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does anyone know anything about working for the public health service? good or bad experiences?
public health service
- Thread starter ladyintern
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I have some friends who have worked in the Indian health Services which has utilized the public health services, with loan repayment.
It is a mixed bag; on the one hand yes it sounds great to get some loan repayment. Of course, who wouldn't like that? On the other hand, as life often shows - a 'free lunch' is often very expensive. In other words, my friend found that often times the people in the IHS who were there for loan repayment stopped being there because they actually liked the people they were serving and became bitter because they were only focussed on the loan repayment structure. That made for a very unhappy and dysfunctional environment she said. She noted that providers took out their frustrations on their patients and it created a really terrible system where providers resented patients and their turnover was high leading to the locum tenems and on and on.
So, is it worth it? Who knows. In my experience also, I have found that "free" things often come with a very expensive price tag. I would rather just practice where I want and let the money sort itself out. You just can't put a price on peace of my and really enjoying what you're doing, debt or no debt.
It is a mixed bag; on the one hand yes it sounds great to get some loan repayment. Of course, who wouldn't like that? On the other hand, as life often shows - a 'free lunch' is often very expensive. In other words, my friend found that often times the people in the IHS who were there for loan repayment stopped being there because they actually liked the people they were serving and became bitter because they were only focussed on the loan repayment structure. That made for a very unhappy and dysfunctional environment she said. She noted that providers took out their frustrations on their patients and it created a really terrible system where providers resented patients and their turnover was high leading to the locum tenems and on and on.
So, is it worth it? Who knows. In my experience also, I have found that "free" things often come with a very expensive price tag. I would rather just practice where I want and let the money sort itself out. You just can't put a price on peace of my and really enjoying what you're doing, debt or no debt.
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I know several people working in some government-sponsored health clinics. The major advantage is that you're almost never going to get sued (like working in the VA). You can also apply for loan forgiveness.
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Some IHS sites are wonderful, others are almost like war zones where all staff have a 'bunker mentality.' Appalachia as well is a traditionally underserved area. If you are the sort of person who could be happy in a very small town, it is an excellent option.
And btw not all the sites are 'sinkholes.' I had the opportunity to rotate at a USPHS site and was blown away by the quality of the doctors and their dedication (not that brand name is everything, but two of my attending had done med-peds at MGH-Boston Children's). Many had worked at that particular hospital for 20+ years, they were so dedicated to the population. I got added warm fuzzies for feeling like I was truly taking care of people who had literally no other resort, and-- as someone going to school in NYC-- the chance to be the 'only shop in town' was amazing. I had days where I literally did everything there is to do in medicine-- delivered babies, ran a trauma code, sutured up lacs, outpatient adult and pediatric medicine, rounded on my very sick inpatients.
This is in clinical medicine-- the only strict public health opportunity I know of is the EIS, which is awesome of course.
And btw not all the sites are 'sinkholes.' I had the opportunity to rotate at a USPHS site and was blown away by the quality of the doctors and their dedication (not that brand name is everything, but two of my attending had done med-peds at MGH-Boston Children's). Many had worked at that particular hospital for 20+ years, they were so dedicated to the population. I got added warm fuzzies for feeling like I was truly taking care of people who had literally no other resort, and-- as someone going to school in NYC-- the chance to be the 'only shop in town' was amazing. I had days where I literally did everything there is to do in medicine-- delivered babies, ran a trauma code, sutured up lacs, outpatient adult and pediatric medicine, rounded on my very sick inpatients.
This is in clinical medicine-- the only strict public health opportunity I know of is the EIS, which is awesome of course.
