Photo By Petty Officer 3rd Class Meagan Christoph | Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Brittany Concepcion receives a Navy and Marine Corps...... read more read more
BREMERTON, Wash— “I am Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Brittany Concepcion, assigned to Naval Hospital Bremerton (NHB).”
Concepcion, from Orange County, Calif., graduated from Bolsa Grande High School in 2013 and joined the Navy shortly after graduation.
“Since I was five I’ve known I would have some sort of career within the field of medicine and its supporting areas,” said Concepcion. “My cousin and a few family friends spent a few years in the Marine Corps, and they shared stories about their beloved doctors. That inspired me to become a corpsman.”
Concepcion is serving as the Basic Life support (BLS) program manager at Naval Hospital Bremerton (NHB), also supporting other commands throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Prior to serving at NHB, Concepcion has served in medical records, admissions and discharge, as an overseas screening coordinator, fleet liaison, and platoon corpsman. Navy Medicine has taken her to several countries in East Asia, Alaska, Guam, Hawaii, and multiple places across the United States.
When asked what has been her best assignment in Navy Medicine, Concepcion described challenging assignments that taught her skills that have helped shape her into the leader and corpsman she is today.
“I really enjoyed my time with the Marines in Okinawa,” related Concepcion. “I was selected to be the first female corpsman with 5th Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company. While it was the most challenging assignment, I had the opportunity to learn so much. During that tour my platoon completed training operations between Korea and Louisiana. I was also able to attend training at the Trauma Center at Los Angeles County and University of Southern California (LAC/USC) Medical Center for extensive trauma care training, which was one of the greatest training cycles I’ve ever come across.”
As the BLS program manager, Concepcion provides support to the hospital and various commands in the surrounding area by teaching vital BLS skills such as how to respond to hospital and clinic emergency codes, handling chemical spills, providing emergency cardiopulmonary resuscitation, rescuing drowning victims, responding to opioid overdoses and much more.
She attended a BLS instructor course to become qualified and now offers three BLS courses a month along with teaching extra courses when requested.
“Within calendar year 2018 we taught about 5,000 students. It’s about that number every year,” said Concepcion.
Concepcion recently received a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (NAM) for volunteering to teach a BLS course at Joint Base Lewis-McChord to Navy Reservists.
“I never thought I would get a NAM for volunteering,” said Concepcion. “I was just doing my job. They didn’t have to give me one. It’s just super nice and really awesome.”
Concepcion explained that her role as BLS manager focuses on training staff to stay mission ready and contributes to the Navy surgeon general priority readiness in many ways.
“Working at the Naval Hospital, almost everyone is required to be certified in BLS,” said Concepcion. “If they’re not trained and certified, they are not able to operate toward the mission. The providers are not allowed to practice medicine and render care independently unless they’re certified.”
When asked to sum up her experience with Navy Medicine Concepcion said, “Stay flexible, stay humble, and be willing to learn and grow.”
| Date Taken: | 01.09.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 01.09.2020 10:46 |
| Story ID: | 358523 |
| Location: | BREMERTON, WA, US |
| Web Views: | 507 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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