This past summer I was involved in the AMEDDIP at Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii.  For those of you who do not know AMEDDIP is the Army Medical Department Internship Program.  My particular specialty was dentistry.  With the AMEDDIP I was able to shadow a dentist and learn about Army dentistry for four weeks.

            I flew to Honolulu in the end of July, not knowing what to expect.  I had never been to Oahu before, nor had I ever seen the inner workings of an Army Medical Center.  I arrived on a Saturday night along with five other AMEDD cadets and about 13 nursing cadets.  The 19 of us were told that our first day of work was Monday and that we would have weekends to enjoy the island.

            This excited us all a great deal and we promptly learned to use the bus system on the island and made plans to see the sites during our weekends.  In my time on Oahu I was able to see Waikiki Beach, Ala Moana Beach, Downtown Honolulu, Waimea Bay, and the North Shore, hike Diamond Head Crater, visit Pearl Harbor, and see the swap meet at Aloha Stadium.  The 19 cadets all became good friends in spending four weeks together at work and around the island.

            We stayed in Army lodging right next to Tripler.  The rooms were wonderful.  Essentially all of the cadets were paired and given a suite to share.  There was plenty of room and a friend to live with for a month.  We were also allowed to use the gym on post for free.  It was nice with a weight room, pool, basketball, and cardio equipment.  This was important, because we did not have PT formations in the mornings before work.  All of the cadets were on their own for PT.

            Work began on Monday morning and the six AMEDD cadets were given a briefing on what our work entailed.  It quickly became obvious that we were not being tracked correctly.  Our briefing informed us that we would be issued field gear and flown to a separate island where we would spend our weeks training in a field environment.  This was not what any of us had signed up for.  We were accepted into a program that would have us working in our specialty in the hospital.  After much discussion and decisions made far above our heads it was confirmed that we were not CTLT cadets and the plan was changed so that we would be working in the hospital.

            This process took a couple of days, so it was Wednesday before I met the dentist I would be shadowing.  He was no longer in the Army.  He had just gotten out a month earlier and was now working as a contractor at Tripler.  As I soon learned, most of the dental clinic was made up of contractors.  This did not take away from my learning experience though.  In fact, it was helpful to talk with a civilian because he had insights from the Army and civilian side of things.  It gave me a broader knowledge and I learned of the procedures for when you get out of the Army.

            In my four weeks I was able to observe many procedures.  I watched exams, fillings, tooth extractions, and root canals to name a few.  There were even a couple of special cases where we had to help an old woman and a young child who were having gum problems that qualified as near emergency situations.  These were all very interesting to watch and I learned from them.  I was not able to help in the procedures, however, because I was not qualified or schooled to do such work.

            In our final week at Tripler all of the AMEDD cadets were taken to a field environment to observe a training exercise.  It was an interesting change of pace from the hospital, but a good learning experience.  It was not what any of us had expected. 

Overall I had a wonderful experience in Hawaii with AMEDDIP and would recommend this program for any cadet looking to go into the medical field.  There are many specialties, not just dentistry.  I had friends in surgery, physical therapy, behavior health and pediatrics.  There are many opportunities with AMEDDIP and it gives a great chance to see some cool places.  I felt like I was on paid vacation in Hawaii for a month.  Not too bad!