Annual Report - Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences

SCHOOL OF MEDICINEUSU’s F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine (SOM) is a traditional medical school with a curriculumenhanced by specialized education, training and research that prepares graduates to provide leadingedgemedical care in even the most challenging environments. A primary mission of military medicineis keeping troops healthy, so a core educational focus is on health promotion and disease prevention.USU attracts a diverse array of students from all over the country, each of whom has something special incommon—they are among the leaders of their generation, dedicated to serving the nation through careersin the DoD or Public Health Service.Unique EDUCATIONThe SOM’s curriculum is designed to educatestudents to provide outstanding care in even the mostextreme settings—to practice good medicine in challengingenvironments. The unique four-year programis year-round and is roughly 700 hours longerthan that of other medical schools. This additionaleducation largely focuses on epidemiology, healthpromotion, leadership and field exercises, diseaseprevention and tropical medicine.The uniformed services offer the same specialtyoptions enjoyed by students at civilian schools,as well as unique opportunities in areas includingpreventive and public health medicine. Additionally,concentrations are available in service-uniquepractice areas, such as aerospace medicine,undersea medicine, global infectious diseases anddisaster medicine.A military-trained cadre of physicians is crucial to ourcountry’s security and well being. SOM graduatessupport national health and preparedness in manyways, from providing expert medical attentionon the front lines to caring for service membersand their families at medical centers at home andabroad. Others are called upon to act as “medicalambassadors,” sharing knowledge to help othercountries enhance their health care infrastructuresand services. The U.S. Public Health Service alsovalues this training because it enables graduatesto manage medical operations in both military andcivilian settings.Sunny Ramchandani, M.D., is an internistand an Assistant Professor in the Departmentof Internal Medicine. Academically first inhis class at the U.S. Naval Academy anda graduate of both the Harvard UniversitySchool of Public Health and Yale UniversitySchool of Medicine, Ramchandani is quicklydistinguishing himself as a researcher, clinicianand teacher.Dr. Ramchandani recently published apaper with colleagues at Johns HopkinsUniversity that was subsequently used by thegovernment of India to enhance anti-retroviraltherapy delivery. In 2007, he also traveledto Afghanistan with USU’s Center for Disaster and HumanitarianAssistance Medicine as part of their initiative to help strengthen itshealth care infrastructure.“USU is the central resourcefor academic military medicine.If we’re out in the fieldconducting research, if wewant to pursue new areas ofinvestigation, if we want toenhance training or changecurricula based on real-worldexperience…no matter whatwe need, the university isthe first place we connectwith… The synergy that USUshares with the U.S. militaryallows the university to offeropportunities that aren’tavailable at any other academicmedical center in the country.”4