What is the division of military internal medicine?

Military Medicine, Sep 2003 by Roy, Michael J

Uniformed Services University, to my knowledge, is unique in having established a Division of Military Internal Medicine. The focus of this one-of-a-kind division is to focus upon issues of deployment and operational medicine from the adult primary care, firm academic perspective of the internist. This encompasses militarily relevant research, education, and faculty development.

The research focus of this division springs from the health concerns of Gulf War Veterans subsequent to the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf War. Care of symptomatic veterans, and rigorous evaluation of their health status, has been a major personal focus, and as much as anything else, clarified the need for internists to be prospectively involved in research and efforts to preserve the fighting strength of our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines. Current research endeavors most notably include the evaluation of the safety of combined preventive treatment of pyridostigmine bromide, DEET, and permethrin under stress conditions that mimic the battlefield environment.

Our medical students and physicians in training need to learn all that their civilian counterparts do, but they also need to be prepared to assume a leadership role on the battlefield, among other things: capable of caring for soldiers exposed to chemical, biological, radiologic, nuclear, and high yield explosive weapons, leading medical units, and advising unit commanders. To ensure that this occurs, we need to train our clerkship and program directors are well-versed in the means of inserting elements of military relevance in an already full curriculum. This division has been involved in the review of medical school and post-graduate curriculum, in annual workshops to train key educators in military medicine, and in enhancing the body of military medical knowledge in print, on line, and at educational conferences. Another important function has been to foster contacts with military physicians from other nations; I have spoken in Japan and Macedonia in recent months to further this aim.

Michael J. Roy, MD, MPH Lieutenant Colonel, Medical Corps, U.S. Army Director, Division of Military Internal Medicine Associate Professor of Medicine Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences Bethesda, Maryland