Posted: 11/14/2005 5:37:26 PM EDT
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What service/branch? What specialty? Where? Pros & Cons? |
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I know 2 doctors that are in the military. One is Air National Guard (IIRC) and the other is Army Reserve. One is a LTC. and the other, once again IIRC, is a full bird. They both work at the hospital my mom works at and is great friends with them. One of them is currently here in Baghdad at the CASH, I hope to go see him sometime before he leaves. One is a Radiologist and the other is a Surgeon I believe. If I can, I will try to talk to my mom about getting their emails for you so that you can talk to them. 
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Well, I'm not a doc, but my ex-wife worked in a hospital on an Air Force Base. She held the same opinion I do (after 2 surgeries that were screwed up by .mil docs for which I'll suffer forever)....If a doctor is worth his salt, he's going to work at a civilian hospital or have his own practice. All of the doctors we knew in the military were there because they couldn't be sued for sucking arse and screwing up their patients. |
Wow - that would be awesome |
What happened tot hte surgeon in Fallujah??? 
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No prob. I'll PM you when I can get their info.
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My best friend is a flight surgeon in the Air Force. He just completed his second tour in Iraq. Can't tell you too much about where and what he does because his squadron is part of special operation command. I know some but I'm not sure if he would want me to talk about it. He doesn't do anything high speed but he works and has many friends who are operators and has shared some non-classified stories with me. As their doc he gets a lot of benefits such as training with them (the fun stuff that we all dream about). Also, since he is the one that certifies them they really enjoy buttering him up. He went to med school to be a radiologist and joined the Air Force to help pay for med school. When he finally went in they didn't need radiologist so he bacame a flight surgeon. He wasn't very excited about joinin the military but now it seems he can't get enough of it. He has said on numerous occassions that if it wasn't for the money he'd definately make a career out of it. Then again, he is attached to a unit that is quite exciting. As their doc he has gone through two types of SERE schools and is soon to be going to jump school and dive school. Unlike most of the docs that you here about over in Iraq he does not work in a CASH unit. His responsibilities are to his squadron and certain other units. About a specific as I can get is he has played with many toys and has met some very "interesting" people. He is in a rather unique situation so I'm not sure if this is a fair comparison to most of the other docs in the military. |
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Not really. He doesn't go out on missions. If there is something the operators in the field need (medical wise) they call it in and he advises them. As you are probably aware they are very medically inclined themselves so doing anything that would require a doc in the field usually doesn't happen. He said all he did while he was over there was eat, work out and take care of his squadron. He has always been a very fit guy but working out with those guys really took him up a notch. By the way, I miss spoke about the dive school. I guess what it is is training to become a medical dive officer (?). I believe he mentioned that it is still a hispeed school and that most docs don't pass it. He's isn't a strong swimmer but he said that his "buddies" will be working with him on that. He just got back a couple of weeks ago so the info he gave me is very fresh. Oh, and by the way, he didn't get to choose his billet when he went in. It was just the luck of the draw that he ended up where he is. |
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Quoted: Not really. He doesn't go out on missions. If there is something the operators in the field need (medical wise) they call it in and he advises them. As you are probably aware they are very medically inclined themselves so doing anything that would require a doc in the field usually doesn't happen. He said all he did while he was over there was eat, work out and take care of his squadron. He has always been a very fit guy but working out with those guys really took him up a notch. By the way, I miss spoke about the dive school. I guess what it is is training to become a medical dive officer (?). I believe he mentioned that it is still a hispeed school and that most docs don't pass it. He's isn't a strong swimmer but he said that his "buddies" will be working with him on that. He just got back a couple of weeks ago so the info he gave me is very fresh. Oh, and by the way, he didn't get to choose his billet when he went in. It was just the luck of the draw that he ended up where he is.[/quote] Do you think they would let me choose my location since I will be a trained trauma surgeon next year? Can you sign up for a year at a time? |
| I just called him and this is what he told me. You're specialty is not guaranteed. No matter what you studied for you will become the kind of doc they need. As far as requesting a billet, he told me that when he signed up they give you a list of bases where you are needed and you create a wish list of the top 20. As far as the other questions you had I'll post later when he calls me back. |
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All right. Here is what he said. When he signed up he did so so the Air Force would pay for med school. Therefore, he didn't have much of a choice as far as what his specialty would be. They told him to make a list of 20 bases that he would like to be assinged to. His initial list was rejected as no spots available. They told him to make another list. He submitted another 7 and his choices were based on bases that were warm and had an airport nearby in order to be able to fly home. As far as the billet with his current squadron he just got lucky that a spot was available. He had no idea what he would be doing or how much fun he would be having. According to him there are only a handful of billets for this type of command. As far as being able to dictate the type of doc you want to be you definately have a leg up if you completed med school but it's still not guaranteed that you'll get to choose your specialty. But he also mentioned that like with all recruiters there is room for negotiation. "I like to sign up but only if I get..." that kind of thing. If you are already board certified as a trauma surgeon then you can writ your ticket. Residency doesn't matter unless you're board certified. He mentioned some other stuff that I'm not sure if I remember correctly as we started talking about other stuff but here goes. If you are already in and are ready to get out you can negotiate with them to send you to do your residence for the practice of your choice (if it's needed) and they will pay you active duty salary with the expectation that you'll come back in. Usually, it's on the basis of 2 for 1. That is 2 years of service for each year of residency. However, if it's in a field they really need he has heard of people negotiating a 1 for 1 term. Also, not sure how this works but under their program you have a better shot of getting into an Ivy league school going through the military. I didn't understand why that is. I was driving while speaking with him. Hope this helps. If you have any questions let me know and I can probably get you an answer since I speak with him almost on a daily basis. |
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Wow Thanks for all the info I will be board certified as a general surgeon next year and will be doing a Trauma/critical care fellowship which I will also get certified for as well. I would think that they would need as many trauma surgeons as they could find and I would consider a year tour just to see if I like how it is. Can they recall/reactivate you if you served in the past for a future war? |
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I doubt that you can only sign up for a year. If that is the route you are looking for I recommend you try to join as a reservist. However, I would imagine that with your specialty you would be activated. Most times it's only for a year or so. When I was activated it was for 8 months. As far as being reactivated I'll go by what I know. When I signed a contract it was for 8 years. If I'm correct all contracts are for 8 years. How this works is you do 4 years of active duty time and then you are discharged. However, you still have four years left on your contract. This is know as IRR (Inactive Ready Reserve). Essentially you don't have anything to do with the military but if they really need you within those remaining four years they have the right to call you. Think of it kind of like for those remaining four years you are able to be drafted. After the eight years on your contract you are free and clear. If I am incorrect on the above someone help me out but I believe this to be true. |
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You also asked for cons of the military. Well, it's the beaurocricy. And from personal experience, I'm sure all you current and former military guys can back me up on this, Motrin is a cure all in the military. The military is really what you make of it. As a doc you are not really seen as an officer or authority figure. Some guys might disagree with me on this but you generally live a pretty good and easy life in the military. Docs tend to act more like regular civillians that military officers. Don't get me wrong curtisies are rendered but the intimidation factor isn't there and they tend to act more human to the troops. But the con is definately the beaurocracy. |
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My wife did 6 years in the Air Force. She went through med school on a AF scholarship. It was a great deal for us, but she was more than happy to get out when her time came. She just isn't "wired" to be in the military if you know what I mean. Like Seabee26 said, there is alot of beauracratic nonsense to put up with. You also deal with folks that seem to be more interested in making their next grade than they are in patient care. At least that was my perspective of it all. Money isn't that great. Now for my wife, the difference in income between a military and civilian job wasn't too bad because of her specialty. Your specialty however would probably have a much larger difference. With all that being said, I loved my time as a dependent and my wife really enjoyed her first 4 years. Unfortunately, her last 2 years were quite unpleasant and that sort of soured the whole experience for her. Good luck and best wishes, Cavu |
please explain more the co-chair of my surgical department was a ltcmdr in the NAVY for 4 years he said he loved it and he is a good trauma surgeon too just last month we saved a 19 year old kid from a stab wound to the liver very rewarding |
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Well, I think he might be implying that there are some Doc's in the military that are practicing that couldn't survive as a civilian Doc. And as much as I hate to say it, he is probably right. The military has a way of promoting problems to get rid of them so to speak. I saw this in at least 2 situations. However, it is by far the exception and not the rule because I saw many excellent physicians who were career military. The military environment is hard for me to explain. It is almost one of those things you just have to live in order to understand. Like I said earlier, I truly enjoyed it. Cavu |
| It's all what you make of it. Yeah, there is a lot of beauracracy and politics (why do you think so many get out when their enlistment is up) but I have had some great times aswell. I've spent 14 years in the reserves so far. That might be a route you'd like to try. |
| It's all what you make of it. Yeah, there is a lot of beauracracy and politics (why do you think so many get out when their enlistment is up) but I have had some great times aswell. I've spent 14 years in the reserves so far. That might be a route you'd like to try. |
Easy on the triple posting.  And yea, thats why a LOT of people get out. They dont like their chain of command because they suck or they dont like the people in their unit or whatnot. |