The Inagural of the Us Army’S P.A.Scut Monkey

By Bill Hunt P.A.-C

The US Army began its' first endeavor into the use of Physicians Assistants in 1971. This is their story. Beginning with the selection of the first sixty (out of 1300 plus applicants) to their sometimes mundane and sometimes pretty hairy experiences. It is told by one of the original P.A. Scut Monkeys.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jul 30, 2014
• ISBN: 9781496920201

Bill Hunt P.A.-C

Graduated with the first class of Army Physicans Assistants Retired from the US Army with 22 years service. After retirement taught in public and private high schools After 2nd retirement, moved to a 40 acre farm in Indiana. Bred and trained horses and riders for competition in the equestrian sports of eventing and polo.

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The Inagural of the US Army’s P.A. Scut Monkey

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Bill Hunt, P.A.-C

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AuthorHouse™ LLC

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This is a work of fiction, primarily because of the passing of years and the lies about the incidents. However, names have been changed to protect the guilty.

© 2014 Bill Hunt, P.A.-C.

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 07/17/2014

ISBN: 978-1-4969-2021-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4969-2020-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014910961

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

CONTENTS

Dedication

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

DEDICATION

A special Thank you with a wink and a nod to

Harry Matthews, Bill Long, Lou Rocco, Bob Haney, and Terry Harwood.

Also

D. Tsolus, MD. W.Z. Maugham, MD. D. Newton, MD

D.K. Fenner, MD.F. Braxton, MD.FS

CHAPTER 1

At one point in time, the lowest thing on the medical food chain was the medical student, commonly known in the world of medical training as, the Scut Monkey.

That all changed with the introduction of the PA student.

Forty some years ago a young, newly promoted, US Army Staff Sergeant returned from a tour in far off Southeast Asia. He signed on the waiting list for an assignment to the, US Army Recruiters School in Indiana.

He picked up a copy of his hometown newspaper, the Army Times, intrigued by the headline. Army to give medics warrants.

Today the recruiting ad reads, "Physicians Assistant. Since 1973, physician assistants (PA) have been an integral component of the Army Health Care Team, fulfilling key roles in all aspects of patient care. Today, Army physician assistants serve as their unit’s primary health care provider and responsible for everything from prescribing medications to teaching military medics. The PA role has become critical in recent years because Army physicians have come to rely on them more to assist with their ever-increasing patient loads and healthcare responsibilities.

As a full time physician assistant in the active Army, you get more recognition, rewards and autonomy than you’ll find in the civilian sector. You enjoy an atmosphere of mutual respect and camaraderie as you work alongside fellow officers and health care professionals in a team-oriented environment. In addition to enjoying a greater degree of responsibility and freedom, the Army PA plays an active role in every aspect of patient care. As an Army PA, you have the opportunity to practice medicine everywhere from high-tech clinics to field hospitals. You perform evaluations, order labs, and radiographs, diagnose, write consults, treat acute and chronic illnesses, as well as medical and traumatic emergencies.

You typically serve within one of the many Army combat or combat support battalions located in the continental US, Alaska, Hawaii, Germany, Italy, Korea, or wherever the mission takes you. These units include mechanized or light infantry, armored cavalry, airborne or, if qualified, Special Forces. Regardless of where you are assigned, you serve in the front line of Army medicine and responsible for the total health care of soldiers assigned to that unit, as well as their family members.

You know you have gained your unit’s respect when they call you, Doc.

CHAPTER 2

In that forty years, PA’s have gone from crushed bugs to a whole lot of respect.

On one of my trips to the PX, I picked up a copy of my hometown newspaper, The Army Times. On the front page, a headline read: Army to Make Medics Warrant Officers. I immediately pulled out my, wallet size pay chart, cross-referenced E-6 with W-1, and saw that a Warrant with my years of service made 600 dollars a month more than I did.

I immediately went to the S-1 and showed him the paper, I’ll take one of those warrants.

He laughed, Hmm, news to me. I’m sure he intended the pun. But I’ll find out what you have to do to apply.

A couple of days later, he called me at the range and told me to come to his office and we would get the paperwork started.

Before I get started on this part, let me explain about Warrant Officers. According to one of my previous Sergeant Majors, they are a bunch of good NCOs gone bad.

Originally, the rank of Warrant Officer was to maintain the line between the haves and the haven’ts. Officers were often from either royalty or upper crust families and more often than not, they had little or no military training.

Therefore, when they received a command of something they would warrant the most talented of the enlisted men to carry out those duties they were incapable of doing themselves. The other purpose was to establish a rank, bestowable on their personal staff, to insure NCOs have no authority over them even though their job was routinely an enlisted one, such as their personal cook or secretary.

The rank evolved to the point where it became a reward for the most talented of the enlisted corps. At this point, there were two grades of Warrant officers, Warrant Officer (W-1) and Chief Warrant Officer (W-2). By the time, I considered becoming one it had grown to W-3 and W-4 and now to W-5.

Primarily only NCOs E-6 and above in the technical fields received Warrants, and they had for the most part no command authority. In those cases where they did find themselves assigned to a unit that did not have a platoon leader (2nd Lieutenant) assigned they filled that slot.

The only example I can think of where one did not get a direct appointment was in the field of aviation. If you were to become an aviation warrant, they would make you a W.O.C. (Warrant Officer Candidate) and upon successful completion of flight school, you obtained your wings and W-1.

When I went back to the S-1, he told me the Medical Warrant Program meant for a new technical specialty called Physicians’ Assistant and it required a two-year school.

To apply you had to meet certain requirements and take a proctored test at the education center. The tests then went to the Office of the Surgeon General for grading. The candidates with the highest scores go TDY to Ft. Sam Houston for more intense testing and oral boards. From those evaluations, the Surgeon Generals’ Office selected the first class of WOC’s.

We went over the application requirements, and I met or exceeded all of them so I signed the paperwork and sent it forward. About a month later, I received a letter saying the application period had expired and it gave me the time and date of the proctored exam.

About a week after that, I received a telephone call from the Ed Center to report there the next morning at 0730.

The test would begin at exactly 0800 and if I hadn’t finished the sign-in procedure and in my seat ready to begin at 0755. I would not be allowed to sit for the exam and eliminated from consideration. While in my seat by 0715, over the next 15 minutes about 12 or 13 other folks showed up only one of them dressed in fatigues all the rest in hospital whites.

A civilian, the director of the Ed center, came in and had us fill out the required paperwork. She briefed us on how the test would be administered and how to fill out the answer sheets. At 0755, she walked over and locked the door. She passed out the test booklets and pencils. She then announced all 1,302 applicants worldwide would now prepare to take the test.

At exactly 1000, Eastern Standard Time all books would close, all materials gathered and the testing concluded to prevent anyone with friends in a different time zone from giving them an unfair advantage. I never heard of this being done before or since that exam, but maybe just disinformation.

Before the magic hour of ten, a couple of the people turned in their stuff. I don’t know if they were really that smart or they just gave up. The other fellow in fatigues, like me, stayed right there until the end. When the proctor called time, we all closed the books, put all our stuff in a neat little pile, and the proctor came around with manila envelopes pre- addressed to the Surgeon Generals Office.

We put a return address on the outside, and put everything including work papers in the envelope and sealed them. When we turned them in to the proctor, she asked for our ID card, checked the photo with the face, and then checked us off a list. She stapled our initial paperwork to the outside of the envelope and put all the packets into a cardboard box.

On the way out, I listened to the hospital types making comments about how the test, had been a piece of cake, and how easy. I walked over to the other one in fatigues and he shook his hand.

Bill Hunt, Committee Group.

Phil Mapes, Pharmacy.

I asked him how a Pharmacy tech got a Combat Medical Badge.

He said when he arrived at his in-country assignment there were too many pharmacy types at the hospital. They gave him the secondary MOS as a 91B and he went up to the First Cav. When he got back to the states, they put him back as a pharmacy tech and sent him to the hospital.

As we walked out into the parking lot, I said, Well I guess that’s it for me. I thought they wanted to give those warrants to medics, but after that I think they want to give them to doctors.

He laughed, Roger that, I can’t imagine how these other guys think that was a piece of cake.

We said our good-byes and went our separate ways.

At work, about a month or so later, the phone rang in the range hut and one of the cadre picked it up. He put his handed over the mouthpiece and handed it to me saying it’s the hospital Sergeant Major.

I took the receiver. Good morning, Sergeant Major this is Staff Sergeant Hunt.

Sergeant Hunt, the hospital commander would like to see you at 1400, are you available?

I turned to my NCOIC and told him what was up.

No problem, I’ll do your afternoon classes.

Roger that, Sergeant Major, see you about 1400.

At 1345, I bumped into Mapes in the headquarters hallway.

I’m going to the Sergeant Majors office.

Me too, he replied.

We assumed it had something to do with our applications.

When we entered the office the Sergeant Major said, The Colonel is in a meeting with the Chief Nurse and as soon as she comes out I’ll get you two in. Have a seat.

We sat down.

Anybody else coming Sergeant Major? Phil asked.

He didn’t even look up. Nope just the two of you.

I looked at Phil, he looked at me, and almost in unison we said, Shit, we didn’t make it.

Just about then the commanders door opened, we both jumped to our feet. The Chief Nurse came out and the Colonel was right behind her.

Sergeant Hunt, Specialist Mapes please come in, Sergeant Major would you please join us.

Yes Sir.

We paraded into the office and Phil and I put ourselves at the position of attention in front of the Colonel’s desk.

Stand at ease, Gentlemen. I have been asked by the Surgeon General to inform you both that after a full review of your military personnel record and the grading of your pre-test you have both been chosen to continue in the application process for the first class of Physicians’ Assistants, congratulations.

He stood up and offered his hand, we shook it, accepted the piece of paper he extended with the other, and we exchanged salutes.

Sergeant Major, I want you to take these two to the club and buy them a beer on me.

The Sergeant Major said, Yes, Sir.

He shook our hands Good job guys.

We left the hospital and went to the club we had a few beers on the Colonel and a few on the Sergeant Major and then a couple on each other.

The next morning I got a call from the S-1 who had orders sending me TDY to Fort Sam Houston for the final selection process. The paper the Colonel had given us the day before had a list of selected study items for the upcoming tests and the oral boards. I needed a medical dictionary just to understand what some of the topics were and my only hope.

Either I read somewhere or someone told me if you had a strong vocabulary you