Developing Military Doctors: An Institutional Approach to Medical Force Readiness in Graduate Medical Education.

ABSTRACT

Military physicians are required to not only meet civilian accreditation standards upon completion of their Graduate Medical Education (GME) training programs but also be proficient in the military-unique aspects of their field, including medical care in austere environments and management of combat casualties. They must also be familiar with the administrative and leadership aspects of military medicine, which are often absent from the training curriculum. The San Antonio Uniformed Services Health Education Consortium Military Readiness Committee, by incorporating questions of military relevance into each GME program's mandatory Annual Program Evaluation, identified curricular gaps upon which military readiness training objectives and opportunities were developed. These activities included a lecture series on the sustainment of medical and military readiness, an interactive procedural skills training event, trainee involvement in operational pre-deployment exercises, and the development of an elective operational rotation in Honduras. The Military Readiness Committee provides a model for other military GME institutions to develop training goals and opportunities to strengthen the preparedness of their trainees for military service.