Uncle Sam has a message for America's psychiatrists, clinical psychologists and social workers as well as graduate students entering those fields: consider a career in the U.S. Army. In addition to substantial signing bonuses, competitive pay and generous benefits, Army behavioral health careers offer many opportunities for professional development in a dynamic work setting.
'Behavioral health continues to be an area of strong emphasis for our medical recruiting mission,' said Colonel R. Scott Dingle, the Army's Medical Recruiting Brigade commander. 'The number of soldiers has increased in the past decade, and we must keep pace with recruitment of therapists and behavioral health professionals to optimally support our soldiers and their families.'
As one of the largest health care organizations in the world, the Army offers behavioral health providers the chance to work collaboratively on innovative programs and leading-edge research into the science of mental resilience, combat and operational stress control, and advancement of excellence in clinical outcomes. Army clinicians tend to see more case diversity than many of their peers in the private sector, which also helps expand their skills.
'The Army gave me the opportunity to combine diverse interests in my career path,' said Lieutenant Colonel Millard Brown, M.D., a psychiatrist with 12 years of Army service. Dr. Brown, who just finished a five-year term as the director of psychiatry residency training at Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii, is developing a program to standardize behavioral health screening and improve patient care outcome tracking across the Army network. 'My next assignment will be an informatics fellowship so I can deepen my expertise in outcomes and quality measures within the military behavioral health system,' he said.
Behavioral health specialists in the Army and Army Reserve are offered a variety of incentives and benefits including medical scholarships, loan repayment, internship programs and financial assistance to medical residents and post-graduate students. 'If you are interested in contributing to the well-being of our soldiers and meet the Army's qualifications, there may be a place for you on the Army health care team,' said Col. Dingle. For more information about careers, incentives and benefits, visit www.goarmy.com/amedd.
Keywords: Defense, *U.S. Army, U.S. Military, Investing and Investments, U.S. Army Medical Department.
This article was prepared by Defense & Aerospace Week editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2011, Defense & Aerospace Week via VerticalNews.com.
