Medical & Dental Special Pay Rates

Medical and dental officers on active duty for more than one year are entitled to monthly variable special pay at the annual rates indicated. They are entitled to annual additional special pay if they complete their internship or initial residency training and agree to serve on active duty at least one year. Officers who are board certified in their particular specialty are entitled to board-certified pay.

Medical officers (annual)
Years of Service	Variable special pay	Additional special pay	Board-certified pay
Undergoing internship	$1,200	N/A	N/A
0 to 5 years	5,000	$15,000	$2,500
6 to 7 years	12,000	15,000	2,500
8 to 9 years	11,500	15,000	2,500
10 to 11 years	11,000	15,000	3,500
12 to 13 years	10,000	15,000	4,000
14 to 17 years	9,000	15,000	5,000
18 to 21 years	8,000	15,000	6,000
22 or more years	7,000	15,000	6,000
Paygrade O-7 and above	7,000	15,000	6,000

Multiyear special pay (MSP) varies by specialty and length of service commitment. Medical officers below pay grade O-7, qualified in critical specialties and with eight or more years of creditable service and who have met their active-duty obligation for education may receive the MSP bonus if they agree to serve for an additional 2-, 3- or 4-year period. Incentive special pay (ISP) is paid to specialists not in internship or residency. Officers below grade O-7 who are qualified in a particular medical specialty may receive the ISP bonus if they agree to remain on active duty at least one more year. Dental officers in certain specialties are eligible for the dental officer multiyear retention bonus.

Medical officer annual multiyear special pay and incentive special pay (MSP & ISP)
*** Medical Special Pay ***
Specialty	2-year contract	3-year contract	4-year contract	ISP only or w/oblig.	ISP w/ MSP	ECISP 4 years
Aerospace Medicine	$13,000	$19,000	$25,000	$20,000	$20,000	$25,000
Anesthesiology	25,000	40,000	60,000	36,000	50,000	69,000
Cardiology	21,000	34,000	51,000	36,000	41,000	58,000
Dermatology	17,000	25,000	38,000	20,000	20,000	36,000
Emergency medicine	17,000	26,000	40,000	26,000	30,000	44,000
Family practice	17,000	25,000	38,000	20,000	20,000	36,000
Gastroenterology	22,000	33,000	50,000	26,000	29,000	49,000
General surgery	25,000	40,000	60,000	29,000	50,000	69,000
Internal medicine	13,000	23,000	35,000	20,000	20,000	34,000
Neurology	13,000	19,000	25,000	20,000	20,000	28,000
Neurosurgery	25,000	40,000	60,000	36,000	60,000	75,000
OB/GYN	17,000	25,000	35,000	31,000	31,000	41,000
Ophthalmology	13,000	19,000	25,000	28,000	30,000	34,000
Orthopedics	17,000	33,000	50,000	36,000	50,000	63,000
Otolaryngology	17,000	25,000	33,000	30,000	35,000	43,000
Pathology	13,000	20,000	30,000	20,000	20,000	31,000
Pediatrics	13,000	20,000	30,000	20,000	20,000	31,000
Physical Medicine	12,000	13,000	20,000	20,000	20,000	25,000
Preventive/Occupational Medicine	13,000	20,000	30,000	20,000	20,000	31,000
Psychiatry	17,000	28,000	43,000	20,000	20,000	39,000
Pulmonary/IM-Critical Care	21,000	31,000	45,000	23,000	26,000	44,000
Radiology	25,000	40,000	60,000	36,000	42,000	64,000
Urology	20,000	30,000	45,000	28,000	28,000	46,000
Subspecialty Cat. I(1)	23,000	36,000	55,000	36,000	57,000	70,000
Subspecialty Cat. II(2)	12,000	18,000	27,000	28,000	28,000	34,000
Subspecialty Cat. III(3)	12,000	17,000	25,000	23,000	26,000	32,000
Subspecialty Cat. IV(4)	13,000	19,000	25,000	20,000	20,000	28,000
Subspecialty Cat. V(5)	21,000	31,000	45,000	36,000	41,000	54,000
(1) Cardio-thoracic, colon/rectal, oncology, pediatric, plastic, vascular, and trauma/critical care surgery; organ transplant; fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeons (2) Nuclear medicine; (3) Residency training in allergy/immunology; nephrology; hematology/oncology; neonatology (4) All internal medicine/pediatric subspecialties not listed in Subspecialty Categories I or III. (5) Physicians fellowship trained in ophthalmology, otolaryngology, OB/GYN and urology.

 

DENTAL OFFICERS (annual)
	Variable special pay	Additional special pay	Board certified pay
Undergoing internship	$3,000	N/A	N/A
0 to 2 years	3,000	$10,000	$2,500
3 to 5 years	7,000	12,000	2,500
6 to 7 years	7,000	12,000	2,500
8 to 9 years	12,000	12,000	2,500
10 to 11 years	12,000	15,000	3,500
12 to 13 years	10,000	15,000	4,000
14 to 17 years	9,000	15,000	5,000
18 or more years	8,000	15,000	6,000
Paygrade O-7 and above	7,000	15,000	6,000

 

Dental officer annual multiyear retention bonus
Specialty	2-year contract	3-year contract	4-year contract
Oral-maxillofacial surgeons*	$25,000	$38,000	$50,000
Comprehensive/operative dentistry	25,000	38,000	50,000
Endodontics	25,000	38,000	50,000
Prosthodontics	25,000	38,000	50,000
Orthodontics	25,000	38,000	50,000
Oral pathology/diagnosis/medicine	25,000	38,000	50,000
Pediatric dentistry	25,000	38,000	50,000
Periodontics	25,000	38,000	50,000
Public health dentistry	25,000	38,000	50,000
Temporomandibular dysfunction/orofacial pain	25,000	38,000	50,000
Dental research	25,000	38,000	50,000
Endodontics (Advanced Clinical Practice)	18,000	27,000	35,000
Exodontia (ACP)	18,000	27,000	35,000
General dentistry (ACP)	18,000	27,000	35,000
Periodontics (ACP)	18,000	27,000	35,000
Prosthodontics (ACP)	18,000	27,000	35,000
*Oral-maxillofacial surgeons below the paygrade of O-7 with a current, valid, unrestricted license or approved waiver also are eligible for Incentive Special Pay at a rate of $30,000 per year for 1-year contracts and $50,000 per year for 2-, 3- and 4-year contracts.

NOTES:

• Registered nurse accession bonus: A qualified RN who agrees to accept a commission and be assigned nurse duties may receive an accession bonus of up to $20,000 for a three-year contract and up to $30,000 for a four-year contract.
• Registered nurse incentive special pay: A qualified RN may receive annual incentive special pay at a rate of up to $5,000 for a one-year contract, up to $10,000 per year for a two-year contract, up to $15,000 per year for a three-year contract, and up to $20,000 per year for a four-year contract.
• Certified registered nurse anesthetist: A qualified CRNA who agrees to remain on active duty may receive incentive special pay of up to $20,000 for a one-year contract; up to $25,000 per year for a two-year contract; up to $35,000 per year for a three-year contract; and up to $50,000 per year for a four-year contract.
• Dental officer accession bonus: A qualified dentist who agrees to accept a commission, be assigned dentist duties and remain on active duty for four years may receive an accession bonus of up to $75,000.
• Pharmacy officer retention special pay: Pharmacists in pay grades O-6 and below who have completed their active-duty obligation for education/training and agree to remain for two years qualify for $15,000 per year in retention special pay.
• Psychologists, non-physician health care providers and veterinarians: Qualified psychologists, clinical social workers, physician assistants, veterinary officers and public health officers who are board certified in their specialty may receive board-certified pay at the rate of $6,000 per year, paid in monthly installments. They are also eligible for varying amounts of accession and retention bonues and incentive pay, depending on the length of the contract signed.

Critical Skills Wartime Accession Bonus

The military services may pay wartime accession bonuses to medical and dental officers who agree to serve at least four years. During the active-duty service obligation for which they qualify for the critical wartime skills accession bonus, officers are not eligible for multiyear special or incentive pay. Bonus rates vary by medical or dental specialty; for medical specialties in 2012, the lowest bonus amount is $180,000 for aerospace medicine specialists, and the highest is $400,000 for neurosurgeons, general surgeons and vascular surgeons. For dental specialties, the bonus is $300,000 for oral and maxillofacial surgeons and specialists in comprehensive dentistry, endodontics and prosthodontics.