Above, HN Ace Abecilla checks vital signs of Plebes at a remote clinic during Plebe Summer. Below, HM1(SW) Damian Lovello looks for signs of orthopedic injury on a Plebe. Remote clinics enable Corpsmen to treat injuries quickly, ensuring the safety of Plebes as they adapt to the physical rigors of military life. USNA photos by MC2 Chris Lussier.

This is an enormous process that takes the Clinic’s entire medical staff and 20 additional temporary duty corpsmen. These temporary duty Corpsmen, known as Prospective Student Inputs (PSI), are first-term Sailors who recently completed Navy Hospital Corpsman ‘A’ school and are temporarily assigned to the Academy for 90 days before transferring to their first duty station.

‘‘This gives these [PSIs] hands-on, in-the-field training,” said Master Chief Hospital Corpsman (SW) Charles Collins, Command Master Chief of Naval Health Clinic Annapolis. ‘‘And their ultimate duty station gets a more well-rounded Hospital Corpsman and a better Sailor.

Working everywhere from administration and orthopedics to the remote clinics found around the Yard, the 20 PSIs currently assigned to Naval Health Clinic Annapolis provide the medical staff with much needed assistance as they keep up with the constant flow of sick or injured Plebes as they adapt to the physical rigors of military life.

‘‘This is my second year working with the PSIs and they are vital, especially now with the increase in [Individual Augmentees] and loss of personnel,” said Hospital Corpsman 1st Class (AW) A.J. Heinrich of the Brigade Medical Unit. ‘‘We are really thankful to have them because it isn’t a guarantee that we will get them, but we are grateful when we do.”

According to Collins, of the 16,000 hours of medical coverage provided each year by the clinic, 12,500 occur during Plebe Summer.

‘‘On any given day we have 15 to 20 folks out [in the field] covering the various ranges, obstacle courses, and the Plebe Exercise Program associated with Plebe Summer,” said Collins.

These corpsmen provide on-site treatment for Plebes participating in physical events such as morning physical education and the Tarzan assault course.

One such Sailor is Hospital Corpsman Apprentice Laranda Holt.

‘‘I’ve been doing a lot of patient care, checking vitals and responding to patient needs,” said Holt. ‘‘It’s a nice transition from Corps school to here, because you make sure that you get the foundation of your skills before transferring to your [first] command.”

Holt and the rest of the PSIs transfer to their new duty stations at the end of Plebe Summer.