JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON –
In the two years since becoming operationally capable, the Medical Education and Training Campus has good reason to boast about its successes.
A product of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission decision to co-locate Army, Navy and Air Force enlisted medical training to Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, METC continues to move forward in its mission to train the finest medics, corpsmen and medical technicians.
Students graduating from the tri-service enlisted medical schoolhouse have achieved a variety of academic accomplishments. These accomplishments include a student scoring 100 percent on every course exam, to an entire class achieving a record-breaking grade point average, and several classes that consistently pass national certification exams at a higher rate than their civilian counterparts.
Airman 1st Class Jamie Cushman, an Air Force medical logistics student, received a perfect score in the course that she completed in June. She achieved 100 percent test scores during the six-week course. This is the first time this has happened in 10 years. Cushman is now a customer service representative for the METC medical logistics department.
A class that graduated from the Navy Dental Assistant Program in July achieved a grade point average of 96.26 percent, a first for the program since being relocated to METC from Great Lakes, Ill. in April 2011. The six-week program covers seven courses that include four weeks of classroom and labs and two weeks of clinical rotations in local medical facilities. The top graduate scored 99.33 percent.
"Many of METC's successes are directly related to our emphasis on a collaborative work environment, bringing best practices from each of the services, and raising the qualification standards bar and screening process on our faculty," said Navy Capt. Peggy Westerbeck, associate dean for instructional delivery at METC.
"Many of these programs are nationally recognized by professional organizations or are recognized by degree awarding institutions. These recognitions provide many opportunities for our graduates to become certified or obtain degrees," Westerbeck added.
Several programs require or encourage students to take the national certification exam for their specialties, with outstanding results:
Although not a requirement, Air Force Guard and Reserve students who graduate from the METC Ophthalmic Technician Program and sit for the Certified Paraoptometric Technician exam average a 98 percent first-time pass rate. Students in the program are taught everything from anatomy and physiology, medical ethics, ocular pathology, pharmacology and optics to refractive surgery, vision and specialty testing and aseptic technique.
But the successes don't stop with the CPOT exam. According to Air Force Lt. Col. Benjamin Franklin, director of the Ophthalmic Technician Program, for more than two years, all students who started in the Ophthalmic Technician Program have graduated. "Since September 2011 the ophthalmic program has had a 100 percent pass/completion rate," he said. "No failures, no reliefs."
Since the Cardiovascular Technologist program moved to METC in July 2011, students who sat for the Registered Cardiovascular Invasive Specialist certification exam averaged a 98 percent pass rate. The national average is 68 percent.
The METC Inter-Service Respiratory Therapy Program students graduate with an associate's degree in applied science with emphasis in respiratory care. The program culminates with Army and Navy students taking the Certified Respiratory Therapist exam.
"Everybody wants to come to this course because they can get an associate degree and take the test to become a certified respiratory therapist," said Harry Román, Respiratory Therapy Program director.
The success rate for the CRT continues to rise since the program moved to METC. Students who took the CRT exam so far in 2013 have achieved a 100 percent pass rate. The national average is 78 percent.
"Our goal is to make sure everybody graduates from this course," said Luis Medina, Phase II clinical supervisor. "A lot of these students go on to physician assistant school, nursing school or even medical school."
At the conclusion of the didactic and clinical portions of the Surgical Technologist Program, Navy students are required to challenge the Certified Surgical Technologist exam. Since October 2012, graduates of the program who took the exam have achieved a 100 percent pass rate.
Upon graduating as Army healthcare specialists, otherwise known as combat medics or 68-Whiskeys, students are certified to the national standards of Emergency Medical Technician-Basic. Sitting for the National Registry for Emergency Medical Technicians is a requirement for graduation.
One class of students recently achieved a 98 percent pass rate. The average has been around 85 percent, still well above the national average of 64 percent.
Occupational Therapy Assistant Program graduates are eligible to sit for the national certification examination and qualify for the designation Certified OTA. The program enjoys a 93 percent national board pass rate for all OTA students who take it while the national average is 81 percent.
"Effective communication and empowerment to those involved in teaching the world's finest medics, corpsman and techs is key," Westerbeck said. "That allows us to go beyond providing the basics and develop curricula that deliver a quality program of instruction."
METC is the largest integrated medical training facility in Department of Defense history, encompassing more than 50 programs of instruction, approximately 6,000 average daily student load and more than 21,000 graduates a year.