Army awards medical school for work supporting medical students and military medical efforts

The Office of Student Affairs at Wayne State University School of Medicine was honored by Army Medical Recruiting Station Dearborn, Michigan in recognition of the school’s support of medical students who have served or are serving in the ‘army.

The station recruits medical professionals in southeast Michigan and northwest Ohio to serve in the U.S. Army or Army Reserves.

Office of Student Affairs Program Specialist Tracey Eady received the first Military Station Center of Influence Appreciation Award on behalf of the Office of Student Affairs at a luncheon held at the Dearborn Station on November 1. The station is part of the United States Army’s Columbus Medical Recruiting Company; 3rd Medical Recruiting Battalion.

“WSU was selected as the recipient because the staff has been a tremendous asset in enabling our recruiters to share information about the Army Medical Program with Wayne State University pre-health and medical students, including information on the Healthcare Professionals Scholarship Program, bonuses and incentives, and much more. After. Through this partnership, recipients of WSU’s pre-health and medical programs have been selected to receive the HPSP scholarship,” said U.S. Army Capt. Diann Johnson. “Staff and students are welcoming, show willingness to help, and are open to community partnership.”

HPSP covers civilian medical school tuition, fees, provides a monthly living allowance, and includes a signing bonus under certain conditions. The scholarship is offered by the Army, Navy and Air Force.

“I think receiving this award on behalf of student affairs is fitting as we work hard to support our students from the start, with orientation, clinician ceremony and game day, and we have military commissioning in part of our opening ceremony,” Eady said. “We are here to serve doctors in training. It is an honor to have received recognition from outside the School of Medicine.

This award is the second the military branch has given to medical school personnel to honor the support the school provides to medical students in the military. Eady, along with Associate Dean of Student Affairs and Career Development Margit Chadwell, MD, and Associate Dean of Admissions Kevin Sprague, MD, traveled February 10-12, 2020 to Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas to accept the United States Army Medical Educator Recognition Award. The tour included a tour of medical facilities at Fort Sam Houston and the Center for the Intrepid, where severe burn victims and multi-amputees are treated and undergo intensive rehabilitation.

In addition to supporting the military, the School of Medicine also offers an elective military course as part of its curriculum. The course develops critical thinking in decision-making processes that incorporate medical decisions in a battlefield scenario as well as in a hospital setting. The course emphasizes how an agent fits into team strategies and tools to improve performance and patient safety, or TeamSTEPPS, concept of medical management, which applies medical excellence and constitution teams within a hospital. The U.S. Department of Defense Patient Safety Program developed the TeamSTEPPS program in conjunction with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality in 2006.

The Military Medicine Interest Group is a student organization in the School of Medicine open to all students and advised by Associate Professor of Pathology Arthur Eisenbrey, MD, ’86, Ph.D. ’80, retired Col. US Air Force and Michigan Air National Guard reserves.

The school also provides dedicated time in the fourth year of medical school for students to complete officer training with their respective military branch. The Office of Student Affairs also distributes honor lanyards to military students who served to wear with their graduation badges.

“As a veteran himself, Associate Dean of Clinical Medical Education Christopher Steffes, MD, has been instrumental in this effort and has worked in close coordination with our office, enrollment management, and our military students from fourth year to establish an elective course for credit to be done in their fourth year covering their officer training courses,” Dr. Chadwell said. “It gives our military students the flexibility they needed in their M4 year to fulfill their officer training obligations. Essentially, this is a type of leadership course. Our students are very satisfied with this opportunity. They still have plenty of time for their rotations in military hospitals which are usually also needed.

The approach, Dr. Chadwell explained, avoids interfering with curriculum and test preparation.

The military match for post-graduation residencies takes place in December, three months before the match for the majority of fourth-year medical student specialties nationwide. After completing medical school, graduates are placed on active duty and complete residencies at military installations.

“Hopefully we can continue to increase our support for military scholarship students while they are at Wayne State University School of Medicine. We had yet another successful military game this year,” said Dr Chadwell.