Future Air Force Medical Service specialists train at Wilford Hall

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. David Herndon
  • 59th Medical Wing Public Affairs
LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFPN) --  For many college students, summers consist of packing away textbooks, migrating home and heading to a dull, low-paying job or internship.

For several U.S. Air Force Academy and ROTC cadets, a normal day's work could mean observing trauma response in an emergency room, an F-16 Fighting Falcon incentive ride and performing ground-breaking research at a clinical research squadron.

More than 20 cadets from the two officer commissioning sources were selected to participate in this year's summer orientation programs at Wilford Hall Medical Center.

The academy's Cadet Summer Research Program is a four-to six-week program with an emphasis on medical research. It targets academy cadets who are likely to study medicine after graduation.

Program participants work on various scientific research projects throughout the United States, said Dr. Margaret Rakowsky, academy professor and program representative for the chemistry department.

"In our discipline I have found that the cadets who have participated are generally better prepared for the advanced laboratory techniques course that I teach during the spring semester," Dr. Rakowsky said.

"I am currently in the process of applying to medical school and I knew that this experience would be a great look at the life and careers of both clinical and research physicians," said Cadet 1st Class Bryan Lawson, a biochemistry major at the academy.

Like the other cadets chosen for the program, Cadet Lawson, a native of Warner Robins, Ga., ranks at the top of his senior class. According to program standards, participation is limited to cadets who have a grade point average of 3.0 and military performance average of 2.8.

At the end of the program, cadets are tasked to do various presentations for their respective education departments about the research they accomplished. Cadet Lawson plans to focus on cerebral profusion studies previously done at Wilford Hall's 59th Clinical Research Squadron.

"The program has shown me all of the aspects of the medical career field, from research to clinical work. I believe that my passion to become a physician has increased due to my experience at Wilford Hall," Cadet Lawson said.

"They have learned to work independently and are better problem solvers. For some cadets the CSRP experience helps them decide what career path they wish to pursue when graduating from the Academy," Dr. Rakowsky said.

The academy cadets were joined by ROTC cadets enrolled in the Operation Air Force: Nurse Orientation Program.

"I wanted to know what to expect from the Air Force. I feel 100 percent more confident than when I arrived," said Cadet 1st Class Alicia Weott from Montana State University.

Operation Air Force is a training program for Aerospace 300 and 400 cadets, typically juniors and seniors, from various university ROTC detachments. The program consists of three weeks of hand-on training at various Air Force installations. It allows cadets to gain a general orientation of the Air Force and shadow junior officers in various career fields.

The Nurse Orientation Program, which falls under Operation Air Force, allows nursing cadets to receive training over a four-week period. It is designed to serve as an internship in an active duty Air Force hospital. The program gives future Air Force officers a chance to get clinical experience while shadowing a registered nurse.

"It's motivational being here. You get a perspective of what your future is to be," said Cadet 1st Class Angela Smith from the University of Portland.

Cadets from both programs were able to sample day-to-day Air Force operations and venture outside of Wilford Hall. ROTC cadets went through a confidence course, met the Air Force chief of staff and toured historic sites in San Antonio. Academy cadets observed Air Force doctors performing surgeries at a local hospital and received F-16 incentive rides with 149th Fighter Wing pilots.

For Cadet Weott, who is interested in critical-care nursing, these activities and nursing experiences helped shape her continuity folder. Each ROTC cadet was tasked to complete a folder for use as an informative tool about the Air Force Medical Service at their detachments.

Wilford Hall is the only Level I trauma center in the Air Force. Cadets were able to experience the 59th Medical Wing's complete spectrum of medical care. In a typical month, the wing has 58,491 outpatient and 1,670 inpatient hospital visits.

"One of the goals is to expose nursing cadets to as many Air Force nursing opportunities as possible before they are commissioned," said 1st Lt. Heather Ortiz, 859th Medical Operations Squadron inpatient pediatric nurse and Nurse Orientation Program adviser.

"These cadets have been motivated to learn and, most importantly, are taking back the nursing commissioning process," Lieutenant Ortiz said.