The Medical Corps of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

is a

staff corps A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military ...

consisting of military

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

s in a variety of specialties. It is the senior corps among all staff corps, second in precedence only to

line officers In the United States Armed Forces, a line officer or officer of the line is a U.S. Navy or U.S. Marine Corps commissioned officer or warrant officer who exercises general command authority and is eligible for operational command positions, as o ...

. The corps of

commissioned officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...

s was founded on March 3, 1871. Prior to the formal establishment of the corps, ships’ surgeons served without commissions, unless given one by the commanding officer. Those commissions would be for the duration of a specific cruise. The Medical Corps is one of the four staff corps of the Navy's

Bureau of Medicine and Surgery The Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BUMED) is an agency of the United States Department of the Navy that manages health care activities for the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. BUMED operates hospitals and other health c ...

(BUMED), which is led by the

Surgeon General of the United States Navy The surgeon general of the Navy (SGN) is the most senior commissioned officer of the Medical Corps of the United States Navy and is the principal advisor to the United States Secretary of the Navy, Chief of Naval Operations and director of the ...

. Facing a shortage of trained physicians to serve the needs of the Navy and Marine Corps, the Uniformed Services Health Professions Revitalization Act of 1972 was passed. This was a two-pronged act in which the

Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) is a health science university of the U.S. federal government. The primary mission of the school is to prepare graduates for service to the U.S. at home and abroad in the medical corps as ...

and the Health Professions Scholarship Program were created. In both programs, civilians are given a direct commission to the rank of

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

(O-1) in the

United States Navy Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Sele ...

which they hold throughout the four years of their

medical education Medical education is education related to the practice of being a medical practitioner, including the initial training to become a physician (i.e., medical school and internship (medical), internship) and additional training thereafter (e.g., Re ...

. During this time they receive financial assistance on the condition that they meet reservist requirements, maintain military standards, and agree to serve on active duty as physicians. The commitment required is at least 4 years for HPSP and 7 years of service for USUHS students. Upon graduation, the new physicians are promoted to the rank of

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

(O-3) and enter active duty as medical interns (PGY-1) at a Naval Hospital. Upon completion of an internship year, a Navy physician can be deployed to the fleet as a General Medical Officer, though opportunities also exist to complete full-residency training in the specialty of their choice or undergo 6 months of training to become a

Flight Surgeon A flight surgeon is a military medical officer practicing in the clinical field of aviation medicine. Although the term "flight surgery" is considered improper by purists, it may occasionally be encountered. Flight surgeons are physicians ( MD ...

Undersea Medical Officer The underwater environment is the region below the surface of, and immersed in, liquid water in a natural or artificial feature (called a body of water), such as an ocean, sea, lake, pond, reservoir, river, canal, or aquifer. Some characterist ...

. RADM

Bruce L. Gillingham Bruce Lindsley Gillingham (born April 16, 1959) is a United States Navy rear admiral and orthopedic surgeon who serves as the 39th surgeon general of the United States Navy. As surgeon general, Gillingham is dual-hatted as the 43rd chief of the ...

is the 39th

and is the highest-ranking officer of the Medical Corps. The Chief of the Medical Corps is RDML Guido F. Valdes, who concurrently serves as Commander, Naval Medical Forces Pacific.

Qualifications and designations

Members of the Medical Corps are eligible to pursue qualification programs that lead to breast insignia such as: * Flight Surgeon Insignia (USA, USN, USAF) *

Astronaut Badge The United States Astronaut Badge is a badge of the United States, awarded to military and civilian personnel who have completed training and performed a successful spaceflight. A variation of the astronaut badge is also issued to civilians who ...

Surface Warfare Medical Corps Insignia The surface warfare insignia is a military badge of the United States Navy which is issued to U.S. Navy personnel who are trained and qualified to perform duties aboard United States surface warships. There are presently four classes of the surf ...

Submarine Medical Insignia Insignias and badges of the United States Navy are military badges issued by the United States Department of the Navy to naval service members who achieve certain qualifications and accomplishments while serving on both active and reserve duty ...

* Diving (Medical) Insignia * Fleet Marine Force Insignia *

Master Parachutist Badge The Parachutist Badge, also commonly referred to as "Jump Wings" is a military badge of the United States Armed Forces. The United States Space Force and United States Coast Guard are the only branches that do not award the Parachutist Badge, bu ...

Seabee combat warfare specialist insignia The Seabee Combat Warfare Specialist (SCWS) insignia is a warfare qualification of the United States Navy. To be eligible to earn the SCWS insignia, personnel must first be assigned to a qualifying unit of the Naval Construction Force ( Seabees) ...

Ships named after physicians

Reference:

Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships The ''Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships'' (''DANFS'') is the official reference work for the basic facts about ships used by the United States Navy. When the writing project was developed the parameters for this series were designed to ...

* USS ''Begor'' (DE-711) * USS ''J. Douglas Blackwood'' (DE-219) * USS ''Boone'' (FFG-28) * USS ''Bronstein'' (DE-189) * USS ''Bronstein'' (DE-1037) * USS ''Gendreau'' (DE-639) * USS ''Grayson'' (DD-435) * USS ''Heermann'' (DD-532) * USS ''Kane'' (DD-235) * USS ''Kane'' (AGS-27) * USS ''Longshaw'' (DD-559) * USS ''Samuel S. Miles'' (DE-183) * USS ''Pinkney'' (APH-2) * USS ''Pratt'' (DE-363) * USS ''Rall'' (DE-304) * USS ''Ringness'' (DE-590) * USS ''Rixey'' (APH-3) * USS ''Tryon'' (APH-1) * USS ''William M. Wood'' (DD-715) * USS ''Wood'' (DD-317) * USNS ''Charles Drew'' (T-AKE-10)

References

External links

National Naval Medical Center Bethesda official webpage
(on USN official website). Retrieved 2009-12-05.
Naval Medical Center Portsmouth official webpage
(on USN official website). Retrieved 2009-12-05.
Naval Medical Center San Diego official webpage
(on USN official website). Retrieved 2009-12-05.
Medical Corps
Navy.com (Health Care Opportunities). Retrieved 2009-12-05.
Virtual Naval Hospital
- a digital library of military medicine and humanitarian medicine. Retrieved 2010-09-22.
Per NAVEDTRA 12966 Commander Naval Medical Education and Training Command
Retrieved 2011-01-08. {{US Navy navbox

United States Navy Medical Corps The Medical Corps of the United States Navy is a staff corps consisting of military physicians in a variety of specialties. It is the senior corps among all staff corps, second in precedence only to line officers. The corps of commissioned offic ...

Medical units and formations of the United States Navy

Qualifications and designations

Ships named after physicians

See also

References

External links