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flight surgeon

n. a medical officer specializing in aviation medicine

Wikipedia
Flight surgeon

A flight surgeon is a military medical officer practicing in the clinical field variously known as aviation medicine, aerospace medicine, or flight medicine. (Although the term "flight surgery" is considered improper by purists, it may occasionally be encountered.)

Flight surgeons are physicians ( MDs or DOs) who serve as the primary care physicians for a variety of military aviation personnel on special duty status — e.g., pilots, Naval Flight Officers, navigators/ Combat Systems Officers, astronauts, air traffic controllers, UAV operators and other aircrew members, both officer and enlisted. In addition to serving as primary care for military members on special duty status and their families, the U.S. Department of Defense uses flight surgeons for a variety of other tasks.

Flight medicine is essentially a form of occupational medicine and flight surgeons are tasked with the responsibility of maintaining the military's strict medical standards, especially the even stricter standards that apply to those on flying, controlling or jump (airborne) status. In the U.S military, flight surgeons are trained to fill general public health and occupational and preventive medicine roles, and are only infrequently "surgeons" in an operating theater sense. Flight surgeons are typically rated aviators on flight status (i.e., they log flight hours in military aircraft as a crewmember), but are not required to be rated or licensed pilots, naval flight officers, or navigators/CSOs. They may be called upon to provide medical consultation as members of an investigation board into a military or NASA aviation or spaceflight mishap. Occasionally, they may serve to provide in-flight care to patients being evacuated via aeromedical evacuation, either fixed wing or rotary wing.

The civilian equivalent of the flight surgeon is the Aviation Medical Examiner (AME). Some civilian AMEs have training similar to that of military flight surgeons, and some are either retired military flight surgeons or actively serving flight surgeons in a military Reserve Component.

Usage examples of "flight surgeon".

Earlier the squadron flight surgeon had stopped by and delivered two airline bottles of twelve-year-old bourbon.

The flight surgeon and an assistant fitted Kleuger into one tank while two medical technicians arranged Joe in his.

A qualified flight surgeon, he had the duty for the next three nights so that he'd have four days off over Christmas.

A qualified flight surgeon, he had the duty for the next three nights so that he’.

With lips still quivering, he rose and trudged outside reluctantly to break the bad news to Gus and Wes, discreetly avoiding any conversation with Doc Daneeka himself as he moved by the flight surgeon's slight sepulchral figure roosting despondently on his stool in the late-afternoon sunlight between the orderly room and the medical tent.

The flight surgeon says I've flown too many hours, even by Stonebraker's standards.

As soon as the sloop makes rendezvous you are to go aboard for return to New Caledonia at maximum acceleration flight surgeon will approve.

Gretchen's older brother had achieved honors as a flight surgeon for the Navy, and a younger sister ran a music school in Harlem.

What did the flight surgeon have to say about your eyes last time around?