title: Military externships: recruitment friend or foe?
abstract: The purpose of the study was to determine if optometry students who completed an externship at a military facility were influenced for or against future enlistment considerations. The responses of 62 students were evaluated over a period of 3 years using an original self-completion questionnaire. The results suggest that while the majority of students left their externship with a positive attitude toward the military practice of optometry, factors such as low salaries and lagging promotional considerations influenced most to overlook the military as a practice option. The important ramifications of the study, as well as potential threats to its validity, are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Southern College of Optometry, Memphis, TN 38104.
authors.forename: B I
authors.initials: BI
authors.lastname: Sparks
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002982:Clinical Clerkship / Q000639:trends*; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate / Q000639:trends*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008887:Military Medicine; D009907:Optometry / Q000193:education*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States