Navy Medical Corps
Encyclopedia
The Medical Corps of the United States Navy
is a staff corps consisting of military physician
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 officers 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.
However, 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
and the Health Professions Scholarship Program
were created.http://nshs.med.navy.mil/hpsp/Pages/HPSPHome.htm In both programs, civilians are given a direct commission to the rank of Ensign
(O-1) in the United States Navy Reserve
which they hold throughout the four years of their medical education
. 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
(O-3) and enter active duty as medical interns (PGY-1) at a Naval Hospital.
Upon completion of an internship year, a Navy physician usually is 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
or Undersea Medical Officer.
, the Navy Medical Corps has over 20,000 active duty and reserve commissioned officers holding more than 47 specialties and almost 200 sub-specialties.
, Vice Admiral Matthew L. Nathan
is the 37th Surgeon General of the United States Navy
and is the head of the Medical Corps.
Members of the Medical Corps are eligible to pursue qualification programs that lead to breast insignia
such as:
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
is a staff corps consisting of military physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
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 officers 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.
However, 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
The Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences is a health science university run by 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....
and the Health Professions Scholarship Program
Health Professions Scholarship Program
The Health Professions Scholarship Program offers prospective military physicians, dentists, nurse practitioners, optometrists, psychologists, physician assistants, pharmacists and veterinarians a paid medical education in exchange for service as a commissioned medical department officer...
were created.http://nshs.med.navy.mil/hpsp/Pages/HPSPHome.htm In both programs, civilians are given a direct commission to the rank of Ensign
Ensign (rank)
Ensign is a junior rank of a commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries, normally in the infantry or navy. As the junior officer in an infantry regiment was traditionally the carrier of the ensign flag, the rank itself acquired the name....
(O-1) in the United States Navy Reserve
United States Navy Reserve
The United States Navy Reserve, until 2005 known as the United States Naval Reserve, is the Reserve Component of the United States Navy...
which they hold throughout the four years of their medical education
Medical education
Medical education is education related to the practice of being a medical practitioner, either the initial training to become a doctor or additional training thereafter ....
. 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
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
(O-3) and enter active duty as medical interns (PGY-1) at a Naval Hospital.
Upon completion of an internship year, a Navy physician usually is 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
Flight surgeon
A flight surgeon is a military medical officer assigned to duties in the clinical field variously known as aviation medicine, aerospace medicine, or flight medicine...
or Undersea Medical Officer.
, the Navy Medical Corps has over 20,000 active duty and reserve commissioned officers holding more than 47 specialties and almost 200 sub-specialties.
, Vice Admiral Matthew L. Nathan
Matthew L. Nathan
Vice Admiral Matthew L. Nathan is the 37th Surgeon General of the United States NavyNathan received his Bachelors of Science from Georgia Tech and his M.D. from The Medical College of Georgia in 1981. He completed Internal Medicine specialty training in 1984 at the University of South Florida...
is the 37th Surgeon General of the United States Navy
Surgeon General of the United States Navy
The Surgeon General of the United States Navy is the senior-most medical corps officer in the United States Navy.- Establishment of the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery :...
and is the head of the Medical Corps.
Qualifications and designations
Badges of the United States Navy
Insignia 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 in the United States Navy...
such as:
- Flight Surgeon InsigniaFlight Surgeon Badge (United States)The Flight Surgeon Badge is a military badge of the United States Armed Forces which has existed since the Second World War.The Flight Surgeon Badge is presented to those members of the military who are both qualified medical officers and certified flight surgeons. The original Flight Surgeon...
(USA, USN, USAF) - Surface Warfare Medical Corps Insignia
- Submarine Medical InsigniaSubmarine Medical insigniaThe Submarine Medical Insignia is a badge of the United States Navy which is presented to medical officers of the Navy Medical Corps who have received training and qualification in submarine warfare and medical expertise...
- Diving (Medical) InsigniaDiving BadgeThe Diver Insignia are qualification badges of the Uniformed Services of the United States which are awarded to servicemen qualified as divers...
- Fleet Marine Force Insignia
Ships named after Physicians
Reference: Dictionary of American Naval Fighting ShipsDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
The Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships is the official reference work for the basic facts about ships used by the United States Navy...
- USS Begor (DE-711)
- USS Boone (FFG-28)USS Boone (FFG-28)USS Boone is the twentieth ship in the United States Navy's Oliver Hazard Perry class of guided missile frigates.The frigate was named for Vice Admiral Joel Thompson Boone, M.D. . FFG-28, the first U.S. ship to bear the admiral's name, was ordered January 23, 1978, launched 16 January 1980 by...
- USS Bronstein (DE-189)USS Bronstein (DE-189)USS Bronstein was a built for the United States Navy during World War II. She served in the Atlantic Ocean and provided escort service against submarine and air attack for Navy vessels and convoys. She returned home at war's end with a three battle stars...
- USS Bronstein (DE-1037)
- USS Gendreau (DE-639)USS Gendreau (DE-639)USS Gendreau was a in the United States Navy. She was commissioned on 17 March 1944 and decommissioned on 13 March 1948. She served throughout the Pacific during World War II....
- USS Grayson (DD-435)USS Grayson (DD-435)USS Grayson , a Gleaves-class destroyer, is the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Rear Admiral Cary Travers Grayson, who served as personal physician and aide to President Woodrow Wilson during World War I...
- USS Heermann (DD-532)USS Heermann (DD-532)USS Heermann was a World War II-era Fletcher-class destroyer in the service of the United States Navy, named after Fleet Surgeon Lewis Heermann ....
- USS J. Douglas Blackwood (DE-219)USS J. Douglas Blackwood (DE-219)USS J. Douglas Blackwood , a of the United States Navy, was named in honor of Commander J. Douglas Blackwood , who was killed in action, aboard the cruiser , during the Battle of Savo Island on 9 August 1942....
- USS Kane (DD-235)USS Kane (DD-235)USS Kane was a Clemson-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War II. She was the first ship named for Elisha Kent Kane....
- USS Kane (AGS-27)
- USS Longshaw (DD-559)USS Longshaw (DD-559)USS Longshaw , a Fletcher-class destroyer, was a ship of the United States Navy named for Dr. William Longshaw, Jr. , who served in the Navy and was killed during the Civil War....
- USS Pinkney (APH-2)USS Pinkney (APH-2)USS Pinkney was a Tryon-class evacuation transport that was assigned to the U.S. Navy during World War II. Pinkney served in the Pacific Ocean theatre of operations and returned home safely post-war with six battle stars but missing 18 crew members who were killed in action.In 1947 she was...
- USS Pratt (DE-363)USS Pratt (DE-363)USS Pratt was a acquired by the U.S. Navy during World War II. The primary purpose of the destroyer escort was to escort and protect ships in convoy, in addition to other tasks as assigned, such as patrol or radar picket....
- USS Rall (DE-304)USS Rall (DE-304)USS Rall was an of the United States Navy during World War II. She was sent off into the Pacific Ocean to protect convoys and other ships from Japanese submarines and fighter aircraft...
- USS Ringness (DE-590)USS Ringness (DE-590)USS Ringness was a high speed transport of the United States Navy named after Henry Raymond Ringness.-Construction and commissionig:...
- USS Rixey (APH-3)USS Rixey (APH-3)USS Rixey was a casualty evacuation transport ship in the United States Navy during World War II.Rixey was built by the Moore Dry Dock Company, Oakland, California. 11,500 tons. 450 x 62 x 23.6. 18 knots...
- USS Samuel S. Miles (DE-183)USS Samuel S. Miles (DE-183)USS Samuel S. Miles was a built for the United States Navy during World War II. She served in the Pacific Ocean and provided escort service against submarine and air attack for Navy vessels and convoys...
- USS Tryon (APH-1)USS Tryon (APH-1)USS Tryon was laid down as SS Alcoa Courier on 26 March 1941, by the Moore Dry Dock Company, Oakland, California and launched on 21 October 1941 sponsored by Mrs. Roy G. Hunt. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, she was designated for U.S. Navy use and assigned the name Comfort in June 1942...
- USS William M. Wood (DD-715)USS William M. Wood (DD-715)USS William M. Wood was a in the United States Navy during the final year of World War II. She was in commission for 31 years, from 1945 through 1976, serving in both the Pacific and Atlantic Fleets. She was the second Navy ship named for Navy Surgeon-General William M. Wood .William M...
- USS Wood (DD-317)USS Wood (DD-317)USS Wood was a Clemson-class destroyer in the United States Navy following World War I. She was the first Navy ship named for Navy Surgeon-General William M...
- USNS Charles Drew (T-AKE-10)USNS Charles Drew (T-AKE-10)USNS Charles Drew is a Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo ship of the United States Navy, named in honor of Dr. Charles R. Drew , who developed improved techniques for blood storage, and applied his expert knowledge in developing large-scale blood banks early in World War II, saving thousands of...
See also
- Hospital Corpsman
- Navy Medical Service CorpsNavy Medical Service CorpsThe Medical Service Corps is a staff corps of the United States Navy, consisting of officers engaged in medical support duties. It includes healthcare scientists and researchers, comprising around 60% of its personnel, and healthcare administrators, comprising the remaining 40%...
- Navy Nurse Corps
- Navy Dental CorpsNavy Dental CorpsThe Dental Corps of the United States Navy consists of naval officers who have a Doctorate in either Dental Surgery or Dental Medicine and who practice dentistry caring for sailors and marines. In overseas locations they also treat dependent family members...
- Hospital ship#U.S. Navy Hospital Ships
- U.S. Army Medical CorpsMedical Corps (United States Army)The Medical Corps of the U.S. Army is a staff corps of the U.S. Army Medical Department consisting of commissioned medical officers – physicians with either an MD or a DO degree, at least one year of post-graduate clinical training, and a state medical license.The MC traces its earliest origins...
- U.S. Air Force Medical Corps
- Naval Submarine Medical Research LaboratoryNaval Submarine Medical Research LaboratoryThe Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory is located on the New London Submarine Base in Groton, Connecticut. The laboratory's mission is to protect the health and enhance the performance of United States War Fighters through focused submarine, diving, and surface research solutions.-History...
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.
- http://compass.seacadets.org/classroom/reading_room/naval_orientation/contents.pdf Per NAVEDTRA 12966 Commander Naval Medical Education and Training Command. Retrieved 2011-01-08.