management of medical information, with courses on specific Electronic Health systems. (All of the shore-based medical facilities are connected to the Coast Guard Digital Network, but afloat sickbays do not have network connectivity.)

In all, the Coast Guard has more than forty ambulatory clinics to address the health-care needs of its personnel and their family members.