Enlisted Airmen may be eligible for medical prep school

8/13/2013 - JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas (AFNS) -- Active-duty enlisted Airmen who qualify can now apply for a new pilot program designed to prepare them for medical school, but "intent to apply" emails must be submitted no later than Sept. 6, Air Force Personnel Center officials said Aug. 12.

The Enlisted to Medical Degree Preparatory Program offers enlisted members a chance to attend medical prep school full time for two years, all expenses paid, while maintaining active-duty status and full pay and benefits. The program will include coursework in a traditional classroom setting with structured pre-health advising and formal medical college admission test preparation.

Those selected for the program will transfer on permanent change of station orders to Bethesda, Md., where they will attend school at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences. Following successful completion of the 24-month program, graduates will apply for acceptance to the USUHS medical school or civilian medical schools.

Enlisted members from all career fields are eligible to apply, if they meet other criteria in the application guidelines, available on the myPers website. Applicants must be younger than 33 as of June 30, 2014, have at least 36 months but no more than 10 years time in service as of Sept. 30, 2013, and hold a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution.

Selected senior airmen and above with promotion line numbers will be able to sew on while attending the program, but those who do not have a line number will not be eligible to test for promotion while attending the course. Senior airmen who do not have a promotion line number will be automatically promoted to staff sergeant one day prior to the course start.

Following graduation and upon acceptance in an approved medical school, program participants will be commissioned as second lieutenants in the Medical Services Corps. As fourth-year medical students, those lieutenants will be eligible to apply for medical residencies approved by the Air Force Health Professions Education Requirements Board.

Applicants who meet all eligibility criteria must email an intent to apply statement to the Total Force Service Center by Sept. 6. Those who do so will be notified by Sept. 16 whether or not they have been released from their career field to compete for selection. Once notified of their eligibility to compete, Airmen must submit their applications by Nov. 1. Classes for the pilot program begin July 1, 2014.

Full eligibility criteria and application guidelines for the program, which incurs a three-year, active-duty service commitment, are available on myPers. Enter "EMDP2" in the search window.