The Student Room Group
Reply 1
search the threads... there was a convo about this not to long ago!

welcome though and good luck with you app!
Reply 2
Hiya,

I applied for Medical Support Officer. The branch has changed a great deal lately. I spoke to the Brance sponsor before I went to OASC to get the latest gen on what was going on and trg etc. The one thing that pulled me towards MSO was the medical link, I enjoy administration but I wanted to sort of specialise in something. The jobs post are varied, you could be on the Medical Evacuation Team, Aviation Medicine, Audit Group and much more. If you want any more info email me at [email protected]

Cheers
Reply 3
MSOs provide management and admin for the RAF medical services. During your first tour you'll be working in an RAF med centre with military medical personnel. You'll do duties such as organising training for medics, admin support for an aeromedical evacutation team, act as a desk officer, or developing and implementing policies.

You start your training at RAF Cranwell, on Initial Officer Training which is 30 weeks long. After this, you'll undergo a 3 week specialist training course at the Defense Medical Training Centre at Keogh Barracks in Hampshire. This course will give you a grounding in medical admin, medical planning, IT systems, primary and secondary healthcare, casualty estimation and incident management. After this course you'll go onto your first posting.

You can join as a MSO on a short service commission, which is 6 years. After you've served four years then you can apply to be converted to a permenant commission which is 18 years.

General entry requirements apply to this branch.
BlackHawk
MSOs provide management and admin for the RAF medical services. During your first tour you'll be working in an RAF med centre with military medical personnel. You'll do duties such as organising training for medics, admin support for an aeromedical evacutation team, act as a desk officer, or developing and implementing policies.

You start your training at RAF Cranwell, on Initial Officer Training which is 30 weeks long. After this, you'll undergo a 3 week specialist training course at the Defense Medical Training Centre at Keogh Barracks in Hampshire. This course will give you a grounding in medical admin, medical planning, IT systems, primary and secondary healthcare, casualty estimation and incident management. After this course you'll go onto your first posting.

You can join as a MSO on a short service commission, which is 6 years. After you've served four years then you can apply to be converted to a permenant commission which is 18 years.

General entry requirements apply to this branch.


Sorry BH, this was published but is totally incorrect, the careers offices have now replaced the bit about working in a Med Centre. MSO's do not work in Med Centres at any point in their careers - may change in the future but at the moment they only visit Med Centres to carry out Formal Governance Visits (If they work in that department at PMA) or ofourse if they go sick!
Reply 5
Totally incorrect, ie everything written there is incorrect? Or just that one point?

Apologises for the information, it's the last I heard from OASC in January.
Reply 6
Wow,

Thanks for all the info guys (and girls!).

MSO definitely sounds like the job for me, I have an MSc in health and policy making and have been working in admin for the past year. Is it mainly desk duties though if you never get near a med centre? Are there many opportunities for travel? Do you still have to sit the full aptitude tests? I've been to Cranwell before but unfortunately didn't get what I wanted so am going again!

Any ideas on which station would be good to visit as I was told to go to Innworth but as its due to close this may not be a good idea. Would really like the opportunity to speak to some MSO's before I apply.

Many thanks, sorry about the long ramble!
Try and get to Lyneham and see Tac Med Wing, it's stuffed full of MSOs as I understand it. It's also reasonably local to you. The only problem is trying to find a date when any of them are in the country!

Sorry, I have no useful contacts there. It's a very specialist unit TMW, but would be great value to see, vice an everyday Med Centre which you may be palmed off with. Do you have any med admin contacts that might have a number for TMW so that you can speak to them directly? Pitch for a Flt Lt in Med Ops if you can - ah, see if you can find the RAF Lyneham website, it's enormous and has loads on it, you may be able to find a number from there. PM me if it doesn't have the civilian part of the number that you need ie just lists the extension.

http://www.lyneham.raf.mod.uk/html/community/stn_handbook.pdf

Pages 26/7 You will be providing the specialist admin support for all of that
Reply 8
McSunny100
Wow,

Thanks for all the info guys (and girls!).

MSO definitely sounds like the job for me, I have an MSc in health and policy making and have been working in admin for the past year. Is it mainly desk duties though if you never get near a med centre? Are there many opportunities for travel? Do you still have to sit the full aptitude tests? I've been to Cranwell before but unfortunately didn't get what I wanted so am going again!

Any ideas on which station would be good to visit as I was told to go to Innworth but as its due to close this may not be a good idea. Would really like the opportunity to speak to some MSO's before I apply.

Many thanks, sorry about the long ramble!


As far as I recall DGMS will not be relocating to HQSTC until mid/late 2007, so you have plenty of time to go there and speak with some of the MSOs. As for Innsworth it closes in 2008. You may be geting confused with the move of HQPTC to collocate with STC at High Wycombe which has already begun!!
BlackHawk
Totally incorrect, ie everything written there is incorrect? Or just that one point?

Apologises for the information, it's the last I heard from OASC in January.



Yes, sorry my bad admin, just the first point about working in Med Centres. The training is being reviewed at the moment as the current training is the Initial Nursing and Medical Officer course at Keogh barracks but this does not really fulfill the task.