- Joined
- Jul 25, 2007
- Messages
- 125
- Reaction score
- 59
Im a Navy radiologist currently at 9 years of service with 3 years left on my contract. Thus, Ill have 12 years in service when I have the opportunity to separate. It seems like 10-14 years of service is kind of a gray zone. Any time less than that and its a no-brainer to leave; any more than that, and well, you could probably tough it out until retirement without developing too much of a drinking problem.
Regardless, the time is drawing near when I need to start making preparations for the next stage in my career, which in my case is a fellowship. So lately Ive been mulling over the decision of whether to stay in for the long haul or whether to separate.
Within the last few months several events have occurred that have really pushed me toward leaving.
The first was the denial of my CME conference application. I distinctly recall CME being one of the major selling points to the HPSP applicants back when I applied 13 years ago. These days, it seems nearly impossible to arrange for paid CME. I tried to do my part in this era of fiscal responsibility. I spent many hours researching for a conference that would minimize travel expenses while simultaneously maximizing the ratio of CME hours /conference fee. I spent even more time filling out these asinine forms trying to justify why keeping up my training and education is mission essential. Its surreal how they force physicians to suffer through an endless slurry of pointless online training like Office Ergonomics and Back Injury (written like it's for people with a 4th-grade level of education), yet deny them basic CME. Its like a slap in the face.
The second major event thats got my blood on a boil has to do with my pay. My pay is already pathetically low, compared to what I can make on the outside. But Im OK with that. I live comfortably enough, and when signing up for this, I knew what the pay scale would be like. Whats got me peeved is that all of a sudden, they just stopped paying my BCP 6 months ago. Fortunately, I just happened to notice one day when I was checking on my leave balance. It turns out an erroneous date was was entered by the credentialling people, making it look like my board certification expired 6 months ago. Granted, the BCP is not a large sum of money, but its the principle of the matter that irritates me. Did anyone bother to notify me that they were dropping my pay? No. They simply just cut off the funds and kept quiet. I find it to be a very underhanded way of conducting business. I have no doubt the system is intentionally designed that way. So much for those core Navy values of honor and integrity. The true irony of it is that according to their paperwork, I was then practicing medicine as a non-board certified physician. You would think maybe that would trigger some sort of concern. Not in the slightest. But on the contrary, the moment Im a day late on filling out my DMHRSi, all hell breaks loose.
These two events to me are quintessential examples of the overarching attitude toward physicians in the Navy. We just arent valued very much and it shows. Of course, there are a myriad of other annoying things about being a military physician, as detailed extensively in the other thread 40 reasons not to join and counting.
I wont deny that the Navy has been great in a number of ways. The Corpsmen and other providers Ive worked with have been fantastic, for the most part. The patient population is probably the best you could ask for. I received a top-notch education at my Navy residency, in my opinion.
But the plethora of negatives seems almost insurmountable. While I lament the prospect of 12 years toward retirement going to waste, I really doubt I can tolerate 8 more years. The worst part for me is the administrative dutiesand that aspect is only going to get worse the longer I stay in. Im already on three hospital committees, two of which I head up, and most of it is a complete waste of time. I try to do what I can to contribute in a positive way, but ultimately, I feel like the main function these committees serve is to provide a paragraphs worth of empty calories for page 2 on fit reps. Its a real shame that the actual patient care we provide as physicians counts for nearly zilch on our performance evaluations.
Just today, I met with my directorate leader. Hes a great guy and I believe he genuinely wants to help further my career in the Navy. Lately, hes been trying to coerce me into taking on one of the real high visibility positions at the hospital, that would involve a lot of admin. I cringe at the thought. However, I know that if I plan to stay in the Navy, these are the types of leadership duties I need to seek out. I see the writing on the wall. If you want to advance your military career, the amount of leadership responsibilities begins to snowball until youre doing almost all admin and nearly zero clinical medicine. The problem for me is that I love radiology and despise anything remotely
administrative/managerial. I think the Navy and I want different things from each other. Maybe I could try to schlep out eight more years shunning all these leadership jobs, but Im sure that would be stigmatizing and I don't want to feel like a dirtbag all the time.
Id like to know if anyone else has been faced with a dilemma like this at the 10-14 year mark, and what helped you make up your mind on whether to stay in or leave. Am I crazy to even still be thinking of staying in?
Regardless, the time is drawing near when I need to start making preparations for the next stage in my career, which in my case is a fellowship. So lately Ive been mulling over the decision of whether to stay in for the long haul or whether to separate.
Within the last few months several events have occurred that have really pushed me toward leaving.
The first was the denial of my CME conference application. I distinctly recall CME being one of the major selling points to the HPSP applicants back when I applied 13 years ago. These days, it seems nearly impossible to arrange for paid CME. I tried to do my part in this era of fiscal responsibility. I spent many hours researching for a conference that would minimize travel expenses while simultaneously maximizing the ratio of CME hours /conference fee. I spent even more time filling out these asinine forms trying to justify why keeping up my training and education is mission essential. Its surreal how they force physicians to suffer through an endless slurry of pointless online training like Office Ergonomics and Back Injury (written like it's for people with a 4th-grade level of education), yet deny them basic CME. Its like a slap in the face.
The second major event thats got my blood on a boil has to do with my pay. My pay is already pathetically low, compared to what I can make on the outside. But Im OK with that. I live comfortably enough, and when signing up for this, I knew what the pay scale would be like. Whats got me peeved is that all of a sudden, they just stopped paying my BCP 6 months ago. Fortunately, I just happened to notice one day when I was checking on my leave balance. It turns out an erroneous date was was entered by the credentialling people, making it look like my board certification expired 6 months ago. Granted, the BCP is not a large sum of money, but its the principle of the matter that irritates me. Did anyone bother to notify me that they were dropping my pay? No. They simply just cut off the funds and kept quiet. I find it to be a very underhanded way of conducting business. I have no doubt the system is intentionally designed that way. So much for those core Navy values of honor and integrity. The true irony of it is that according to their paperwork, I was then practicing medicine as a non-board certified physician. You would think maybe that would trigger some sort of concern. Not in the slightest. But on the contrary, the moment Im a day late on filling out my DMHRSi, all hell breaks loose.
These two events to me are quintessential examples of the overarching attitude toward physicians in the Navy. We just arent valued very much and it shows. Of course, there are a myriad of other annoying things about being a military physician, as detailed extensively in the other thread 40 reasons not to join and counting.
I wont deny that the Navy has been great in a number of ways. The Corpsmen and other providers Ive worked with have been fantastic, for the most part. The patient population is probably the best you could ask for. I received a top-notch education at my Navy residency, in my opinion.
But the plethora of negatives seems almost insurmountable. While I lament the prospect of 12 years toward retirement going to waste, I really doubt I can tolerate 8 more years. The worst part for me is the administrative dutiesand that aspect is only going to get worse the longer I stay in. Im already on three hospital committees, two of which I head up, and most of it is a complete waste of time. I try to do what I can to contribute in a positive way, but ultimately, I feel like the main function these committees serve is to provide a paragraphs worth of empty calories for page 2 on fit reps. Its a real shame that the actual patient care we provide as physicians counts for nearly zilch on our performance evaluations.
Just today, I met with my directorate leader. Hes a great guy and I believe he genuinely wants to help further my career in the Navy. Lately, hes been trying to coerce me into taking on one of the real high visibility positions at the hospital, that would involve a lot of admin. I cringe at the thought. However, I know that if I plan to stay in the Navy, these are the types of leadership duties I need to seek out. I see the writing on the wall. If you want to advance your military career, the amount of leadership responsibilities begins to snowball until youre doing almost all admin and nearly zero clinical medicine. The problem for me is that I love radiology and despise anything remotely
administrative/managerial. I think the Navy and I want different things from each other. Maybe I could try to schlep out eight more years shunning all these leadership jobs, but Im sure that would be stigmatizing and I don't want to feel like a dirtbag all the time.
Id like to know if anyone else has been faced with a dilemma like this at the 10-14 year mark, and what helped you make up your mind on whether to stay in or leave. Am I crazy to even still be thinking of staying in?