Military Physician Assistant Training and History

Comprehensive flashcards covering the roles, history, requirements, and educational pathways of military physician assistants across the Army, Air Force, and Navy.

Army Mission Statement

Force Sustainment through Leadership, Education, and Quality Health Care for the Line

Fit to Fight

The medical plan planned and executed by Physician Assistants to ensure mission readiness for Soldiers

Aerospace Medicine

An Air Force PA specialization focusing on the unique health needs of pilots and aircrew, managing conditions related to high-altitude and high-speed flight

USNS Comfort and USNS Mercy

Two dedicated hospital ships where Navy Physician Assistants provide support to pilots and air crews

NCCPA

National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants; military PAs must be certified by this body

Age Requirement (Military PA)

Applicants must be between $21$ and $42$ years of age

SLRP

Student Loan Repayment Program

SBP

Specialty Pay for board-certified physician assistants

Green To Gold Program

An education benefit program offered by the U.S. Army for soldiers seeking to become officers

Partnership for Youth Success (PAYS) Program

A recruitment option that guarantees a job interview with military-friendly employers like Johns Hopkins or Cleveland Clinic

Buddy Treadwell

A medical assistant employed by Dr. Amos N. Johnson in 1940 who served as the prototype PA

Duke University (1965)

The site of the 1st Formal PA Training Program, which included 4 Navy Corpsmen with wartime experience

1978

The year the Air Force began commissioning Physician Assistants

Major Jimmie Keller

The 1st Army Chief PA Section, assigned in 1992

Interservice PA Program (IPAP)

A program developed in 1995 (effective 1996) to train members of all military services

EMPA Residency

An eighteen-month doctorate level Emergency Medicine residency developed by the US Army and Baylor University in 2006

Major Megan Mahowald

The first female physician assistant to graduate from US Army Ranger School in April 2022

IPAP GRE Requirements

Applicants typically have scores of $150$ V, $150$ Q, and $4.0$ Analytical Writing

Pediatric Limitation

In the military, PAs cannot treat children under the age of $2$ without specialized training

Garrison Pregnancy Protocol

PAs will not treat pregnant active-duty Soldiers at the Battalion/Brigade Aid Stations in Garrison unless it is an emergency

Mean Federal Civilian PA Salary

As of March 2018, full-time civilian PAs in federal employment earned an average of $\$110,507$