2009-2010 Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences Application Thread

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grotto said:
Ahh, there's the rub - not really. The max incentive pay is 36K and minimum is 20K, so ortho, neuro, etc are only making a bit more (after taxes) than primary care.

For primary care, pay is in many ways equal with civilians - your money is your money and there are no draws for health insurance or malpractice. In the end you are coming out somewhat equal, especially as you gain rank. For specialties, you will be earning significantly less than your civilian counterparts at all points except for in med school at USUHS and during residency.

I've already drank the kool aid, so for me it is a wash. With prior service time, I've accrued enough active duty years to make O-4 somewhat quickly after I graduate from USUHS. For people coming right out of college - compensation should be something you think about. I know that none of us are doing this for the money 😉 but when you have a family to think about in a capitalist economy, finances are very important.

The fact is, no matter what happens with special pay or pay raises or whatever - military service will never make you rich. The military will always pay you enough to have a comfortable middle class lifestyle, will provide you and your family with health care and good benefits, and ensure you a secure pension - nothing more, nothing less.
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Agree and disagree.

Though you will never make the kind of mad money made by the crooks in the financial sector, you can very easily become a multimillionaire by being a military doctor, especially if you go to USUHS.

This is because, with all the basic material requirements taken care of, you actually have more discretionary funds left over to invest and, depending on your family situation, can start investing from day 1.

Getting started early on a nest egg is a HUGE advantage! Albert Einstein called compound interest the eight wonder of the world and he was right and in our cases the time value of money really shows.

For example, if you take the $25K loan available to new officers from USAA, (monthly cost $475) and save $500/month and invest all of this in a well diversified small cap growth portfolio, at graduation you could easily have $50k.

Now compare this to your colleagues on the civilian side, who have hundreds of thousands in debt. During residency they can't really pay down the debt, while you are making about twice what they make, and can increase the amount you save and invest. By the time your done with residency you could easily have $100K while civilian docs are just starting to pay down their debt, which can take a long time.

I ran the numbers for my personal situation and it turns out that, if I become a radiologist, it would take my civilian colleagues about 30 years to catch up and surpass me in terms of net worth. If I were to choose a primary care specialty they would never catch me.

Now my situation is a bit unusual as I was lucky enough to start saving and investing early, (age 14) so I am coming into this a bit more ahead than most, but for everyone who goes into mil med, the oppertunity to become very wealthy is there, it just requires frugality and a commitment to saving and investing.

Not that money is the reason to choose military medicine, just check over on the mil med forum to read the bitterness of those who chose our path purely for the financial benefits to see how big a mistake that is.

But for those who hear the call to serve their nation as mil docs, be not afraid, you will be well taken care of, (as grotto points out, full medical insurance, no malpractice and a hell of a pension) and if you are good at budgeting you can become a multimillionaire.

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Now on a more important note, CONGRATS TO ALL THOSE WHO GOT THE CALL THIS WEEKEND!😀 Please make sure to join the Uniformed Service University class of 2014 face book page so we can get to know each other!😀

P.S

Sorry that I am congratulating everyone so late, I would have done it sooner but I just got back from Maui where I had to be picked up by Search and Rescue after getting lost on Halemaui trail. (Mad Props to the boys at the US National Park Search and Rescue for doing such an awsome job! I would never have made it out of that maddeing labarynth of crazy marked and unmarked trails).

It was an awsome 20 miles of hiking but I did end up spending a hellish night shivering none stop and screaming for help. Who would have thought it can get down to 40 degrees, rain so much and be so windy on a damned Hawaiian volcano?

The knowledge that USUHS and all of you awsome folks awaited me in Aug gave me the strength to pull through😀 Making this the second time that USUHS saved my life!😀 I hope they aren't keeping track or I will never be able to pay off my debt to them!😀



Congrats again to all those who got in and I look forward to seeing you in August!😀 And to those in the Army program I will see you in June at Ft Sam!😀😀😀
 
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xmsr3 said:
Sorry that I am congratulating everyone so late, I would have done it sooner but I just got back from Maui where I had to be picked up by Search and Rescue after getting lost on Halemaui trail.
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I, for one, was a little dissapointed that you were not the first one to congratulate me.
 
ruiner said:
I, for one, was a little dissapointed that you were not the first one to congratulate me.
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For which I sincerely apologize😀

Congratulation Ruiner!😀 I am sure you will make an exceptional addition to whichever branch you chose and to the class of 2014 in general!😀
 
xmsr3 said:
I just got back from Maui where I had to be picked up by Search and Rescue after getting lost on Halemaui trail.
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Welcome back, XM. Should you ever get a chance to do land navigation exercises while in the Army, may I suggest you find a buddy with previous experience and stay very close to them. You can only count on USUHS saving you so many times. :laugh: Seriously though, glad you made it off the volcano ok and now you have a good story to embellish as the years go by.
 
So I'm sure I should already know this, but I'm not 100% clear on the progression through internship-GMO-residency... I ask this with navy in mind, but I suspect it's similar for all branches.

Say a 4th yr USUHS student is applying for a relatively competitive residency - ortho for instance - and doesn't match. I assume this means a GMO tour is inevitable, but where is the internship done? And is it definitely going to be a surgical internship? Is the GMO tour guaranteed to be surgical, i.e. FS?

What if he/she DOES match for ortho...is it expected that the residency will be straight-through at the same hospital he/she does internship? In other words, if you match as an M4, do you have to apply seperately for internship AND residency?

Thanks to anyone who can straighten me out on this. And xmsr, I shot coffee out of my nose when I read about your SAR mission. Glad you're ok.
 
Does anyone know how to obtain/submit an age waiver? Supposedly this needs to be done prior to an offer from USUHS, if you're over 31.
 
Osis said:
Does anyone know how to obtain/submit an age waiver? Supposedly this needs to be done prior to an offer from USUHS, if you're over 31.
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If you need an age waiver, the admissions office will e-mail you and let you know how to do it.
 
This morning I awoke to discover, to my intense horror, that an insane Army psychiatrist, (the irony is rich and sad) has gone on a shooting rampage and murdered 13 of my brothers and sisters and injured 30 more at Ft. Hood in Texas.😡

Let us have a moment of silence for our fallen comrades and send our best wishes and prayers to the families of the dead and to those brave heroes still struggling to survive:xf: one mad man's rampage.

P.S

Mad props to Officer Hunley, the police women who didn't wait for backup but went in alone against Hassan, (the shooter) and confronted him face to face. She shot him 4 times killing the murderous lunatic and was shot herself but is stable at a local hospital.

Today America is in her debt and we all wish her a speedy and successful recovery.
 
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xmsr3 said:
This morning I awoke to discover, to my intense horror, that an insane Army psychiatrist, (the irony is rich and sad) has gone on a shooting rampage and murdered 13 of my brothers and sisters and injured 30 more at Ft. Hood in Texas.😡

Let us have a moment of silence for our fallen comrades and send our best wishes and prayers to the families of the dead and to those brave heroes still struggling to survive:xf: one mad man's rampage.

P.S

Mad props to Officer Hunley, the police women who didn't wait for backup but went in alone against Hassan, (the shooter) and confronted him face to face. She shot him 4 times killing the murderous lunatic and was shot herself but is stable at a local hospital.

Today America is in her debt and we all wish her a speedy and successful recovery.
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Yes this is a tragedy but are you serious? You have no prior miliary connections and just recently got conditionally accepted at USUHS...how are they your brothers and sisters? You are so dramatic.

Also, the guy is still alive...she is a hero and yes she shot him but he is quite alive and in stable condition.
 
ClarkWGriswold said:
So I'm sure I should already know this, but I'm not 100% clear on the progression through internship-GMO-residency... I ask this with navy in mind, but I suspect it's similar for all branches.

Say a 4th yr USUHS student is applying for a relatively competitive residency - ortho for instance - and doesn't match. I assume this means a GMO tour is inevitable, but where is the internship done? And is it definitely going to be a surgical internship? Is the GMO tour guaranteed to be surgical, i.e. FS?

What if he/she DOES match for ortho...is it expected that the residency will be straight-through at the same hospital he/she does internship? In other words, if you match as an M4, do you have to apply seperately for internship AND residency?

Thanks to anyone who can straighten me out on this. And xmsr, I shot coffee out of my nose when I read about your SAR mission. Glad you're ok.
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Clark, Here is the website for Navy GME.

http://www.med.navy.mil/sites/navmedmpte/gme/Pages/navmedgme.aspx

To answer your question briefly, as a 4th year medical school student, you will apply for an internship. The website opens on July 1, closes on Oct 31, the board meets in mid Nov, and results are released in mid Dec. According to the references, a few officers in FP and psychiatry will be offered continuous contracts, but everyone else who wants to go straight from internship to residency will have to apply to the residency selection board the next year. The residency selection process is similar to the internship selection. The website opens on Jul 1, applications are due mid Sept, the board (a joint selection board with AF and Army) meets in late Nov and results are released in mid Dec.

There is a lot of information on the website. You might want to start with MPTENOTE 1524 (Instructions for Application to Internship) and BUMEDNOTE 1524 (Guidance For GME-2+ Residency and Fellowship Postgraduate Education). Both instructions include location and projected numbers for their respective programs, so you can get an idea where you might be looking to go with a particular specialty.

I'm not very familitar with the other services, but I think the Navy is unique in our post medical school progression. I've been told that most Army and AF physicians will go straight to residency after internship, but I don't have any evidence to back that up.

Hope this helps.
 
Congrats to everyone getting acceptances! Save a seat for me 😀 (interviewing on Dec 10th). Does anyone have any info on PHS? There's a lot of talk about army, navy, and af, but not much on PHS. Thanks!
 
Osis said:
Congrats to everyone getting acceptances! Save a seat for me 😀 (interviewing on Dec 10th). Does anyone have any info on PHS? There's a lot of talk about army, navy, and af, but not much on PHS. Thanks!
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That's probably partly due to the fact that there are 170 Army, AF, and Navy billets and 2 PHS billets. What kind of information are you looking for? I'd love to help you, but I simply don't know that much about PHS. There is a forum for the PHS though. If no one here knows the answers you are looking for, you might try there or try contacting the PHS liason at USUHS.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/forumdisplay.php?f=179
 
NavyCy said:
That's probably partly due to the fact that there are 170 Army, AF, and Navy billets and 2 PHS billets. What kind of information are you looking for? I'd love to help you, but I simply don't know that much about PHS. There is a forum for the PHS though. If no one here knows the answers you are looking for, you might try there or try contacting the PHS liason at USUHS.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/forumdisplay.php?f=179
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Thanks NavyCY. Honestly, I don't really have too many specific questions. I was just curious to see if there was any discussion on the topic. Thanks again!
 
teacherman84 said:
Yes this is a tragedy but are you serious? You have no prior miliary connections and just recently got conditionally accepted at USUHS...how are they your brothers and sisters? You are so dramatic.

Also, the guy is still alive...she is a hero and yes she shot him but he is quite alive and in stable condition.
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i've tried to give the kid a break, so i didn't want to be the one to say it, but i'm glad someone did.
 
Hey everyone,

So I just sent in my secondary last week (had planned on doing HPSP and didn't actually know about USUHS until two weeks ago!)...was wondering how long it took most of you to hear something after your apps were complete?

I know it's a little later than I would have liked to be applying, but I'm still hoping for a chance assuming they really don't fill up the class quickly...

Congrats to all with acceptances too! 👍
 
This is just an FYI, for USUHS the maximum body fat for males who do not need an age waver is 22%. I had asked a similar question on the forum and got this answer from the school itself over e-mail. I'm sure most of you are good, but if anyone wants to talk about trying to cut their body fat or have ideas(I have 1% to go) feel free to quote or PM me. Also, is everyone getting their 1st and 2nd choices so far? I figure it is early still, but i'm curious.
 
jt1106 said:
was wondering how long it took most of you to hear something after your apps were complete?
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It was about a month for me. I turned in my application in late August, got the email about an interview in early October, and had my interview October 29th.

I'm sure your application is strong, but how strong may be a determining factor in how quickly they get back to you. Twards the end, admission boards seem to play favorites, but that is my own experiance.
 
KingJamesX said:
I'm sure your application is strong, but how strong may be a determining factor in how quickly they get back to you. Twards the end, admission boards seem to play favorites, but that is my own experiance.
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Well I think I'm a decently attractive candidate going by their admission stats (3.7 gpa, 30R, in a Masters program at the moment, bilingual with lots of international work, etc.)... the only thing I'm wondering about is how they vary in responses to women versus men. It looks like they try and make the class close to 50-50 or 60-40, but one of the admission people said that they get a lot less applications from women. Any thoughts?
 
I'm a fourth year and our class is about 20% women. I think the later classes have a few more, but definitely not 50/50. It's still the military and we are a minority overall.
 
Also, if anyone is interested, I'm looking to rent out my 3 bedroom condo in Rockville. About 10 minutes from USUHS, a mile from the metro that is about 3 stops from the school as well. The Student Spouses club also lists other alumni places as well. http://www.usuhs.mil/ssc/housing.html
 
Ha, our class is definitely not 50/50 men/women. I'm not sure about the class as a whole, but at ODS out of the ~30 people, 6 were women (20%).
 
just have to say i love your picture silverhorse! thats the last unicorn from the movie back in the 80s or something right?? loved that! haha
 
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ClarkWGriswold said:
I got the impression that, despite the propagation of the "GMO is going away" mantra, GME-1 is - as much as ever - really intended to prepare (navy) docs for operations w/ the fleet.
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Glad it helped. As far as GMO tours go, I don't know what is going to happen. I specifically asked this question when I interviewed at USUHS, not publically, but privately. I was told that the Navy hopes to eliminate or at least greatly reduce the number of GMO tours being filled by pre-residency physicians in the next couple of years. I know for a fact that some of these billets have already been changed to FP billets, but we'll have to wait and see how things progress. Either way, I'm not sure that a GMO tour is necessarily something to dread. I'm actually looking forward to getting to go underway. Maybe I can even con someone into letting me drive a little. :laugh:
 
This is going to feel like an especially long week, I fear, waiting for November 15 to come around. Really hoping for the good call on Sunday!
 
Osis said:
Congrats to everyone getting acceptances! Save a seat for me 😀 (interviewing on Dec 10th). Does anyone have any info on PHS? There's a lot of talk about army, navy, and af, but not much on PHS. Thanks!
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Hey Osis, I found a part of USUHS website devoted to PHS. Don't know if it what you were looking for, but I thought it was worth a shot. It looked like it had a section on the track that PHS follows as well as contact information for the PHS liasion at USUHS. Hope it helps.

http://www.usuhs.mil/usphs/index.html
 
Has anyone who sent in the acceptance from gotten any sort of confirmation? I'm sure they got it but it makes you nervous when you don't know. I sent an email a little over a week ago but have yet to get a reply. Thanks for any help.
 
Yeah, I sent out my acceptance paperwork a couple of weeks ago and got my unconditional acceptance in the mail today. So yours should be coming soon.
 
BluSkye712 said:
This is going to feel like an especially long week, I fear, waiting for November 15 to come around. Really hoping for the good call on Sunday!
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When did you interview? I was 10/22, and I'm not sure if 10/22 can expect to start getting calls on 11/15 or whether we will be 12/1.
 
Forgive me since there's so much, but has anyone else been asked for additional LORs from employment following a complete application?
 
Just to make sure, we have until May to turn in our official transcripts?
 
whooy89 said:
Yeah, I sent out my acceptance paperwork a couple of weeks ago and got my unconditional acceptance in the mail today. So yours should be coming soon.
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Thanks dude or dudette. I'll try and be patient.
 
0919mmk said:
When did you interview? I was 10/22, and I'm not sure if 10/22 can expect to start getting calls on 11/15 or whether we will be 12/1.
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I interviewed 10/1, so 11/15 will be the 6-week mark. If you interviewed 10/22, I would be mighty surprised if you heard on Sunday, but I suppose it isn't impossible!
 
no need to start worrying if you haven't gotten called yet guys/girls. There is no real pattern to acceptances after the first round or two. The 1st/15th even becomes really loose.

6-8 weeks becomes 10-12
 
Just got an email today saying that if you interview in October or November you will not hear back from them any sooner than January. Good thing MW2 came out today to help fill in some of this waiting time 😀
 
Toketa said:
Just got an email today saying that if you interview in October or November you will not hear back from them any sooner than January. Good thing MW2 came out today to help fill in some of this waiting time 😀
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Sheesh...That's like 2010! Well, they do state to expect 8-10 weeks for October interviewees, so I guess I can't really be too upset.
 
New on here, and a first time medical school applicant. Have my heart set on USUHS. I received an email from them (two days ago) confirming that my application file was complete. Anyone know how long it takes after your file is complete for them to reject you or invite you for an interview? Thanks
 
NavyCy said:
Hey Osis, I found a part of USUHS website devoted to PHS. Don't know if it what you were looking for, but I thought it was worth a shot. It looked like it had a section on the track that PHS follows as well as contact information for the PHS liasion at USUHS. Hope it helps.

http://www.usuhs.mil/usphs/index.html
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Hey NavyCY,
Thanks for the link man 👍 I had checked that out. I think one of my biggest questions was in regard to GME. If I were to do the PHS, I would want to follow the NIAID track, and I was wondering if, post-grad, they would lock me in a lab somewhere at the NIH, or if I would have the opportunity to do an infectious disease residency and actually see patients. The reason why I'm thinking about this, is that I currently have a Master's degree and am finishing my Ph.D in a few months. So, my principle interest at this point is seeing patients. Thanks again!

Dec 10th :xf:
 
Segovia said:
Sheesh...That's like 2010! Well, they do state to expect 8-10 weeks for October interviewees, so I guess I can't really be too upset.
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Interesting, in the email they sent me they said October/November interviewees should expect 6-8 weeks for a response.
 
pombeMD said:
Interesting, in the email they sent me they said October/November interviewees should expect 6-8 weeks for a response.
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And I got no such e-mail, as a 10/1 interviewee, perhaps? (i.e. barely October)
 
Response Times
Please use the following as a general guideline regarding response times from the
Admissions Committee. These time frames will be lengthened if you are taking fall
classes, took the MCAT anytime after June 2008, did not secure a Letter of Approval,
or any other extenuating circumstance.
If you interview in September, you should hear a response in approximately 4-6 weeks.
If you interview in October/November, you should hear a response in 6-8 weeks.
If you interview in December, you should hear a response in 8-10 weeks.
If you interview in January or thereafter, your response will arrive in a minimum of
10 weeks.
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This was in the interview conformation part II email I got a couple weeks before my interview on 10/31.
 
pombeMD said:
Interesting, in the email they sent me they said October/November interviewees should expect 6-8 weeks for a response.
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Yeah, you're right. Nevermind. Hopefully since I am on the "cusp" of November (interviewed 10/29) they don't count me as a November interviewee.
 
pombeMD said:
This was in the interview conformation part II email I got a couple weeks before my interview on 10/31.
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Here's what I got Tuesday, probably same with Toketa since we interview on the same day:

"If you interview in October/November, you will not hear a response any earlier than January.
If you interview in December, you will not hear a response any earlier than February.
If you interview in January or thereafter, your response will not arrive any earlier than 10 weeks after the date of your interview."
 
Tenbusu said:
Here's what I got Tuesday, probably same with Toketa since we interview on the same day:

"If you interview in October/November, you will not hear a response any earlier than January.
If you interview in December, you will not hear a response any earlier than February.
If you interview in January or thereafter, your response will not arrive any earlier than 10 weeks after the date of your interview."
Click to expand...

Your email may be more correct since in the email I got they say, "MCAT anytime after June 2008." Since I am guessing they actually meant to say June 2009, they either copied this part from last year or made a typo. If they did copy it from last year the response times may not be as applicable to this year. Nevertheless, if it is just a typo my analysis is useless 😀.

Either way, I remember seeing that someone who interviewed in early October already received an acceptance, so I would take whatever they say with a grain of salt.
 
Yeah, I interviewed on 10/01 and got a call on 11/01. I remember seeing a couple of other 10/01 interviewees on here who have already received a conditional acceptance. That being said, I know a bunch of other 10/01 kids who haven't heard either way yet so... hopefully you guys hear this Sunday!
 
So how do acceptances work with regard to DoDMERB?

More specifically, can USUHS grant you a conditional acceptance prior to getting the OK from DoDMERB? I mean, I know that you have to be medically cleared prior to an unconditional acceptance, but could someone get an acceptance prior to the paper shuffle being complete?
 
Segovia, yes, you can get a conditional acceptance without any DODMERB paperwork being in. I believe its what most of us coming from the civilian side go through, with prior service already having been cleared.
 
xmsr3 said:
Segovia, yes, you can get a conditional acceptance without any DODMERB paperwork being in. I believe its what most of us coming from the civilian side go through, with prior service already having been cleared.
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Hey, thanks xmsr3. So, do you have a place picked out in Bethesda yet?

I am prior service (Navy-enlisted), but still have to go through the whole DoDMERB rigamarole, but I am thinking maybe my paperwork may be processed differently. You would think they would just use my enlisted medical records, but I guess I am technically out of their "system" since I am on IRR. Oh well, who doesn't like a nice hernia exam 🙄

Still, I am glad I can at least get a conditional offer prior to the paperwork being through, because there are likely some waivers I will have to get.


If you don't mind me asking, how long after your physical exam did it take you to hear something about being medically cleared?
 
Segovia, there will be no difference in how your paperwork is processed by DODMERB. Even if you were on active duty, you would still be processed just like everyone else. Apparently the reason they are so particular about everyone using the same medical forms (and not using flight physicals or MEPS physicals) is to ensure that there is no difference between priors and civilians.

My package took 5 days from physical to full clearance. It might take a little longer now because we are in the time that all of the academy/ROTC applicants will be in the system waiting for review along with USUHS Were you able to log into the DODMERB website to track your status in real time?

Osis, I figured you'd seen that website, but it was worth a shot just in case. Good luck on your interview.
 
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