Welcome Students!

Educational Experiences

The Association of Military Osteopathic Physicians & Surgeons (AMOPS) personally welcomes you and congratulates you on your achievements. Admission to an osteopathic medical, school and selection for the Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP) are milestones in your career that are noteworthy. AMOPS invites you to become a student member of this association which is equivalent to a state osteopathic medical society. We offer a unique experience in that we work very closely with and are completely supported by our parent organization. Unlike many other associations, AMOPS realized that our continued success and future membership begins with each of you, our student members. Our National Student Chapter President has a voting seat on the AMOPS Board of Trustees to ensure the physicians hear the student voice. We also have a Board Liaison and Physician Advisor to help assist in our growth and development as a student council.

Now that you are an official part of the family, here is what AMOPS has to offer you:

NATIONAL STUDENT CONFERENCE

Members have access to research opportunities across the country, the opportunity to network with other students who participated in research and updates about current research in the specialty.

CASE POSTER COMPETITION

We have an annual Case Poster Competition open to all medical student members. It is held annually in conjunction with our Annual Meeting and details may be found on the website.

MENTORSHIP PROGRAM

AMOPS Mentorship Program is designed so that you may connect with mentors who have volunteered their time and talent to serve as an added resource to your local chapter and to individual student members. This valuable resource helps to build honest relationships where students can reap the benefit of their mentor’s knowledge, experience and aid in keeping a quality student chapter program at each school year in and year out. You will be afforded the opportunity to ask meaningful questions and receive intelligent advice on clearing the hurdles of medical school, residency preparation and becoming a successful physician.

SOCIAL MEDIA

The AMOPS Facebook page is will keep you are your local chapter linked in to current events at the national level. We regularly post resident tips, chapter highlights, interesting articles and opportunities to get involved. Use the hastag #SAMOPS to link to our social media campaigns.

PUBLICATIONS

With several student and attending publications, we try hard to keep members up to date on education and current event in the Military Medicine community. Join us on Facebook to stay up to date on our publications and upcoming events. You will find updates on activities of AMOPS chapters across the country, tips for students who are conducting rotations and news about the national student chapter of AMOPS.

NETWORKING

With hundreds of Osteopathic Military Physicians nationwide, the networking opportunities that AMOPS will afford you are astounding.

As an HPSP recipient, you will have the opportunity to do clerkships in a wide variety of general and specialty rotations in the major military training hospitals throughout the United States. You are strongly urged to take advantage of the excellent educational opportunities available in these facilities and at the same time experience military life in various parts of the country prior to choosing a site for your future internship and residency training.

Please contact AMOPS via email: [email protected] for guidance or with any questions you may have.

NON-HPSP STUDENTS

If you are not an HPSP recipient, it may still be possible to apply. For information, contact a recruiter in the military service of your choice. Additional sources of information concerning military scholarships include:

U.S. Army
1-800-USA-Army or via the internet at www.goarmy.com

U.S. Air Force
1-800-423-USAF or via the internet at www.airforce.com

U.S. Navy
Contact AMOPS

AMOPS - READY TO SERVE!

AMOPS is here to serve YOU. Some of the osteopathic schools have formed student AMOPS chapters or military clubs. Most information you desire can be obtained through the members at your school. If you do not have a student chapter and would like information on starting one, please contact us.

In addition, if you have any questions concerning your life as a military osteopathic physician, our membership has representatives in all service branches who are available to assist you by phone or email. Just contact [email protected] for the name, phone number and/or email address of the chairman of our Student Affairs Committee.

The Association of Military Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons is dedicated to representing DOs in the Uniformed Services. We request your input in regards to any specific concerns you may have about your training and your future in the military. Possible areas of concern might include payback time, bonuses, clerkship opportunities, certification and difficulties obtaining AOA approval for internship.

By directing questions to AMOPS through the Chairman of the Student Affairs Committee, you can be assured they will be reviewed. If the problems are widespread, they will be presented to the association’s membership for consideration and subsequent action via our delegates to the AOA House of Delegates or appropriate military channels.

HPSP NEWSLETTER

For Navy students, the Naval School of Health Sciences (NSHS) in Bethesda, MD, publishes a biannual newsletter, “The One Striper,” which is mailed to all Navy HPSP recipients. The newsletter is also available online at http://www.nshs.med.navy.mil/gme/mcpp.htm. Additional information may be obtained by calling (301) 295-1217 or email at [email protected]. The Military Medical Student Association based at USUHS also publishes a journal three times a year and has a homepage at http://www.usuhs.mil/mmsa. Navy GME information and points of contact may be found on the NSHS homepage address.

Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP) from the perspective of medical school Student Affairs offices develops guidelines each year. The most current edition as of May 2023:

HPSP Military Match_2023-2024_for civilian student affairs offices_Final

CLERKSHIPS

In addition to your six weeks of active duty time during each year, it is now possible to do clerkships in military facilities at other times. Basically, you would be a civilian doing a rotation in a military hospital. This is now relatively easy to arrange through the hospital you desire to attend. Your school and that hospital will have to arrange an MOU (memorandum of understanding). Call the Graduate Medical Education Coordinator at the hospitals you are interested in for details.

AFTER YOU GRADUATE

There is a scholarship program available to non-HPSP students after graduation. Sponsored by the three Armed Services, it is possible to obtain a “Scholarship” during residency under the Financial Assistance Program.

This program is offered to physicians in residency training in civilian hospitals. Candidates can receive civilian residency pay and get the same monthly stipend ($940) as the HPSP students, plus a $19,000 a year bonus if eligible for appointment in the Medical Corps, as of July, 1998, and adjusted annually.

It is necessary to apply through a service recruiter. If sponsored for one year, you are obligated for two years of active military service. If sponsored for two years, your payback is three years of military service. In other words, one year more than the number of years sponsored.

PRIMARY CARE

As osteopathic medical students, primary care attitudes were ingrained starting the first day of medical school. AMOPS strongly encourages you to consider clerkships, internships, and residencies in any of the primary care specialties offered in the Uniformed Services. These include Family Practice, Pediatrics, Internal Medicine, Emergency Medicine, and Obstetrics/Gynecology.

KEEP IN TOUCH

AMOPS maintains a list of student members for all mailings. So, while a student, it is important to advise AMOPS of all permanent address changes, excluding those of short duration, such as clerkship and hospital rotations.

After graduation, please contact the AOA Membership Department by phone, postcard or email. Identify yourself as a Uniformed Services physician by giving your name, rank, and branch of service, address and AOA number. The AOA mailing address is: 142 East Ontario St., Chicago, IL 60611. Or you can call the AOA on its toll free number (800-621-1773, ext. 8284) and provide the same information. The email address is aoa-net.org.

By following this procedure, your name and address will be listed in the Military section of the Yearbook and Directory, which is the appropriate Divisional Society for Uniformed Services physicians. AMOPS purchases the Military mailing list from AOA for each and every mailing. By being on the AOA’s mailing list, you are automatically on AMOPS’, too.