MAY 12, 2015, JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (NNS) – Through extensive hands-on training, Naval Hospital (NH) Jacksonville produces Navy Medicine’s health care providers of the future. Highly-skilled military and civilian professionals deploy with Sailors and Marines worldwide – providing critical mission support aboard ships, in the air, under the sea, and on the battlefield. At the same time, Navy Medicine professionals care for military, retirees and family members at home.
“Naval Hospital Jacksonville’s goal is to provide the highest quality care and the best patient experience,” said Capt. John Le Favour, NH Jacksonville commanding officer. “Through our medical education programs we ensure Navy Medicine professionals are prepared for real-life clinical situations, both on the homefront and on the battlefield.”
NH Jacksonville is home to a variety of training programs, including an award-winning Family Medicine Residency Program, graduate nurse education, and Hospital Corps programs. It also maintains more than 100 medical training, research and support collaborations with universities, colleges and medical organizations.
Each year, more than 250 military and civilian students receive clinical training at NH Jacksonville – its hospital and five branch health clinics. Its unique approach to training is designed to ensure students are 100 percent ready to care for our nation’s heroes and their families.
NH Jacksonville’s Family Medicine Residency Program is the oldest and one of the largest in Navy Medicine. It boasts a 100 percent board certification pass rate, compared to the 86 percent national average. Each year, 39 residents and interns are trained to provide the full spectrum of care for military families. Interns sometimes go into the fleet after one year, serving as general medical officers, flight surgeons or undersea medical officers. Residents complete three years of study, rotating through sports medicine, obstetrics, neurology, behavioral health, hospice, trauma and intensive care.
The program earned the 2015 and 2014 Outstanding Achievement in Scholarly Activity Award from the Uniformed Services Academy of Family Physicians, and 2013 Excellence in Teaching Award and 2011 Family Medicine Clinical Site of the Year Award from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.
NH Jacksonville also offers two graduate nurse education programs: Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist and Perioperative Nurse. These programs provide skills to care for patients before, during and immediately after surgery.
For the Navy’s largest and most decorated rating – hospital corpsman, NH Jacksonville offers two unique training programs: Hospital Corpsman University (HMU)
and Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC). HMU prepares corpsmen at shore facilities to perform as extensions of the medical and nursing staff. Training combines classroom, hands-on and clinical rotations. TCCC provides corpsmen with field training in combat trauma to help prepare them to care for Sailors and Marines in the field.
To sharpen trauma skills, NH Jacksonville nurses complete clinical rotations at University of Florida Health and Orange Park Medical Center. NH Jacksonville nurses work with acute patients in neonatal intensive care, trauma and cardiovascular units, and labor and delivery. For University of Florida and Florida A&M University students seeking doctor of pharmacy degrees, NH Jacksonville offers an advanced pharmacy practice experience for about 25 students each year.
NH Jacksonville’s role in developing our nation’s healers starts early. Selected high school students from Darnell Cookman School of the Medical Arts participate in the hospital’s intensive five-day Science, Service, Medicine & Mentoring (S2M2) Program each summer. These students get real-world experience in patient care areas from anesthesiology and surgery to cardiology and maternity.
NH Jacksonville is comprised of the Navy’s third largest hospital and five branch health clinics across Florida and Georgia. It consistently earns the Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval from the nation’s largest accrediting body for U.S. hospitals. Its Medical Home Port teams earned highest-level recognition from the National Committee for Quality Assurance. There are more than 71,000 active and retired Sailors, Soldiers, Marines, Airmen, Guardsmen and their families enrolled with a primary care manager and Medical Home Port team at one of its facilities.