Army Looking For Physician Assistants

The Army is short about 100 physician assistants and is stepping up attempts to recruit both civilians and Soldiers to do the job. This is the first time that the Army Medical Department, or AMEDD, has recruited certified civilian physician assistants to join the Army, said Capt. James Jones, Interservice Physician Assistant Program manager. He said the Army’s modularity and high operations tempo contributed to this change. “We have a recruiting mission to obtain 20 civilian physician assistants this year, but this is likely to rise to 60,” he said.The Army offers qualified officers, warrant officers and enlisted Soldiers an educational opportunity to become a physician assistant through the IPAP located at the AMEDD Center and School, Fort Sam Houston, Texas. The Army trains alongside candidates from the Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard, U.S. Army Reserve, National Guard, and U.S. Public Health Service, said IPAP officials. “The Army plans on filling the shortages by increasing the number of students in the IPAP - this year we are training 92 Army students versus 60,” Jones said. Upon completion of the program, graduates earn a master’s degree from the University of Nebraska and receive a commission in the Army Medical Specialist Corps as a second lieutenant. Officer students receive constructive credit for their commissioned service in accordance with DOD Instruction 6000.13. Graduates must pass the Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam before they can provide healthcare to Soldiers, AMEDD officials said.There is also a new program called the Requirements Completion Course that is designed to help Soldiers complete the program’s prerequisite courses. “This is another way that we are working to reduce the shortages while still maintaining the highest quality medical provider possible,” said Jones. Army physician assistants are frontline medical responders, said Jones. “They are usually the first medical care that Soldiers receive before being transported to a hospital,” he said. “They are a critical component of the Army.”Applications for the IPAP must be sent by March 1 to the program manager at:
HQ, USAREC
RCHS-SVD-PA
1307 Third Ave.
Fort Knox, KY 40121-2726