May

29

Types of AFMS Officers

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Lots of people assume that all Air Force medical officers are doctors or nurses, but there are actually many other types of medical officers. Let’s take a look: all Air Force medical officers are classified into one of five unique groups, known as “corps.”

Medical Corps (MC): the physicians (only MD medical doctors and DO osteopaths; naturopaths and chiropractors are not permitted in the AFMS)

Dental Corps (DC): strictly dentists (minimum DDS degree)

Nurse Corps (NC): nurses (minimum Bachelor of Science in Nursing); this category also includes nurse practitioners

Biomedical Science Corps (BSC): the “cats and dogs” of the AFMS, the BSC includes what is often referred to as “allied health” in the civilian world. It includes non-physician clinicians such as psychologists, optometrists, physician assistants, pharmacists, physical therapists, and public health and bioenvironmental engineers.

Medical Service Corps (MSC): the healthcare administrators of the AFMS (must have at least a bachelors degree in business, management, healthcare administration, information systems, or one of several other categories).

May

27

Commercial Break

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If you’d like to help support Air Force Medics, take a look at some of these Amazon best-sellers. If any of them strike your fancy, click on through, make a purchase, and a few pennies will go towards keeping this site going. Thanks for any support!

May

23

Assocations

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While all Air Force medics are part of a like-minded organization and corps, there are also “civilian” organizations designed to promote, educate, and entertain them. Here’s a few of them:

Society of Air Force Physician Assistants: unfortunately, most of this website is for members-only, but if you’re and AF PA, definitely worth checking out.

MSC Association: although this organization is primarily devoted to retired Medical Service Corps officers, they have recently begun marketing to active-duty MSCs.

Society of Air Force Nurses: open to all AF nurses, including Guard, Reserve, and retired.

Armed Forces Optometric Society: this one is targeted not just at Air Force optometrists, but also our sister services.

If you know of any other AFMS-oriented organizations, let me know.

May

11

AF Surgeon General: After the AF

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three star general

What do Air Force Surgeon Generals do when they retire? Serve as policy advisors, educators, and public speakers, in addition to consulting for both private enterprise and government. Here’s a look at the three most recent former AF/SGs:

Former AF Surgeon General “Peach” Taylor spends his time at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies; this is in addition to recently being hired by Northrup Grumman as the “vice president for the Information Technology (IT) sector’s Health and Human Services division.”

Former AF Surgeon General Paul “P.K.” Carlton is staying busy; in addition to spearheading the homeland security program at Texas A&M, he was recently hired as a consultant for Telemedicus: “…testing and research for TMDI’s products and business concept.” More about General Carlton here.

Former AF Surgeon General Charles “Chip” Roadman serves on the board of trustees for Altarum, which aims to “…drive a shift in the pattern of health care spending in the U.S. from programs consumed by cost of care to systems centered on the value of health.” He also spends time on the board of directors for Assisted Living Concepts, Inc.

Isn’t it cute that they all have nicknames? Peach, PK, and Chip - sounds like some sort of fraternity!