Aerospace Medicine

Aerospace Medicine: a specialty which focuses on treating and preventing conditions to which pilots and aircrews are susceptible, by applying medical knowledge to the human factors in aviation. This field of medicine is highly related to the military and space program.

Quick Facts

Competitiveness: Very high

Length of training: 4 years

Number of residency programs: 4 (two military, two civilian)

Number of entry-level positions: 40

Number in U.S. currently Board Certified in specialty: 765

Mean hours per week in patient care activities: varies with setting

Residency Information

You will complete 1 year of clinical training involving direct patient care prior to your 3 years of residency training for this specialty. The four residency programs are at the following locations:

The Naval Aerospace and Operational Medical Institute in Pensacola, Florida.
US Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine at Brooks Air Force Base in Texas.
The University of Texas Medical Branch Hospitals (NASA) Program at Galveston, Texas.
Wright State University School of Medicine, Dayton, Ohio.

Why Choose

Most physicians were introduced to this specialty while serving in the military after completing medical school. Otherwise, doctors rejected other specialties because they were repetitive, required caring for terminally ill patients or did not leave room for control of personal life.

Typical Schedule

There are no typical days in this field, it is all what you make it to be. In this specialty you may be administrating, teaching, writing, consulting, traveling, performing physical examinations, flying, conducting research, and taking care of acute injuries.

Otherwise most doctors will work 8 to 10 hours each day and be on-call for the medical investigation of accidents. To practice in this specialty you must maintain flying proficiency.

If You're Interested

You will want to learn how to fly. Other advice entails joining a military scholarship program to get familiar with the demands of the specialty, and you will want to be comfortable providing more prevention than treatment.

You need to be aware that there are limited opportunities for full-time employment and having a master's of public health will really serve you well. Essentially, you want to be a good clinician first and then an aerospace physician.