[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 134 (Wednesday, October 1, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10302-S10303]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  TRIBUTE IN COMMEMORATION OF 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF UNIFORMED SERVICES 
               UNIVERSITY OF THE HEALTH SCIENCES [USUHS]

 Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, I rise today to congratulate the 
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences [USUHS] as it 
celebrates 25 years of service to our country. It was on September 21, 
1972 that Public Law 92-426 established USUHS to provide a corps of 
uniformed medical officers who would provide continuity and leadership 
for uniformed medicine in the United States. For 25 years, USUHS had 
remained our Nation's only military medical school, ensuring top-
quality medical care to the men and women of our armed services. This 
institution has consistently produced first-rate career medical 
officers who excel in meeting the needs of military medicine and 
military readiness.
  USUHS provides a unique curriculum that contributes greatly to our 
military preparedness by providing knowledge that is vastly different 
from that taught in civilian medical schools. In fact, the American 
Medical Association [AMA] has recognized that training in military 
medicine mandates special course work and instruction not necessary in 
the civilian sector, and calls the existence of USUHS vital to the 
continued strength, morale and operational readiness of the military 
services. This specialized training includes trauma, mass casualties, 
combat surgery, medical logistics, nuclear medicine, tropical 
infectious diseases, and medical responses to terrorism.
  Following 18 graduations at the University, the total of USUHS School 
of Medicine [SOM] graduates is 2,470; the 2,276 active duty USUHS 
physicians represent 17 percent of the current physician force in the 
military medical system. Over the years, the university's graduates 
have consistently demonstrated a high level of performance during their 
various deployments in combat areas and in support missions, including 
Desert Storm and Somalia. This performance based upon their extensive 
military training has been validated by three Surgeons General, the 
American Medical Association and the Military Coalition, the Retired 
Officers Association, the National Association for Uniformed Services, 
and the American Legion, among others.
  It is also important to underscore the long-term commitment made by 
USUHS graduates to our armed services. Although USUHS graduates are 
required to serve 7 years of active duty beyond the time they devote to 
internships and residencies, the average time served is actually 18.5 
years. Indeed, 85 percent of those graduates who have completed their 
initial service obligations and could leave active duty for the private 
sector remain on active duty in the Armed Forces where they often hold 
significant leadership and operational positions. For example, four 
USUHS-SOM graduates currently work directly for the President of the 
United States in medical support positions. That so many USUHS 
graduates have made a career of military medicine provides the 
continuity that is so critical to our military medical services.
  In addition to its original mandate, USUHS has further expanded its 
mission to meet the changing needs of the armed services. Additional 
programs provided by USUHS include the Graduate School of Nursing, 
recently granted full accreditation by the National League for Nursing, 
which prepares advanced practice nurses to deliver primary care and 
services to all eligible beneficiaries; the Graduate Medical Education 
Programs, established in 1986 to provide DOD-wide consultation on 
internships, residency, and fellowship training for physicians; the 
Graduate Education Program which has provided 444 students with 
graduate degrees in the basic medical sciences; and the Continuing 
Education for Health Professionals Program which facilitates the 
continued professional growth of health care professionals in the 
uniformed services and reduces DOD travel and other expenses by 
bringing medical training directly to the health care professional.
  For 25 years, this institution has consistently produced first-rate 
career

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medical officers who excel in meeting the needs of military medicine 
and military readiness. USUHS is a cost effective means of providing 
these uniquely trained physicians and deserves significant recognition 
of its accomplishments over its 25-year history in providing top-
quality medical care.

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