United States Army Medical Corps
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United States Army Medical Corps | |
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![]() The U.S. Army Medical Corps Branch Plaque, erroneously invoking the caduceus as a symbol of medicine. | |
Active | 1908 – present day |
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Branch | ![]() |
The Medical Corps (MC) of the
The MC traces its earliest origins to the first physicians recruited by the Medical Department of the Army, created by the
Currently, the MC consists of over 4,400
History
Origins
Both the Army Medical Department and the Medical Corps trace their origins to 27 July 1775, when the Continental Congress established the first Army Hospital to be headed by a "Director General and Chief Physician". The language of the Congressional resolution spoke of "an Hospital" which in those days meant a hospital system or medical department. Among the accomplishments of Army surgeons during the years of the Revolution was completion (in 1778, at Lititz, Pennsylvania) of the first pharmacopoeia printed in America. In 1789, the Department of the Hospital was disbanded and a system of "Regimental Surgeons" was established in its place.
19th century
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During the period that followed (1789–1818) Congress provided for a medical organization for the Army only in time of war or emergency. For example, in 1812 Congress established the Medical Department of the Northern Army as a response to the need for medical support during operations in the War of 1812. In 1816, medical officers were given uniforms (but not military rank) for the first time. A permanent and continuous Medical Department was not established until 1818. That year a "Surgeon General" was appointed (Joseph Lovell, the first to hold that specific title) and since then a succession of Surgeons General and a permanent Corps organization in the Army Medical Department have followed. Physicians assigned to the U.S. Army were finally accorded military rank in 1847, although the old Regimental Surgeon system of additional designations ("Assistant Surgeon", "Surgeon") was also retained until 1908.
In 1862, Surgeon General
20th century
Congress made official the designation "Medical Corps" in 1908, although the term had long been in use informally among the Medical Department's regular physicians.
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The first woman to receive a Regular Army commission in the MC was Major
- Enter the armed services immediately and return to their residencies after fulfilling their obligated service;
- Enter the armed services two years after medical school and complete their residencies after service;
- Enter the service after the completion of residency training.
The "Berry Plan"[1] deferred doctors who were taking their residency, so that the Army would get the benefit of their advanced education. Eventually, GME became both a recruiting and a retention tool for the AMEDD, and board-certified specialists were attracted in steady numbers. Those MC officers who did not elect Option 1, or who were not needed immediately, were "deferred." Some were allowed Option 3, to complete their residency training and then entered active duty as a fully trained specialist. Those who were deferred for only one year of residency were termed "partially trained specialists" and were usually given military assignments that allowed them to work within their specialty. Many residency programs would give a year's credit toward completion of residency for their time in military service to physicians who served under Option 2. (This triple option program continued for 19 years until the US military draft ended in 1973.)
During the
21st century
As of mid-2008, the number of active duty doctors serving in the MC nearly met the requirement of 4,448 authorized positions. Primary care specialties represented the greatest shortfall in endstrength numbers.[2]
Career management
As with all Army officers, the
Entry
The most common source of new physicians for the Army are medical students attending civilian medical schools and participating in the Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP). By so participating they have their expenses paid for them and incur a four-year service obligation. A smaller number graduate from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) in Bethesda, Maryland and serve on active duty (as second lieutenants) while students, incurring a seven-year obligation. Some MC officers are accessed via direct commission after completion of specialty or sub-specialty training before entry on active duty.
US Army MC specialties
The MC consists of 41 areas of concentration (AOC) within officer branches 60, 61 and 62. A young MC officer typically starts out as a general medical officer (AOC 62B) following completion of the first year of graduate medical education (GME).[4] They may later specialize following completion of residency training in a military (or less often, civilian) program. Later, these physicians may continue with subspecialty training or continue in operational positions providing clinical care, conducting research, or in other positions.[5]
The 41 AOC identifiers for the US Army MC are:
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The branch skill codes ("degree of proficiency" designators) for the US Army MC are:[6]
- Medical proficiency 9A—Determination is on a basis of individual merit by TSG's Classification Board.
- Medical proficiency 9B—Certification by the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) in a particular specialty or subspecialty.
- Medical proficiency 9C—Completion of formal subspecialty training to meet the ABMS requirement of an approved residency or fellowship in a recognized teaching center.
- Medical proficiency 9D—Successful completion of the first year (internship) of an approved GME training program.
- Medical proficiency 9E—Intern in an approved first year GME training program which, upon successful completion, will result in the Medical Proficiency of 9D. While an intern, the officer will be awarded the AOC specialty in which he/she is training with the medical proficiency skill identifier of 9E.
- Medical proficiency 9F—Fellow in an approved fellowship GME training program.
The branch skill code is appended to the MC officer's AOC. For example, "60H9C" designates a board-eligible, but not yet board-certified, Army cardiologist.
Licensures, boards, credentials, and special pays
All Army MC officers are required to hold a
Career assignment fields
U.S. Army physicians serve in one of three general career fields that are not formal parts of the MOS classification system:
Operational Medicine is the field of Army medicine that provides medical support to the Soldier and his/her Chain of Command. Many Operational Physicians serve as Division, Brigade and Battalion level Surgeons (the word "surgeon" is used to identify a physician that is assigned to a unit as a primary care provider and not necessarily as a General Surgeon). These Physicians are either assigned through the PROFIS (Professional Filler System) or through permanent assignment (PCS). Deployments with units to combat theaters are for the duration of a deployment and the jobs are mostly filled by primary care physicians. A PROFIS provider can expect to be deployed away from their family for a total of 16 months (1 month before deployment, 12 months in theater, and 3 months for "stabilization" after return to the assigned units home station). This means that primary care physicians are deployed for longer periods than most specialist Physicians. A specialist (ie..General Surgeon, Trauma Surgeon, Rheumatologist) will usually be deployed for 6 months. Operational Physicians should expect that greater than 60% of their time will be spent in administrative roles and non-patient care. 40% of the Operational providers time is spent caring for Soldiers or supervising unit Physician Assistants(PAs). With the recent BCT (Brigade Combat Team) restructuring, the demand for Operational Surgeons have increased. Likely, the poor retention of Captains and junior Major Physicians in the primary care fields is due to the relative inequality of deployment length and deployment frequency.
Clinical Medicine is the field of Army medicine where a Physician in uniform basically functions like a Physician in the Civilian arena. These Physicians are assigned to the various Army MEDCENs (Medical Centers) and MEDDACs (Medical Department Activities, i.e., hospitals and clinics). Each of these Physicians are assigned to a PROFIS unit. Usually primary care physicians deploy to fill Battalion level Surgeon positions. Medical Specialists deploy to support CSH (combat support hospitals).
Research Medicine is filled by the minority of military physicians. Most of these research Physicians are based in larger Army Medical Centers.[7]
See also
- U.S. Army Medical Command(MEDCOM)
- United States Army Medical Department Museum
- United States Navy Medical Corps
- United States Air Force Medical Corps
References
Citations and notes
- ^ Officially, the Armed Forces Physicians' Appointment And Residency Consideration Program
- ^ Medical Operational Data System (MODS), "AMEDD Deployment Data"; Available from http://www.mods.army.mil/ Archived 2008-08-05 at the Wayback Machine
- Department of the Army, Department of the Army Pamphlet 611–2, "Military Occupational Classification and Structure" Archived 2012-09-15 at the Wayback Machine; Washington, DC (31 March 1999).
- Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
- ^ Department of the Army Pamphlet 600–4, "Army Medical Department Officer Development and Career Management" Washington, DC (27 June 2007), pg 45.
- ^ DA PAM 600–4, 27 June 2007, pg 47.
- ^ History, Training, and Education (AMEDD website), "AMEDD FAQ and General Info"; Available from www.amedd.army.mil/
Other sources
- Engleman, Rose C. and Robert T. J. Joy (1975), 200 Years of Military Medicine, The Historical Unit of the US Army Medical Department, Fort Detrick, Maryland.
- Gillett, Mary C. (1981), The Army Medical Department, 1775–1818, Washington, DC: United States Army Center of Military History, United States Army. (Series: Army Historical Series)
- Gillett, Mary C. (1987), The Army Medical Department, 1818–1865, Washington, DC: Center of Military History, United States Army. (Series: Army Historical Series)
- Gillett, Mary C. (1995), The Army Medical Department, 1865–1917, Washington, DC: Center of Military History, United States Army. (Series: Army Historical Series)
- Gillett, Mary C. (2009), The Army Medical Department, 1917–1941, Washington, DC: Center of Military History, United States Army. (Series: Army Historical Series)
External links
- "Home of the Army Medical Corps" website
- Medical Corps Professional Development Guide (2002) at the AMEDD website
- Virtual Naval Hospital – a digital library of military medicine and humanitarian medicine
- Essay and Video on Military Medicine in the War of 1812
- The short film Big Picture: Army Medicine is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive.