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WAVES 
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HOSPITAL CORPS RELEASE ONE MAN 
HELP ONE HUNDRED MEN 
The Hospital Corps needs many thousands 
of young women - it needs you - and it needs 
you now. In the Hospital Corps you can fill 
a man’s job and still do a woman’s work. 
Every woman should know something about 
the care of the sick. As a member of the Hos- 
pital Corps you will be trained in funda- 
mental nursing procedures and in other allied 
medical skills. After the war many oppor- 
tunities probably will be open to ambitious 
young women who have had training and experi- 
ence in the Hospital Corps of the Navy. 
As a Hospital Corps WAVE you can be sure 
that you will serve in a satisfyingly direcf 
way to help win the war. Through service in 
the Hospital Corps you can aid your country 
by immediately releasing a man for duty at 
sea, and you can help, in a very tangible way, 
the men who have already met the enemy, by 
supplying the care they need to return them 
to the fighting fronts. 
If you are a patriotic, physically fit 
young woman - if you want to help your 
country - if your desire is to serve our 
fighting men - if you want to be sure that 
your part in the war effort will be vital and 
stimulating - if you are interested in medi- 
cal services - enlist today in the WAVES and 
apply for duty in the Hospital Corps. 
ROSS T. MeINTIRE, 
Rear Admiral (MC) 
Surgeon General, U.S. Navy. Hospital Corps WAVES in action. WAVES 
IN 
THE HOSPITAL CORPS 
HISTORY 
ORGANIZATION 
The Hospital Corps is an integral part 
of the Medical Department of the Navy, 
which also includes the Medical Corps, 
the Dental Corps, and the Nurse Corps. 
The Hospital Corps was created by an 
Act of Congress, approved June 17, 1898, and is one of 
the oldest Corps at present in the United States Navy. 
The present organization of the Hospital Corps dates 
from 1916 when an Act of Congress directed that it 
consist of personnel in the enlisted ratings of Hospi- 
tal Apprentices, second class and first class, Pharma- 
cist’s Mates, third class, second class, first class, 
and Chief Pharmacist’s Mates, and in the warrant and 
commissioned warrant grades of Pharmacist and Chief 
Pharmacist. To meet wartime needs, some members of 
the Hospital Corps in the enlisted ratings of Pharma- 
cist’s Mate, first class, and Chief Pharmacist’s Mate, 
and warrant officers, have been appointed to the com- 
missioned ranks of Ensign, Lieutenant (Junior grade), 
and Lieutenant for temporary service. 
The primary mission of the Medical 
Department of the Navy has been described as "To keep 
as many men at as many guns as many days as possible" 
and the personnel of the Hospital Corps is charged 
with extensive responsibilities in the carrying out of 
this mission. Members of the Hospital Corps perform 
practically every type of duty within the activities 
of the Medical Department except the specific profes- 
sional duties of medical and dental officers. These 
duties include all of the allied professional and ad- 
ministrative aspects of medical care. Hospital Corps 
officers serve as assistant administrators in naval 
hospitals, as commissary of ficers , maintenance of ficers , 
procurement officers, property and accounting officers, 
and personnel officers. Naval 
Hospital, 
Philadelphi 
Pennsylvani 
Naval 
Hospital, 
Puget Sound, 
Washington, 
Norfolk 
Naval Hospi 
Portsmoul 
Virginia. 
Naval 
Hospital, 
Annapolis, 
Maryland. 
Naval 
Hospital, In the execution of these administra- 
tive duties, Hospital Corps officers as well as medi- 
cal and dental officers require the services of en- 
listed Hospital Corps personnel with service or civil- 
ian training or experience in these non-medical fields. 
The lowest rating of the Hospital 
Corps is that of Hospital Apprentice, second class, in 
which the duties are similar to those of a probation- 
ary student nurse. Between these two extremes, from 
the lowest enlisted level to the highest commissioned 
grade, the personnel of the Hospital Corps performs an 
amazing variety of duties from plain hard work without 
much glamour to responsible and highly specialized 
professional work. 
SCOPE OF 
DUTIES 
The personnel of the Hospital Corps 
is assigned not only to naval hospi- 
tals but to all Navy or Marine Corps 
activities requiring the services of 
representatives of the Medical Department. In these 
various assignments, the enlisted Hospital Corps per- 
sonnel serve in clerical and minor administrative cap- 
acities; as nurses; as technicians in the clinical, 
x-ray, physical therapy, dental, pharmacy or other 
laboratories; in the commissary department; in the 
medical storeroom; as assistants to medical, dental, 
and Hospital Corps officers; on routine ward duty; as 
assistants in the operating room; as ambulance drivers; 
as bookkeepers; as telephone operators; as clerks or 
general assistants, or in any other position where 
their services may be utilized in the fulfillment of 
the charge of caring for the sick and injured person- 
nel of the Navy and Marine Corps in any of its pro- 
fessional, maintenance or administrative aspects. 
Perhaps no other branch of the Navy 
is called upon to perform so many different services, 
and for this reason the Hospital Corps can utilize the 
capacities of women with a wide variety of civilian 
backgrounds. Also it is usually possible, because of 
the extensive and diversified duties of the Hospital 
Corps, to place individuals where they may serve most 
efficiently and with the greatest personal satisfac- 
tion and happiness. Hospital Corps WAVES in action. VUali r i i.m i i uno 
woineii wxLii Lire cempt * 
to work with sick and injured offi- 
cers and men of the Navy and Marine Corps and who 
have a desire to serve in this manner are wanted by 
the Hospital Corps. There is no better way to serve 
your country and its fighting men than to contribute 
to the return to duty of men who have been temporarily 
hospitalized, or to help in the restoration of men who 
have been more seriously stricken. If you have had 
any training, education or experience in any of the 
auxiliary or supporting fields of public health, medi- 
cal sciences or dentistry or in any of the fields al- 
lied to medicine, your services are needed and can be 
used in the Hospital Corps. If you have had training 
or experience in any phase of nursing or a Red Cross 
or Civilian Defense course in home nursing, or if you 
have worked in a physician’s or dentist’s office or in 
a hospital or institution, or if you are a trained 
technician, or if you have nursed in your home or had 
experience in the handling of drugs or medicines, you 
may have capacities which the Hospital Corps can de- 
velop and convert into a useful contribution to the 
war effort. The Hospital Corps accepts only WAVES who 
request such assignment, and it insists all applicants 
possess at least an aptitude and motivation for the 
humanitarian duties of the Corps. 
REGULAR SERVICE 
AND TECHNICIANS 
Hospital Corps WAVES, for convenience 
in assignments to duty, are designated 
either as Technicians, if they are 
fully qualified professionally in one 
of the technical specialties of the Hospital Corps, or 
as Regular Service personnel. These designations are 
employed merely to facilitate assignments to duty. 
Both groups are classed as Hospital Corps WAVES, and 
as such are considered available to fill any require- 
ment within the scope of the duties of the Hospital 
Corps, consideration being given, of course, to any 
special qualifications. The opportunities, pay, eligi- 
bility for special training courses, and advancement 
are on exactly the same basis for both groups and no 
distinction is made between them for any of these pur- 
poses. All of the enlisted personnel of the 
Hospital Corps must be prepared to stand watch and 
serve if necessary in the routine duties of a hospital 
ward. Many Hospital Corps WAVES will be used in tech- 
nical specialties and in clerical and nonprofessional 
duties, apparently far removed from general duty but 
they must, nevertheless, be trained in and prepared to 
serve as regular service personnel. 
All WAVES are enlisted as Apprentice 
Seamen and are required to serve for 
the duration of the war and for six 
months thereafter. Apprentice Sea- 
men, who are considered qualified in certain technical 
specialties, may be accepted by the Hospital Corps as 
Technicians. Upon completion of recruit training, ac- 
cepted applicants will be rated Hospital Apprentice, 
second class, and oriented through the department of 
their specialty in a naval hospital to familiarize 
them with the Navy technic and routine, and examined 
in their specialty. Upon completion of this orienta- 
tion period, they will be rated and assigned to duty. 
RATINGS AND 
BASIC TRAINING All applicants who are accepted under 
the designation, Regular Service, will be rated Hospi- 
tal Apprentice, second class, upon completion of re- 
cruit training, and will be given a special course of 
instruction in Anatomy, Physiology, First Aid, Minor 
Surgery, Hygiene, Sanitation, and Nursing, and rotated 
through the various wards and departments of a naval 
hospital to familiarize them with the duties of the 
personnel of the Hospital Corps. Upon completion of 
this course they will be given an examination in the 
subjects studied, rated and assigned to duty. 
Hospital Corps WAVES upon completion 
of the special orientation or training courses may be 
continued as Hospital Apprentices, second class, or 
may be advanced to Hospital Apprentice, first class, 
Pharmacist’s Mate, third class, or Pharmacist’s Mate, 
second class, depending upon their age, education, 
professional qualifications and suitability for ser- 
vice, and will then be assigned to duty. 
ADVANCED 
COURSES 
Every Hospital Corps WAVE after 
proper service, who possesses appro- 
priate qualifications, is considered 
eligible to receive one of the spec- 
ial advanced courses maintained for the purpose of ex- 
panding the professional capacities of the personnel 
of the Hospital Corps . 
Advanced courses in the following 
specialties are open to WAVE personnel of the Hospital 
Corps: 
Clerical Procedures 
Dental Technology (General) 
Dental Technology (Prosthetic) 
Electrocardiography and Basal Metabolism 
Clinical Laboratory Technic 
Operating Room Technic 
Fever Therapy 
Physical Therapy 
X-ray 
Property and Accounting 1 candidates wno satisfactorily complete 
the prescribed program in these specialties will be 
awarded a Navy Certificate as evidence of their gradua- 
tion and are then carried in the Hospital Corps records 
as Technicians or Qualified Assistants. Basic training 
in the Hospital Corps and especially advanced courses 
in technical specialties, in many instances, will 
prepare you for a variety of civilian jobs after the 
war. 
PROGRESS There will be many thousands of WAVES 
selected for duty in the Hospital 
Corps, and any woman with average ability, proper moti- 
vation and ambition should quickly advance to a petty 
officer rating in the Hospital Corps. If you have not 
had extensive civilian training or experience but are 
selected and trained for regular service, your first 
duty assignment may be routine ward duty. Even if you 
are continued as a Hospital Apprentice, second class, 
after completing your hospital training, you may in 
the course of a few months be advanced upon the rec- 
ommendation of your commanding officer to a petty of- 
ficer rating. The recommendation of your commanding 
officer is made on the basis of your efficiency and 
application to your duties. 
Nearly every type of duty in the Navy 
is, by custom, law, regulation or otherwise, associated 
with a given rank or rating, or a range of ranks or 
ratings. The duties of the lowest rating in the Hospi- 
tal Corps, that of Hospital Apprentice, second class, 
have been described as essentially those of a proba- 
tionary student nurse, and with certain upward modifi- 
cations the same description could be applied to the 
next level, that of Hospital Apprentice, first class. 
Pharmacist’s Mate, third class, is the lowest petty of- 
ficer rating in the Hospital Corps, and is the next 
level above Hospital Apprentice, first class. After 
basic naval indoctrination and after training in the 
general duties of the Hospital Corps, a petty officer 
in this rating might be assigned to duties quite simi- 
lar to those followed in her civilian professional 
work. If there be no need for her services in this 
field, she might be placed in charge of the Hospital Apprentices on a ward, or as a member of the master- 
at-arms force, or as an assistant to higher rated 
Pharmacist’s Mates. 
After satisfying prevailing regula- 
tions governing period of service in rating and upon 
passing the prescribed examinations, progressive ad- 
vancements in rating may be made from Pharmacist’s 
Mate, third class, to Pharmacist’s Mate, second class; 
from Pharmacist’s Mate, second class, to Pharmacist’s 
Mate, first class and from Pharmacist’s Mate, first 
class, to Chief Pharmacist’s Mate. Hospital Corps 
WAVES are eligible for advancement upon the same basis 
as the men of the Corps, except that sea duty is not 
required. 
The type of duty assigned to enlisted 
personnel of the Hospital Corps is dependent, in large 
measure, upon their professional qualifications, gen- 
eral efficiency, and so far as possible, upon their 
personal preferences. The lowest ratings in the Hos- 
pital Corps generally are assigned to the least roman- Every member of the Hospital Corps as- 
signed to ward duty participates progressively in all 
of the necessary services of caring for patients. No 
one is assigned to “orderly” duties to the exclusion 
of more responsible services. Under this system of 
constant and progressive training, potential capacities 
are developed and heavy and monotonous work is shared. 
The higher ratings are generally assigned to more stimu- 
lating work and to supervisory duties. Put another way, 
the duties to which you are assigned as a member of the 
Hospital Corps will be governed, in the usual course, 
by your own capacities and efforts and will bear a re- 
lationship to the rating which you earn for yourself. 
The Navy and the Hospital Corps want you to advance in 
rating and to progress upward in the nature of your 
duty assignments. To a significant degree you can con- 
trol by your own efforts your rating and the type of 
your duty in the Hospital Corps. 
PAY AND 
ALLOWANCES 
The following table shows how your 
base pay will increase as you pro- 
gress in your capacity as a Hospital 
Corps WAVE: 
RATE MONTHLY BASE PAY 
Apprentice Seaman $ 50 
Hospital Apprentice, 2nd class 54 
Hospital Apprentice, 1st class 66 
Pharmacist’s Mate, 3rd class (petty officer) 78 
Pharmacist’s Mate, 2nd class (petty officer) 96 
Pharmacist’s Mate, 1st class (petty officer) 114 
Chief Pharmacist’s Mate (chief petty officer AA) 126 
In addition to your base pay you wilJ 
receive, without cost, comfortable living quarters anc 
wholesome and abundant food. If your duty takes you 
to a station where the Navy does not provide barracks 
and messing for WAVE personnel, you will receive, in 
cash, an allowance which will be quite adequate to 
provide yourself with a pleasant room and good meals All enlisted WAVES receive an allow- 
ance of $200.00 for official uniform and other cloth- 
ing. The flatteringly feminine uniform, designed by 
Mainbocher, consists of "everything that shows" except 
shoes and costs $160.00. The balance of your allow- 
ance, about $40.00, is sufficient to pay for shoes 
and all other clothing and necessary accessories. 
All of your necessary medical and 
dental requirements will be cared for by the Navy with- 
out cost to you. 
THE NEXT 
STEP 
If you think you are temperamentally 
suited for the types of duties des- 
cribed; if you feel that you possess 
an aptitude for the humanitarian work 
of a Hospital Corps WAVE; and if you have a desire to 
serve the fighting men of the Navy, Marine Corps, and 
your shipmates in the WAVES, you may apply for admis- 
sion to the Hospital Corps, after you have been indue 
ted into the WAVES. If you have had any education, 
training, or experience in any of the fields that have 
been mentioned, or even lacking these, if you believe 
you have aptitude, and are motivated to serve in this 
manner, your place is in the Hospital Corps of the 
United States Navy. 
APPLY FOR ENLISTMENT TO ANY NAVY RECRUITING 
STATION OR OFFICE OF NAVAL OFFICER PROCUREMENT 
Off duty— LIBERTY PARTY