What should I study to be as prepared as possible for 68D AIT? Is the course a strict 22 weeks or is it dependent on clinical?

68D AIT will be in two phases:
● Phase I (phases V & VI of the AIT cycle) is 9-week, 3 days at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston in Texas.
● Phase II (Phase VI+ of the AIT cycle) is Hospital Based Training (HBT) and is a 12-week clinical training at an Army Medical Center at one of 14 possible locations (you could stay at Brook AMC at JBSA, head to Walter Reed in D.C., etc. - all depends on availability at the time of assignment).

The length of phase I or phase II won't change as they follow a strict training program of instruction (i.e., you're not going to be able to "finish early" with your clinical training). I included the "AIT phase" of the training so you can look at TRADOC's regulation 350-6* which will show you "how much you are treated as an adult" during the different phases (spoiler: you're almost treated like permanent party during your HBT phase).

AIT Phase I is designed to 'lead you through by the nose' in training for new Soldiers, but if you want to study up prior to attending, and you have a valid CAC, you can look over the Soldier's Manual and Training Guide for the 68D*. If not, look over the training overview for a "Surgical Technician" from the METC* and that will give you an idea of what you're going to be focused on.

For Phase II you'll do a mix of training and hands-on. The format differs slightly depending on the location you go to (i.e., they are not all carbon-copy clones of each other), but they all will adhere to the training program of instruction for 68Ds. You can see an example of the 68D Phase II training at the Eisenhower Army Medical Center's Education and Training page*
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* TRADOC Regulation 350-6 (Enlisted IET training policies and administration)
- https://adminpubs.tradoc.army.mil/regulations/TR350-6.pdf
* Soldier's Manual and Training Guide (68D) - https://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/DR_pubs/DR_c/pdf/web/ARN7205_STP%208-68D14-SM-TG%20FINAL%20WEB.pdf
https://api.army.mil/e2/c/downloads/2023/10/31/1721efce/cmf-68-da-pam-600-25-22-aug-23.pdf
* METC Surgical Technologist (Army 68D/Navy L23A/Air Force 4N131) - https://www.metc.mil/Academics/Courses/Nursing-and-Specialty-Medical/Surgical-Technologist/
* Eisenhower Army medical Center Education and Training - https://eisenhower.tricare.mil/Academics/Education-and-Training-HESD

Well let’s see, anatomy and physiology, know where the surgeon is working on and why, medical terminology is also helpful, most of all and more importantly, your instruments, orthopedics is a big gun to learn as well as neuro, spine and hearts, most of all, very, very thick skin, surgeons do and will get angry and yell at you if you don’t know what you’re doing, don’t be afraid to ask questions, be interested to show them you can hang, it sounds like a lot of stuff but really it isn’t, be the best you can be, knowledge can be a plus. Good luck, I retired as a Surgical First Assistant, some surgeons enjoy showing you the ropes. THE SARGE