How to Schedule a Military Rotation

By Lisa Mitchell, 2 LT USAR

This is a brief how-to intended for HPSP scholars. The following is not applicable to you if you are a civilian. I’m in the army, and this is probably most relevant to you if you are too. Although the branches are increasingly working together to promote medical education, there are some variations, and I do not pretend to know the details of how the navy and air force systems work. The fundamentals should be the same, however.

As you are probably aware, you are entitled to two Active Duty Training (ADT) rotations during your fourth year for which your transportation and lodging will be at government expense and your salary will be active duty pay. If, like me, you have not yet attended officer basic training, your time there will count as one of your ADT rotations, leaving you with only one remaining. This does not mean that you cannot arrange for more rotations at Department of Defense sites, but you will have to pay for transportation and lodging out of your own pocket. If you do a non-ADT rotation at a DoD site, make sure you get a “memorandum of understanding” between your institution and the site (don’t worry, your school will know what this is—it has to do with liability insurance).

All you need to do is decide where you want to go, when, and then call the appropriate Graduate Medical Education (GME) office at the military center you wish to attend. Each location is different, but all of them have GME offices with people who can help you. There is no central application system. Most sites just want you to call or email your request; only Tripler requires a written application. Some clerkships are scheduled directly through the relevant departments but most are through the base’s central GME office. If the clerkship you want is scheduled through the department, the GME office will let you know. You should try to schedule your clerkship as soon as you know when and what you want, but do not be surprised if the GME office tells you to check back again six months ahead of the time you are requesting. Each GME office does things differently. Not sure what clerkships are available? There is a list of all the residency programs and their locations here.

Once the nice people in the GME office have approved you for the rotation you want, you must then submit a request for ADT through the MODS website. Log into your account, go over to the “Requests” dropdown menu and choose “ADT.” Scroll down on this page until you see the box labeled “3RD LEVEL ADT.” There are dropdown menus here under “Location” where you can choose the location you are requesting and then fill in the dates. On the next line down, fill in the name of specialty of clerkship you want. Done. You can check back later to verify that your request was approved by choosing “ADT status” on the dropdown menu under the “Reports” tab on the MODS website.

Even more information is available at the bottom of the ADT section under the FAQ tab if you log into the MODS website.

Walter Reed National Military Medical Center

http://www.bethesda.med.navy.mil/careers/graduate_medical_education/GME_Clerkships/index.aspx

Brooke Army Medical Center, Fort Sam Houston, Tx/ Wilford Hall Medical Center, Lackland AFB, TX

http://www.bamc.amedd.army.mil/saushec/gme/medical-student/sammc/

Requests must be submitted at least 60 days prior to start date of rotation

Tripler Army Medical Center

http://www.tamc.amedd.army.mil/residency/gradedu.htm

Click on “Clinical Clerkships for Medical School Students” and read the comprehensive information on planning your clerkship. An application form is on the website which must be completed and faxed or mailed per the information on the website.

Madigan Army Medical Center

http://www.mamc.amedd.army.mil/gme/gme-home.htm

Click on “Clinical Clerkship Rotations” and then the specialty you are interested in; it will tell you information about the clerkship and whether you need department approval or not before calling the Madigan GME office to register for the clerkship. All phone numbers needed are available on the website.

Eisenhower Army Medical Center, Ft Gordon, GA

http://www.ddeamc.amedd.army.mil/gme/directions.aspx

William Beaumont Army Medical Center, El Paso, TX

http://www.wbamc.amedd.army.mil/GME/

Womack Army Medical Center, Fort Bragg, NC

http://www.wamc.amedd.army.mil/dme/GME/Pages/default.aspx