MEB for Providers
- Thread starter Vet-Ted
- Start date
It’s in the regulations. It is very hard to be found unfit. If you believe that is your situation, lawyer up.
Not sure what regulations you’re referring to. Medical standards apply to everyone in uniform. If there’s a regulation different for licensed healthcare professions, please share. Thanks!
Look at the DoDI on the PEB process.
DOD INSTRUCTION 1332.18. Page 37
Not the original poster but wanted to look at the regulation as well.
Looked at DODI 1332.18 and din't see any mention of it on page 37 (or 36 or 38).
Maybe you typed the wrong page?
Would you classify Nurses, Lab Officers, Audiologists, PAs, etc. as medical officers? Yes they work in medicine, but there’s no DoD terminology to define medical officer (yet the language is geared towards MDs/DOs). Title 37 part 335 defines healthcare professional for physicians as medical officers, but other disciplines are not. Nurses generally fall under the Nursing Corps and PAs (at least in the AF) are Biomedical Science Corps officers. Not sure if the term “medical officer” is an umbrella term for the DoD. Seems very vague and lacks definition.
Each service has its equivalent to AR 635-40, section 5-4(e)(1)(a) and 2, which reads as follows:
Section 5-4(e) Ability to deploy. The PEB considers whether the Soldier (Active Army and RC) is deployable individually or as part of a unit, with or without prior notification, to any location specified by the Army. (1) The provisions in this paragraph concerning the ability to deploy do not apply to the following DES cases: (a) General and MC officers. (b) When the presumption of fitness rule applies. (2) With the exception of the cases identified in paragraphs 5–4e(1)(a) and 5–4e(1)(b), the PEB will find Soldiers unfit who are medically disqualified for worldwide deployment in a field or austere environment.
As someone who regularly represents physicians in this setting, I can attest to the fact that it is quite a bit harder to have a physician found unfit unless they have significant psychiatric issues that impair their ability to provide competent care to patients. Even then, the PEB members expect the person to be enrolled in an impaired provider program.
Have I succeeded in having physicians found unfit and medically retired for physical conditions rather than psychological diagnoses? Yes, but it often means going through the whole process twice or more for Navy and Army physicians. In Air Force settings, it can take several RILOs over 12-24 months to have AFPC direct a full medical board and even enter the IDES process, let alone be found unfit.
The bottom line is that being unable to deploy will not guarantee that a physician will be found unfit. It typically requires their specialty consultant- think of it as the program manager for that particular medical specialty, like rheumatology, oncology, orthopedic surgery, etc. - to play an active role supporting an unfit finding by drafting a letter or testifying to the fact that the consultant is unable to find any billet in which the provider can function within their specialty. Additionally, you will need supporting evidence showing that they cannot perform any general medical officer functions.
Section 5-4(e) Ability to deploy. The PEB considers whether the Soldier (Active Army and RC) is deployable individually or as part of a unit, with or without prior notification, to any location specified by the Army. (1) The provisions in this paragraph concerning the ability to deploy do not apply to the following DES cases: (a) General and MC officers. (b) When the presumption of fitness rule applies. (2) With the exception of the cases identified in paragraphs 5–4e(1)(a) and 5–4e(1)(b), the PEB will find Soldiers unfit who are medically disqualified for worldwide deployment in a field or austere environment.
As someone who regularly represents physicians in this setting, I can attest to the fact that it is quite a bit harder to have a physician found unfit unless they have significant psychiatric issues that impair their ability to provide competent care to patients. Even then, the PEB members expect the person to be enrolled in an impaired provider program.
Have I succeeded in having physicians found unfit and medically retired for physical conditions rather than psychological diagnoses? Yes, but it often means going through the whole process twice or more for Navy and Army physicians. In Air Force settings, it can take several RILOs over 12-24 months to have AFPC direct a full medical board and even enter the IDES process, let alone be found unfit.
The bottom line is that being unable to deploy will not guarantee that a physician will be found unfit. It typically requires their specialty consultant- think of it as the program manager for that particular medical specialty, like rheumatology, oncology, orthopedic surgery, etc. - to play an active role supporting an unfit finding by drafting a letter or testifying to the fact that the consultant is unable to find any billet in which the provider can function within their specialty. Additionally, you will need supporting evidence showing that they cannot perform any general medical officer functions.
Two additional caveats that complicate the process for military physicians wishing to be found Unfit-:
1. If you have just completed an advanced fellowship and have incurred an additional service obligation, you are unlikely to be found unfit unless you have overwhelming evidence that you cannot perform even general medical officer functions, let alone working in your specialty.
2. Additionally, if you have been approved for outside employment as a physician and are working part-time at a local hospital or medical practice, you should not be surprised if your leadership terminates your outside employment privileges. In addition, you would be asked at a formal hearing how you can work as a physician outside of the military setting but cannot work consistently as a provider within a military setting.
1. If you have just completed an advanced fellowship and have incurred an additional service obligation, you are unlikely to be found unfit unless you have overwhelming evidence that you cannot perform even general medical officer functions, let alone working in your specialty.
2. Additionally, if you have been approved for outside employment as a physician and are working part-time at a local hospital or medical practice, you should not be surprised if your leadership terminates your outside employment privileges. In addition, you would be asked at a formal hearing how you can work as a physician outside of the military setting but cannot work consistently as a provider within a military setting.