Health Care Careers in the Marine Corps
Depending on location, the Marines get their medical professionals from other sources. Out in the field, they have Navy corpsmen and doctors. In joint operations, they have doctors from the Army, Navy, and Air Force working with them. On a military base, Marines receive medical attention from commercial doctors, surgeons and nurses. Every Marine also learns how to use first aid so that they could use that knowledge on wounded Marines waiting to be evacuated.
Other People Are Reading
-
Navy Corpsmen
-
After basic training, Navy corpsmen, or "HM," attend HM "A" School at Great Lakes Naval Base in Illinois. Their jobs include disease prevention, first aid, administering injections, transporting injured, conducting X-rays, assisting dentists and maintaining treatment records. Not every HM has the opportunity to serve with the Marines; one must be assigned to the fleet Marine force (FMF). As a member a member of FMF, they have to follow Marine rules and maintain Marine appearance and physical fitness standards. Navy corpsmen are assigned with Marines doing combat operations.
How to Become a Navy Corpsman
-
Navy HMs must be screened by a recruiter, then obtain a qualifying score on the ASVAB. While at HM "A" School, HM students must compete for permanent assignment stations (job billet and job location). This is important as most HMs get assigned to ships and to Navy hospitals and clinics. The school may have one or two FMF billets. A sailor wanting an opportunity to serve with the Marines would have to score at the top of his class to guarantee being assigned to the FMF. Opportunities to serve with the Marines present themselves to the sailor when he's ready to negotiate orders to a new duty station. The sailor could request assignment to an FMF billet.
-
Navy Doctors
-
Navy doctors fill different specialties like their civilian counterparts. A navy doctor can get involved with anesthesiology, dermatology, emergency medicine, family practice, internal medicine, neurology, obstetrics, gynecology, occupational medicine, ophthalmology, orthopedics, otolaryngology, pathology, pediatrics, preventive medicine, psychiatry, radiology, surgery and urology. As with the Navy corpsmen, Navy doctors must be assigned to the FMF to serve with the Marines.
How to Become a Navy Doctor
-
A Navy "officer recruiter" brings doctors into the Navy through different programs. The Navy Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP) pays 100 percent tuition to students wanting to become Navy doctors. On top of that, these students get a $1,907 monthly allowance. They get an additional bonus of $20,000 to sign with the Navy. Another route that students can take is with the Navy Health Services Collegiate Program (HSCP), which pays $143,000 to $240,000 toward medical school. Students in this program receive a regular monthly military pay, housing allowance and health care. Students going through these programs usually transition into the Navy as a lieutenant. Once in the Navy, the doctor must be detailed into the FMF to serve with the Marines.
Geography
-
Navy medical personnel assigned to the FMF serve in Marine units and installations under a Marine chain of command. These locations and units are located at Navy and Marine bases around the world.
-
