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AFSC 48A4, Staff
AFSC 48A3, Qualified
AFSC 48A1, Entry

Specialty Summary. Administers aerospace medicine program; conducts medical examinations and provides medical care for flyers, missile crews, and others with special standards of medical qualification. Evaluates living and working environments to detect and control health hazards and prevent disease and injury within the Air Force community. Related DoD Occupational Group: 6A.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Provides aerospace medicine support. Develops policies and procedures and prepares directives governing flight medicine, preventive medicine, and occupational medicine. Services as liaison with federal, state, and local agencies in matters related to aerospace medicine, preventive medicine, and occupational medicine. Establishes medical standards for flying personnel and determines recommendations on waivers of medical standards. Develops programs for medical support of contingency operations.

Provides preventive medicine support. Directs health education and control measures for preventable diseases and injuries. Determines adequacy of living and work environments. Develops and implements research projects to control communicable and preventable diseases. Provides advice on nutrition, food service sanitation, water supply safety, sewage and waste disposal, immunizations, and health education.

Advises medical staff. Advises medical and dental staff on treatment of flying personnel and preparation of patients for aeromedical evacuation. Provides medical advice and guidance to bioenvironmental engineering, military public health, physiological training, and others.

Provides occupational medicine support. Determines frequency and scope of occupational medicine exams required by federal regulations and workplace exposures. Conducts and supervises placement and periodic health exams for employees. Establishes procedures to identify occupational hazards, to notify appropriate agencies of occupational diseases or injuries, and to investigate job related injuries or illness.

Conducts medical examinations of personnel with special standards of medical care. Examines personnel requiring special medical care standards to determine fitness for flying and special duties, or to recommend continuance, removal, or return to flying status and aviation service.

Provides family practice functions and medical care for flyers and their families, and obtains medical consultations. Manages disorders and injuries peculiar to flight. Services as liaison between flying squadrons and medical services.

Provides medical support to operational mission and serves as staff advisor to flying squadron commander. Regularly participates in flying mission to observe and advise on aeromedical problems. Develops and manages an aggressive preventive medicine program, including education of flying personnel in healthy life styles. Establishes procedures for managing casualties in aviation accidents and other disasters. Provides advice on air rescue and aeromedical evacuation. Serves on aviation mishap investigation boards.

Specialty Qualifications:

Knowledge. Fulfillment of education and experience requirements satisfies this requirement.

Education. For entry into this specialty, it is mandatory to possess a doctor of medicine degree or a doctor of osteopathy degree from an approved school of medicine or osteopathy, a Master’s degree or equivalent in public health, and complete 1 year of graduate medical education in a clinical specialty at a hospital acceptable to the Surgeon General, HQ USAF.

Training. For award of AFSC 48A1, completion of a primary course in aerospace medicine is mandatory.

Experience. For award of AFSC 48A3, a minimum of 12 months of experience is mandatory.

Other. For award of AFSC 48A3, it is mandatory to possess an aeronautical rating of Flight Surgeon, Senior Flight Surgeon, or Chief Flight Surgeon.

Specialty Shredouts:

None

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Above Information Derived from AFMAN 36-2105