- Joined
- Jul 5, 2005
- Messages
- 1,897
- Reaction score
- 6
I got my DD 214 so here is my story:
I went to a private medical school where tuition was steep. I applied for the HPSP scholarship to help pay for school and because I wanted to serve in the military. At the time HPSP was competitive.
I started off as an Internal Medicine intern in the Navy. The recruiter told me I had my choice of training so I was surprised to learn about the whole GMO tour thing. I tried to be positive about it and told the detailer my only request was an accompanied tour. I was also interested in Psychiatry. I had applied for both Medicine and Psychiatry. The selection board offered me a position in Psychiatry and I agreed to take it.
I completed a psychiatry residency and ended up a chief resident. Again I tried to be flexible with the detailer. I got my orders, flew out to the duty station, bought a house and went to a department meeting to try to establish a warm relationship with the new department. About a month before the PCS, our specialty leader orchestrated the cancellation of my orders without telling me. I found out by looking at the Navy online website at the exact moment my house was being sold/inspected. The explanation was the cancellation resulted from a chain reaction of billeting problems. Fortunately I was able to cancel the sale of my house and sell the new one. I ended up making a little money.
A year later, my department head walked into my office and informed me I was being sent with the Marines as part of the OSCAR program. I tried to be flexible a third time and went in with a positive attitude. I was incredibly impressed by the ethos of Marine Corps but was discouraged by the medical resources on the "greenside". I would also add that our local greenside medical commanders were very good too. The perception was we had the highest risk patients (those who experienced combat first hand) but the lowest amount of funding/staffing. For example, we had 2 psychiatrists and a single psych tech for the entire MEF and Division. Also, a lot of our aid stations needed repair and we didn't have AHLTA.
My colleagues and I took a liking to the Marines and we did everything we could to help them. We created an innovative prevention and training program for corpsmen and Marines. We created a database to track numbers and improve the quality of care. We helped shape Marine Corps combat stress doctrine that was adopted by the DoD as the pillar of their program.
Here are some select moments from my brief career:
We won some battles and lost others. The pace of life was very fast, demanding and impacted my family. I was proud of my service and I think it made me a better physician. I had a lot of things go my way but in the end my family and I needed a break. If the Marine Corps had its own medical corps I might still be in right now
I went to a private medical school where tuition was steep. I applied for the HPSP scholarship to help pay for school and because I wanted to serve in the military. At the time HPSP was competitive.
I started off as an Internal Medicine intern in the Navy. The recruiter told me I had my choice of training so I was surprised to learn about the whole GMO tour thing. I tried to be positive about it and told the detailer my only request was an accompanied tour. I was also interested in Psychiatry. I had applied for both Medicine and Psychiatry. The selection board offered me a position in Psychiatry and I agreed to take it.
I completed a psychiatry residency and ended up a chief resident. Again I tried to be flexible with the detailer. I got my orders, flew out to the duty station, bought a house and went to a department meeting to try to establish a warm relationship with the new department. About a month before the PCS, our specialty leader orchestrated the cancellation of my orders without telling me. I found out by looking at the Navy online website at the exact moment my house was being sold/inspected. The explanation was the cancellation resulted from a chain reaction of billeting problems. Fortunately I was able to cancel the sale of my house and sell the new one. I ended up making a little money.
A year later, my department head walked into my office and informed me I was being sent with the Marines as part of the OSCAR program. I tried to be flexible a third time and went in with a positive attitude. I was incredibly impressed by the ethos of Marine Corps but was discouraged by the medical resources on the "greenside". I would also add that our local greenside medical commanders were very good too. The perception was we had the highest risk patients (those who experienced combat first hand) but the lowest amount of funding/staffing. For example, we had 2 psychiatrists and a single psych tech for the entire MEF and Division. Also, a lot of our aid stations needed repair and we didn't have AHLTA.
My colleagues and I took a liking to the Marines and we did everything we could to help them. We created an innovative prevention and training program for corpsmen and Marines. We created a database to track numbers and improve the quality of care. We helped shape Marine Corps combat stress doctrine that was adopted by the DoD as the pillar of their program.
Here are some select moments from my brief career:
- Working with Navy medicine to add a much needed third psychiatrist to our command. It was frustrating going through this process and watching Navy Medicine leaders obstruct this totally appropriate and validated request.
- Approaching Navy Medicine leaders and asking for help/mentorship with our innovative work. Being discouraged working on it even so far as to be accused of doing "unauthorized" prevention and training. Then watching them try to take the same idea and run with it.
- Receiving word that our MTF received a large amount of money for deployment related mental health issues only to learn it all went to a new program called "Deployment Health". We felt like we were slapped in the face as we felt we needed the money more.
- Having an O5 psychologist PCS into the Navy medicine regional hospital and be made the department head of psychiatry because of rank. He used his rank and position as department head to take himself off the call schedule and dictate policy on the inpatient unit. It was funny watching him tell the double boarded Hopkins trained psychiatrist what to do. We tried to talk to him but he kept saying "I'm not asking I'm telling you".
- Receiving a condescending inappropriate e-mail from a Navy Medicine O6 who threatened to arrest and redeploy me for an "unauthorized deployment" when my command formally requested entry clearance for my deployment
We won some battles and lost others. The pace of life was very fast, demanding and impacted my family. I was proud of my service and I think it made me a better physician. I had a lot of things go my way but in the end my family and I needed a break. If the Marine Corps had its own medical corps I might still be in right now