At Military Entrance Processing Stations (MEPS) around the country, medical testing for military enlistment will undergo two major changes in 2022: the elimination of group exams and the reduction of required physical maneuvers.
“USMEPCOM is confident these changes will positively impact both the applicants and the MEPS,” said Army Col. Megan Stallings, commander of U.S. Military Entrance Processing Command (USMEPCOM). “As a command, we are committed to constantly modernizing all of our efforts and these changes to the medical exam are part of our effort to improve our processes and meet our mission.”
The first significant change is the elimination of group testing. Prior to this change, medical processing consisted of both an individual and a group evaluation. During the individual examination, chief medical officers (CMO) conducted a comprehensive appraisal of individual body systems. In the group portion of the exam same-gender applicants conducted physical maneuvers that specifically assessed muscular and skeletal readiness.
USMEPCOM has been monitoring the efficiency of the group test for quite some time. According to U.S. Army Lt. Col. Kevin Cummings, USMEPCOM Command Surgeon, conducting screening in groups of people has become unnecessary as advances in physical assessment have allowed for more focused and efficient examination techniques.
"We’ve progressed in our ability to evaluate physical function to the point that people standing around together isn’t necessary," said Cummings. “If this method of screening was still effective, we would still do it because mission comes first. But it’s not as effective.”
"In the current system, sometimes an applicant can wait 40-50 minutes if they are applicant number one and they have to wait for their whole group of eight to finish," he said. “In the new process, the individual exams will extend by two to three minutes and once they are done, they can move along.”
The second change will be with physical testing maneuvers. Beginning next year, applicants will complete a neuro-muscular-skeletal exam (NMSE) of just ten exercises, down from 23. Many maneuvers will be absorbed into other tests, but a few maneuvers, including the knee walk and knee fall, are being permanently eliminated. However, the most recognized test at MEPS will continue to waddle well into the future.
“The duck walk is valuable because it involves coordination, balance, nervous system and muscle activation…many things are covered at one time,” Cummings said. “In the past we would have applicants walk all the way across the room and then walk back. Now on the exam they will duck walk two to three steps.”
In addition to more precise evaluations and increased efficiency, it will likely be a relief to many applicants not to have to share space with strangers while in their underwear.
Many MEPS have volunteered as test sites for the new processes and they will undergo a cold launch in January 2022. The broad rollout for the new medical processing is slated for the following month.
| Date Taken: | 01.24.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 01.24.2022 15:43 |
| Story ID: | 413324 |
| Location: | NORTH CHICAGO, IL, US |
| Web Views: | 3,659 |
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