This article is only available in the PDF format. Download the PDF to view the article, as well as its associated figures and tables.
SUPPLY, PROCUREMENT AND ASSIGNMENT OF MEDICAL PERSONNEL
When the 1918 armistice was signed, the United States Army had 3,673,888 men in service and 31,501 Medical Corps officers. Should the United States Army be expanded for any reason in the near future to any similar size, at least an equivalent number of physicians would be required.Today the United States Army includes approximately 90,000 officers, 6,000 nurses and 1,480,000 enlisted men. Of the 90,000 officers approximately 14,000 are in the medical department, and of the soldiers approximately 109,000 are in the medical department. The officers in the medical department include 11,465 physicians in the Medical Corps, of whom 8,983 are reserve officers, 1,250 regular officers and 1,232 National Guard officers. Calculated on a basis of 6 medical officers per thousand men there is at present a shortage of about 1,473 medical officers. The Army Medical Department also includes 2,300 dentists in the Dental Corps and 660 veterinarians in the Veterinary Corps.
MEDICAL PREPAREDNESS. JAMA. 1941;117(19):1630–1632. doi:10.1001/jama.1941.02820450054019
Coronavirus Resource Center
Customize your JAMA Network experience by selecting one or more topics from the list below.
Create a personal account or sign in to: