Thursday, Mar. 11, 2010

Army covers nursing, physician assistant training

Did you ever think about becoming a nurse or physician assistant but were unsure how to go about doing it?

Did you know the Army has a program for those interested in serving in the medical field?

The Army Medical Department offers programs to help Soldiers get into these fields.

Two programs are the Army Enlisted Commissioning Program for Nursing and the Interservice Physician Assistant Program for Physician Assistants. Both programs bring Soldiers into the medical field as commissioned officers upon completion.

Under AECP, Soldiers attend college full time in order to complete a bachelor of science in nursing as long as the program can be completed within 24 months.

The Army will pay up to $9,000 in tuition and mandatory fees for each academic year, as well as up to $1,000 per academic year for books. This is in addition to current pay and allowances. Upon successful completion of the program and passing of the National Council Licensure Examination, Soldiers become commissioned as second lieutenants and part of the Army Nurse Corps.

With the IPAP, Soldiers earn a master’s degree from the University of Nebraska and are commissioned as first lieutenants in the Army Medical Specialist Corps. Graduates must pass the Assistant National Certifying Exam before being commissioned.

Benefits include health professions loan repayment on qualifying loans, specialty pay for board-certified PAs and paid continuing education. As PAs, Soldiers can provide a broad range of medical services traditionally performed by physicians. PAs serve as primary medical providers to Soldiers in battalion and division level units and also provide garrison health care to Soldiers, family members and other eligible beneficiaries.

For more information on AECP, visit www.us.army.mil/suite/page/621795 or e-mail aecp@usarec.army.mil.

For more information on IPAP, visit www.usarec.army.mil/armypa/ or e-mail ipap@usarec.army.mil.