Medical Corps Officer (62)
Medical and Emergency Army MOS Information

Posted Thursday, November 24, 2005

• Officer
• Active Duty
• Army Reserve

An Army Medical Corps Officer is responsible for the overall health of Soldiers and their families. They are also responsible for 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; Allergist, Anesthesiologist, Cardiologist, Child Neurologist, Child Psychiatrist, Clinical Immunologist, Clinical Pharmacologist, Dermatologist, Diagnostic Radiologist, Emergency Medicine Physician, Endocrinologist, Family Practice Physician, Flight Surgeon, Gastroenterologist, General Surgeon, Hematologist, Immunologist, Infectious Disease Physician, Internal Medicine Physician, Medical Oncologist, Nephrologist, Neurologist, Neurosurgeon, Nuclear Medicine Physician, OB/GYN, Occupational Medicine Physician, Oncologist, Ophthalmologist, Orthopedic Surgeon, Otolaryngologist, Pathologist, Pediatric Cardiologist, Pediatrician, Pediatric Medicine Physician, Peripheral Vascular Surgeon, Physiatrist, Plastic Surgeon, Preventive Medicine Physician, Specialties, Psychiatrist, Pulmonary Disease Physician, Radiologist, Rheumatologist, Therapeutic Radiologist, Thoracic Surgeon, Urologist, Vascular Surgeon.

The responsibilities of a Medical Corps Officer may include:

• Commanding and controlling Medical units during emergency and non-emergency medical situations.
• Coordinating employment of Medical Soldiers and personnel at all levels of command, from platoon to battalion and higher, in U.S. and multi-national operations.

Requirements:

You must have a degree of Doctor of Medicine or Doctor of Osteopathy from osteopathic school acceptable to HQDA.

Training:

As an Army Medical Department (AMEDD) Officer, you won't participate in the Basic Training that enlisted Soldiers go through. Instead, you'll attend an Officer Basic Course (OBC), a basic orientation course to the Army Health Care system and the Army way-of-life.

Officer Basic Course for Active Duty Officers is held four times a year at the AMEDD Center in Fort Sam Houston and lasts from ten to 14 weeks. Officers in the Army Reserve go to OBC for two weeks.

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 OBC, AMEDD Officers report to their initial Active Duty assignment. Students return to their academic training following successful completion of OBC.

Helpful Skills:

Being a leader in the Army requires certain qualities. A leader exhibits self-discipline, initiative, confidence and intelligence. They are physically fit and can perform under physical and mental pressures. Leaders make decisions quickly, always focusing on completing the mission successfully, and show respect for their subordinates and other military officers. Leaders lead from the front and adjust to environments that are always changing. They are judged by their ability to make decisions on their own and bear ultimate moral responsibility for those decisions.

Advanced Responsibilities:

Medical Corps Officers may continue to specialize and serve in the Medical Corps at ever increasing levels of leadership and responsibility.

Increased responsibilities of an Medical Corps Officer may include:

• Commanding and controlling part of a Field Hospital, installation Dental or Medical Activity (DENTAC or MEDDAC), or larger Health Services Command.
• Coordinating employment of Medical Soldiers and personnel at all levels of command, from company to division level and beyond, in U.S. and multi-national operations.
• Developing doctrine, organizations and equipment for unique dental and health care missions.
• Instructing medical skills at service schools and medical training centers.
• Serving as Medical or Health Care advisor to other units, including Army National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve organizations.