Medical Education and Training Campus: Excellence in Tri-Service Medical Education and Accreditation

Col. Jack Davis, commandant of the Medical Education and Training Campus (METC), presents a brief to participants in the U.S. Central Command Theater Medical Conference. Davis, a family nurse practitioner in the U.S. Army Nurse Corp, spoke about the tri-Service, enlisted medical training campus for Army, Navy, and Air Force students and answered questions. Medical professionals representing more than 10 countries within the US Central Command area of operation, Europe, and the U.S. attended the conference to aid in the continued development of capabilities that will serve to improve regional interoperability and cooperation.

National Accreditation and Quality Standards

The Medical Education and Training Campus hosted an evaluation team from the Council on Occupational Education (COE) to ensure that METC is abiding by all standards for national accreditation. Accreditation is a status granted to an educational institution or program that has been found to meet or exceed stated criteria of educational quality and student achievement. It assures quality and assists in improvement if needed.

The COE is a national accrediting agency of higher education institutions. The U.S. Secretary of Education has recognized the COE as a reliable authority on the quality of education offered by the institutions it has accredited. Leading up to the COE site visit, the METC standards and evaluation branch headed an organizational-wide self-study. The primary purpose for the self-study was to examine METC’s qualifications for accreditation through a comprehensive self-evaluation conducted by METC staff.

Program Spotlight: Ophthalmic Technician Training

The METC Ophthalmic Technician program provides didactic and practical training in tasks relating to ocular screening, diagnosis, and treatment to include optical devices and surgical interventions. Ophthalmic Technicians are allied health professionals specializing in ocular health and vision care operating under the supervision of a licensed medical provider. The program provides training to Army and Air Force students at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston and is accredited as an Ophthalmic Non-Clinical Assistant Program by the International Council of Accreditation.

Comprehensive Medical Training Programs

METC offers a vast array of technical training courses across multiple medical disciplines. Below is a summary of the diverse programs available at the campus:

Additional technical training includes the following courses:

• Aerospace Medical Service Apprentice
• Nutrition And Diet Therapy
• Occupational Therapy Assistant
• Pharmacy Technician
• Physical Therapy Technician
• Neurodiagnostic Technologist
• Histotechnician
• Ophthalmic Technician
• Behavioral Health Technician
• Preventive Medicine

The Council on Occupational Education lauds METC for ‘world-class’ tech training, confirming its status as a premier institution for military medical education.