An Effective Investment: Teaching Study Skills to USAF Allied Health Professionals Prior to Extended Training

In the school of Aerospace Medicine, the average cost to train one student in the three month Aeromedical Apprentice course in 1998 was $12,500. In this course, students are trained to become medical technicians who are able to effectively support Air Force Flight Surgeons in emergency situations. Students who failed the course of study were eliminated from the program at a cost of thousands of taxpayer dollars with no realized gain by the government or the student. A recent study examined the effects of a study skills training intervention course on U.S. Air Force Aeromedical Apprentices with five main purposes. The first was to examine the relationship between study skills training and the number of times students required academic interventions outside of normal class time. The second purpose was to examine the relationship between study skills training and end of course averages. The third was to determine the relationship between study skills training and the amount of additional instruction, measured in time, students required. The fourth purpose examined the relationship between study skills training and graduation rates. The final purpose was to recommend areas for further research.