Overview
The Hospital Corpsman Basic (HCB) Program provides Navy enlisted personnel with the foundational knowledge and practical skills required for entry-level corpsman duties in fixed, deployable, and shipboard medical facilities. Delivered in a single-phase, group-lockstep format at the Medical Education and Training Campus (METC), the curriculum emphasizes clinical judgment, outcome-based practice, patient safety, and operational readiness.
Students are instructed in anatomy and physiology, medical terminology, patient assessment, Basic Life Support (BLS), airway management, Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC), and operational medicine. Core coursework covers emergency, nursing, and primary care, including hands-on skills such as IV care, wound management, infection control, and vital signs. Training also integrates health records administration, basic psychology, and professional customer service.
Instruction is delivered through lectures, computer-based training, laboratory simulations, group activities, and clinical practice. Student achievement is assessed via written examinations, practical performance exercises, presentations, and clinical evaluations.