US Navy Medical Corps
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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 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. 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 (BUMED), which is led by the Surgeon General of the United States Navy. 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 The Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP) offers prospective military physicians (M.D. or D.O.), dentists, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, optometrists, psychologists, pharmacists, and veterinarians a paid medical education in e ...
were created. In both programs, civilians are given a direct commission to the rank of ensign (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 ...
or Undersea Medical Officer . RADM Bruce L. Gillingham is the 39th Surgeon General of the United States Navy 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 *
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 * 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)


See also

*
United States Army Medical Corps The Medical Corps (MC) of the U.S. Army is a staff corps (non-combat specialty branch) of the U.S. Army Medical Department (AMEDD) consisting of commissioned medical officers – physicians with either an M.D. or a D.O. degree, at least one ye ...


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 Medical units and formations of the United States Navy