MARCH 26, 2018, Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph – The Air Force has selected eight enlisted Airmen to participate in the Enlisted to Medical Degree Preparatory Program, or EMDP2, beginning in July.
The participants and their current assigned units are Staff Sgt. Shane Berger, Davis Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona; Senior Airman Leslie Gore, Joint Base Andrews, Maryland; Senior Airman Ashley Halverson, Travis AFB, California; Tech Sgt. Almaz Jamankulov, Fort Belvoir, Virginia; Staff Sgt. Judith Mathess, Goodfellow AFB, Texas; Staff Sgt. Verity Oltjenbruns, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey; Staff Sgt. Amber Powell, Beale AFB, California; and Tech Sgt. Sean Smith, Chantilly, Virginia.
The EMDP2 offers enlisted Airmen an opportunity to complete the preparatory coursework for admission to medical school while maintaining active duty status, or “cadet man-years” for Reserve or Guard selects, with full pay and benefits. The program, which incurs a three-year active duty service commitment, includes coursework in a traditional classroom setting with structured pre-health advising and formal medical college admission test preparation.
“This program is open to candidates who demonstrate integrity and are dedicated to becoming future physicians, leaders and scholars of the nation’s medical force,” said Andrea Zabawczuk, Air Force Surgeon General continuing medical education director.
Airmen selected for the two-year program will transfer on permanent change of station orders to Bethesda, Maryland, where they will attend school full-time at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences where tuition and associated academic costs will be funded by the Air Force.
Following successful completion of the program, graduates will apply for acceptance to the USUHS medical school and/or civilian medical schools.
“Once accepted for an approved medical school, participants will be commissioned as second lieutenants in the Medical Services Corps,” Zabawczuk said. “As fourth year medical students, those lieutenants will be eligible to apply for medical residencies approved by the Air Force Health Professions Education Requirements Board.”
The next EMDP2 board is scheduled for January 2019. Prior to releasing the list, AFPC provided senior raters with advanced knowledge of their Airmen’s selection to allow notification through the chain of command.
For more information about Air Force personnel programs, visit the AFPC public website (http://www.afpc.af.mil/).
Story by Kat Bailey
Air Force Personnel Center