Overview

An Army Medical Corps officer is responsible for the overall health of Soldiers and providing health care to Soldiers’ families and others eligible to receive this care in the military community.

During combat, the Medical Corps officer oversees the emergency medical management of casualties and makes sure Soldiers are combat ready when it comes to their overall health.

A Medical Corps officer can specialize in the following areas:
 

• Allergies
  
• Anesthesiology
  
• Cardiology
  
• Child Neurology
  
• Child Psychiatry
  
• Clinical Immunology
  
• Clinical Pharmacology
  
• Dermatology
  
• Diagnostic Radiology
  
• Emergency Medicine
  
• Endocrinology
  
• Family Practice
  
• Flight Surgery
  
• Gastroenterology
  
• General Surgery
  
• Hematology
  
• Immunology
  
• Infectious Diseases
  
• Internal Medicine
  
• Medical Oncology
  
• Nephrology
  
• Neurology
  
• Neurosurgery
  
• Nuclear Medicine
  
• OB/GYN
  
• Occupational Medicine
  
• Oncology
  
• Ophthalmology
  
• Orthopaedic Surgery
  
• Otolaryngology
  
• Pathology
  
• Pediatric Cardiology
  
• Pediatrics
  
• Pediatric Medicine
  
• Peripheral Vascular Surgery
  
• Physiatry
  
• Plastic Surgery
  
• Preventive Medicine
  
• Specialties
  
• Psychiatry
  
• Pulmonary Disease
  
• Radiology
  
• Rheumatology
  
• Therapeutic Radiology
  
• Thoracic Surgery
  
• Urology
  
• Vascular Surgery
  

Job Duties

• Commanding and controlling medical units during emergency and nonemergency medical situations
  
• Coordinate employment of medical officers and personnel at all levels of command in U.S. and multinational operations
  

Requirements

To qualify for an officer appointment in the U.S. Army Medical Corps, you must:

• Meet the prescribed medical and moral standards for appointment as a commissioned officer
  
• Be a U.S. citizen
  
• Be a graduate of an American Medical Association or American Osteopathic Association accredited medical school
  
• Have a current unrestricted license to practice medicine in the United States, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico or a territory of the United States
  
• Be 21 - 46 years of age (physicians 47 years of age or older may apply for an age waiver)
  
  

Those who want to serve must first take the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, a series of tests that helps you better understand your strengths and identify which Army jobs are best for you.

Training

As a U.S. Army Medical Department officer, you will not be required to participate in the Basic Combat Training that enlisted Soldiers attend. Instead, you'll attend an Officer Basic Leadership Course, a basic orientation to the Army health care team, Army doctrine and basic Soldier and leadership skills.

OBLC for active duty officers is held four times per year at the U.S. Army Medical Department Center and School at Fort Sam Houston and lasts from 10 to 14 weeks. Officers in the Army Reserve attend OBLC for two weeks, and Health Professions Scholarship Program recipients attend a six-week course during their academic training.

Your training time depends on your chosen specialty and whether or not you have prior military experience. You must also meet height and weight standards, as well as pass the Army Physical Fitness Test.

After completing OBLC, AMEDD officers report to their initial active duty assignment, and students return to their academic training.

Helpful Skills

• Self-discipline
  
• Physically fit
  
• Perform under physical and mental pressures
  
• Make decisions quickly and on your own
  

Learn more about the ASVAB and see what jobs you could qualify for.

Compensation

ACTIVE BENEFITS:
In addition to the many privileges that come with being an officer on the U.S. Army health care team, you’ll be rewarded with:

• 30 days of paid vacation earned annually
  
• Noncontributory retirement benefits with 20 years of qualifying service
  
• No-cost or low-cost medical and dental care for you and your family
  
  

RESERVE BENEFITS:

• Health Professional Special Pay Health Professionals Loan Repayment
  
• Noncontributory retirement benefits at age 60 with 20 years of qualifying service
  
• Low-cost life and dental insurance
  
• Travel opportunities, including humanitarian missions
  
  

Both active and Reserve duty officers enjoy commissary and post exchange shopping privileges; a flexible, portable retirement savings and investment plan similar to a 401(k); paid continuing education, and specialized training to become a leader in their field.

Education Benefits

ACTIVE:
Not only are physicians and surgeons paid as commissioned officers but they also are eligible to receive special pay incentives and take advantage of unique education benefits. Through the Health Professionals Scholarship Program, the Army Medical Corps will pay 100 percent of a student’s tuition, as well as expenses for required books, equipment and most academic fees. Medical students may also be eligible to receive a sign-on bonus. Active duty physicians and surgeons on the U.S. Army health care team can earn up to $120,000 in student loan repayment through our Active Duty Health Professions Loan Repayment Program.

RESERVE:
One of the many advantages of becoming a member of the U.S. Army Reserve health care team is that you’ll be able to focus on patient care instead of medical school loans. By continuing to practice in your own community and serving when needed, you may qualify for HPLR to repay your medical school loans.

Future Civilian Careers

As you advance through your medical career, you will be looking for experiences that blend teaching, research and clinical excellence to best prepare you for unique and challenging opportunities in medicine. Our physicians and surgeons excel in the clinical, research, operational, academic and health administration arenas. Many have worked in more than one career track throughout their time in the U.S. Army and have held leadership positions ahead of their private sector counterparts.

U.S. Army physicians and surgeons are highly desired candidates for competitive private sector jobs upon leaving the Army. In fact, many former U.S. Army physicians and surgeons serve as faculty in elite medical schools and residency programs, and our fellows are accepted by many renowned training institutions.