The Basic Medical Specialist course has one of the largest enrollments of the U.S. Army's Academy of Health Sciences; 11,000 soldiers were trained in this course in 1977 and 1978. Training encompasses both emergency first aid (for field medics) and basic nursing skills. A task force working to improve Army training developed this course, in accordance with the Interservice Procedures for Instructional Systems Development (ISD) model. The initial task analysis activity resulted in a separation of essential skills from those which were desirable but not necessary. The list of combat medic skills was longer than the list of nursing tasks. For each task that was a part of the course, instructors received administrative instructions, a lesson plan, a laboratory checklist, and standards for judging task performance. Each lesson was presented on videotape; students practiced the skills, generally using the buddy system, until mastery was achieved. Evaluation practices included a pretest and posttest for each module. Preliminary evaluation of this course indicated that participant attitudes were favorable, student attrition was very low, and costs were reduced, as compared to previous courses. (An extensive list of tasks, conditions for testing, and performance standards is appended). (GDC)