United States Air Force Medical Service

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Seal of the Air Force Medical Service

The United States Air Force Medical Service (AFMS) consists of the five distinct medical corps of the Air Force and enlisted medical technicians. The AFMS was created in 1949 after the newly independent Air Force’s first Surgeon General, Maj. General Malcolm C. Grow (1887-1960), convinced the United States Army and President Harry S. Truman that the Air Force needed its own medical service.

In the summer of 1949, Air Force General Order No. 35 established a medical service with the following officer personnel components: Medical Corps, Dental Corps, Veterinary Corps, Medical Service Corps, Air Force Nurse Corps, and Women's Medical Specialist Corps.

The AFMS is led by The Surgeon General of the Air Force, who holds the rank of lieutenant general. The AFMS is found in all three components of the Air Force, including the Active Air Force, the U.S. Air Force Reserve, and the Air National Guard. Headquartered at The Air Staff, Bolling Air Force Base, Washington, D.C., AFMS senior leaders can be found in all of the Major Commands and in the Pentagon.

The current Air Force Surgeon General is Lieutenant General (Dr.) James G. Roudebush, a chief flight surgeon and family practice physician.

1 Medical branches
2 See also
3 External links

[edit] Medical branches

Biomedical Science Corps Badge

Dental Corps Badge

Medical Corps Badge

Medical Service Corps Badge

Nurse Corps Badge

Enlisted Medical Badge

[edit] Biomedical Sciences Corps

Established in 1965 from the defunct Women’s Medical Specialist Corps and components of the Medical Service Corps, the Biomedical Sciences Corps (BSC) consists entirely of commissioned officers. This is the most diversified of the Medical Corps, consisting of members in Physical Therapy, Optometry, Podiatry, Physician Assistant, Audiology/Speech pathology, Psychology, Social Worker, Occupational Therapy, Aerospace physiology, Biomedical Scientists, Clinical Dietitian, Bioenvironmental Engineers, Public Health Officers, Entomology, Pharmacy, Medical lab Officers, and Health Physicists. The Chief of the Biomedical Sciences Corps is a brigadier general.

[edit] Dental Corps

The Dental Corps consists of commissioned officers holding the Doctor of Dental Surgery degree or Doctor of Dental Medicine degree or a further, post-graduate degree. The chief of the Dental Corps is a major general.

[edit] Medical Corps

The Medical Corps consists entirely of commissioned Air Force physicians, including holders of the Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree and the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) degree. Members of the Medical Corps can also become a Flight Surgeon. The Chief of the Medical Corps is a brigadier general.

[edit] Medical Service Corps

The Medical Service Corps (MSC) consists entirely of commissioned officers. Members are required to hold a bachelor's or master’s degree in Healthcare or Business Administration before receiving a commission, and must complete a specialized Air Force healthcare administration course. This course, conducted at Sheppard AFB, Texas, provides new MSC officers with the knowledge needed to perform as an entry level department manager in an Air Force Medical Treatment Facility (MTF). The Health Service Administration (HSA) Course is an 11-week course designed to train newly commissioned Medical Service Corps officers for their first duty assignment. The course is accredited for 11 graduate credit hours by the American Council on Education (ACE). MSCs serve as healthcare administrator, hospital Chief Financial Officer, healthcare informatics officers, patient administrators, health service human resource managers, medical operations and plans officers, medical logisticians, medical maintenance technicians, and aeromedical evacuation officers. The Medical Service Corps also functions as a transitional branch, containing medical students, who have not completed their training, but hold commission through the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS). MSC officers are also expected to become Board Certified by one of several national healthcare administration organizations. This is usually done while the officer is in the rank of captain or Major. The Chief of the Medical Service Corps is Brigadier General Patricia C. Lewis.

[edit] Nurse Corps

The Nurse Corps consists entirely of commissioned officers. New members of the Air Force Nurse Corps are required to hold at minimum a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree prior to receiving a commission. Members of the Air Force Nurse Corps work in all aspects of Air Force Medicine and can serve as Flight Nurse in aeromedical evacuation missions, nurse practitioner, and nurse anesthetist.The first Chief of the Air Force Nurse Corps was Colonel Verena Marie Zeller (1949-1956). The first two-star general Chief of the Air Force Nurse Corps was Major General Barbara Brannon; she was replaced in 2005 by Maj Gen Melissa Rank. In 2008, it was announced that Colonel Kimberly Siniscalchi would be promoted to the rank of Major General and serve as the Chief of the AF Nurse Corps, thereby bypassing the rank of Brigadier General (1-star).

[edit] Enlisted Medics

Air Force Enlisted Medical personnel perform in over twenty different medical fields including medical administration, dental care, optometry, physical therapy, aeromedical evacuation, medical logistics, laboratory sciences, surgical care, emergency care, radiology, pharmacy, etc. Enlisted medics are led by a Chief Master Sergeant.