doctoring in international military base?

[Mizoguchi]

Hey all,

This questions is specifically for iwakuni_doc, but anyone who has advice is welcome to help. I'm currently an M1 and really am looking to combine my interest in Japan/Japanese culture into my career in medicine. To do this I really want to get the chance to spend a long time practicing medicine in Japan, but as a med student I'm sure you all know the opporotunities are limited. I've looked into 4th year electives in Japan, but there literally is like 1 program in the whole country. I've looked into military hospitals in Japan and I really like what I have read.

-I've heard alot about military doc's spending years in japan practicing on bases and I want to do the same. I really have no problems paying for my own medical school though, and don't want to get an HPSP or FAP which would obligate me into military payback. The only reason I would do these programs would be to get to work on a Japan base, and that seems really stupid to me. There has got to be another way I figure. Say I just want the chance to work on the base. Are there quicker options to getting there? Do they let non-military physicians practice or do residencies on their hospitals? Would I just sign up for the military as a physican with no scholarship and apply to work there? How can I ensure that I would get to work in Japan and not risk getting forced to transfer anywhere the military tells me to go?

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[RisingSun]

I, too, am very interested in this subject. I am a (future) pre-med living in Japan right now (heading back to the states next year to take the necessary classes) and am also eager about the possibility of practicing in Japan on a US base. I am willing to go the military scholarship route if I knew that I could be posted on a base in Japan for at least some of that time. Does anyone know how likely it is to have a request for placement in Japan (or anywhere overseas, for that matter) post-residency? Of course the normal caveats: Depends on what specialties are needed at those bases at that time and of course the what is going on in the world at that point in time, etc. On the same note, I am married with a 2wk old daughter . Are the chances of having such a request more or less likely to be granted (particularly with regard to the AF)?

One last (unrelated) question. What is the need for pathology or PM&R docs in general and in the AF in particular?

RisingSun

 

[iwakuni_doc]

Sorry for the long delay.

The chances of working in Japan as a non-military physician aren't very good. None of the military hospitals that I've come in contact with over here have employed civilian doc's, in fact one of the Navy doctors joined just so that he could be with his wife & still work during her tour. One of the doctors over here now was previously a teacher in Japan & loved it - joined the Navy primarily so he could come back over here.

I've enjoyed the experience, but wouldn't want to come back...too many other places in the world & US that I'd rather go. If you wanted to come to Japan, your best opitons would probably be the Navy, followed by the Air Force.

 

[Mizoguchi]

Thanks Iwakuni-doc,

I've looked into the navy, and yeah, they run the biggest military hospital outside of the US on Okinawa. What you're saying I guess is that as a non-military doc I don't stand a good chance of being able to work there (although the recuiters I've talked to in airforce and navy assure me that they regularly hire civilian docs, kinna confusing). I'm of course willing to become a military doc, that is after all a part of working in a military hospital. I'm thinking of joining the military as medical officer. How hard is it to do? Do I run the risk of not getting to work in okinawa/japan and being force sent to odd places around the world, that is, do you know of docs who joined up and requested to work at specific bases and got to work there?

-Mizoguchi

 

[joseppi]

there are civilian jobs in japan as physicians. My husband is Navy, we were stationed in Japan near Tokyo. I was a pre-med at the time... I worked at a nearby army hospital (Camp Zama) and there were serveral civilian physicians that worked there. They had the best of both world b/c they could call the shot on their emplyment. You may also look into civilian job with the embasy, I know they had nurses and PAs but not sure about Docs.

 

[pcl]

Hi,

I'm a MSIII whose fiancee is going to be stationed in Okinawa for the next two years, starting in September. We would like to get married after graduation, before PGY1. Is there any chance of doing a prelim year or transitional year at the Okinawa Naval hospital as a civilian? Anyone who knows who I could contact about it? I contacted the Navy recruiter here and she basically had no idea what to tell me other than... well, you could always join!

Thanks.
PCL

 

[joseppi]

no you wouldn't be able to even if you were in the military. The Navy does all there PG training at 3 hospitals, bethesda, portsmouth and san diego. The remaining instalations are not set up as treaching hospitals. Besides that, you wouldn't really see much beyond the running nose or incidental injuries.
hope that helps