4 year GMO?

[MVanDalen]

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I'm sorry if this question has already been answered in another thread, but I'v been perusing this forum for nearly 2 hours and I really need to get back to studying.

I was wondering if it is possible to take the navy hpsp scholarship and spend my 4 year commitment working as a GMO. And then place into a civilian residency after my commitment is up. I want the financial benefits of the scholarship and I definitely want to do my part in the military, but I don't want to do a military residency. Any help would be awesome.

 

[NavyFP]

I'm sorry if this question has already been answered in another thread, but I'v been perusing this forum for nearly 2 hours and I really need to get back to studying.

I was wondering if it is possible to take the navy hpsp scholarship and spend my 4 year commitment working as a GMO. And then place into a civilian residency after my commitment is up. I want the financial benefits of the scholarship and I definitely want to do my part in the military, but I don't want to do a military residency. Any help would be awesome.

Yes, it is possible. Many have done it.

 

[MVanDalen]

Thanks for the quick response NavyFP

 

[TheGoose]

dont forget you need to do a navy internship

 

[adismo]

this is not ideal.

once your GMO is up, you will be competing for PGY2 spots which have limited availability considering the many linked programs these days. you will not be as hospital-savvy as an intern who is looking to transfer programs. in my opinion, you will have a hard time convincing civilian program directors to take you.

 

[TheGoose]

this is not ideal.

once your GMO is up, you will be competing for PGY2 spots which have limited availability considering the many linked programs these days. you will not be as hospital-savvy as an intern who is looking to transfer programs. in my opinion, you will have a hard time convincing civilian program directors to take you.

maybe he would have just done a FP internship in the military in prep for the GMO tour but afterwards wanted to go into GS.....then he could just start over on the civvie side (5 years removed - but out of debt)

 

[NavyFP]

this is not ideal.

once your GMO is up, you will be competing for PGY2 spots which have limited availability considering the many linked programs these days. you will not be as hospital-savvy as an intern who is looking to transfer programs. in my opinion, you will have a hard time convincing civilian program directors to take you.

History does not agree with this statement. About 25% of all GMOs get out and go to residency. I have not seen or heard of anyone having difficulty obtaining a spot.

 

[sethco]

History does not agree with this statement. About 25% of all GMOs get out and go to residency. I have not seen or heard of anyone having difficulty obtaining a spot.

Completely agree.

I just signed a contract for a July 2010 start for Anethesia. The 2 people from my office getting out this year are going back into residency. One has gotten multiple interview offers for Anesthesia and the other is going back to the place he did his PGY-1 year to finish an Ortho residency

 

[adismo]

i am of course speaking from experience only. i am completing my three year commitment to the Navy as a GMO with the Marines, after which i have the option of staying Navy or going back into a civilian residency. in hindsight, doing four years, with two separate billets, would have worked out better.

my unit has been tasked on relatively short notice to deploy to combat operations this year. i've been spun up on pre-deployment workups since January and currently on deployment. and of course we have been extended. i wont go into details but it is very difficult for me to interact with residency programs outside of the Navy or properly submit ERAS materials. the GMESB application is in and i am waiting on that decision.

as a back-up, the few (DO) programs i've contacted in my specialties of interest do not have open PGY2 spots or are not returning my emails... this is leading me to imagine all sorts of roadblocks should i decide to get out (seeing as there are fewer DO spots out there and i do not want to repeat internship, this time in the allopathic world).

being isolated doesn't help the situation for either Navy or civilian residencies. i will be cutting it VERY close for Navy interviews.

so maybe my experience is the exception. 🙁

 

[IgD]

Completely agree.

I just signed a contract for a July 2010 start for Anethesia. The 2 people from my office getting out this year are going back into residency. One has gotten multiple interview offers for Anesthesia and the other is going back to the place he did his PGY-1 year to finish an Ortho residency

Can you block out your name and scan/post a copy of the contract? I'm very curious to see this. Are they guaranteeing a cash bonus? Are you obligating yourself to more training by signing the contract?

 

[sethco]

Can you block out your name and scan/post a copy of the contract? I'm very curious to see this. Are they guaranteeing a cash bonus? Are you obligating yourself to more training by signing the contract?

Huh?

I'm confused. Cash bonus?

I accepted a position at the University of Pitt outside of the match. They are counting my PGY-1 year, so I need to complete the remaining 3 years.

Did you think I meant a military residency?

I have every full intention of finishing my 4 year GMO/FS tour in June 2010 and then separating and go into a civilian residency program.

My remaining MSO will be served in either the Guard, Reserve, or IRR. I haven't quite decided which. Looking at which option is least likely to be mobilized during residency.

 

[blackajack]

Just curious,

Has anyone done 4 years GMO, and then leave not only the military, but also MEDICINE to pursue a different career?

OR

Has anyone done 4 years GMO and then stayed in the military afterwards, but in a NON-medical department?

For example, a navy flight surgeon staying past his 4 year committment to become a figher pilot...OR an AF GMO who decides to work with missiles, intelligence, aerospace engineering, etc. after finishing his/her medical committment?

 

[orbitsurgMD]

Just curious,

Has anyone done 4 years GMO, and then leave not only the military, but also MEDICINE to pursue a different career?

OR

Has anyone done 4 years GMO and then stayed in the military afterwards, but in a NON-medical department?

For example, a navy flight surgeon staying past his 4 year committment to become a figher pilot...OR an AF GMO who decides to work with missiles, intelligence, aerospace engineering, etc. after finishing his/her medical committment?

I knew a doctor who left after completing his payback, went to law school and then subsequently returned to clinical medicine and did a residency in psychiatry. Last I heard, he was in medical practice.

 

[BomberDoc]

this is not ideal.

once your GMO is up, you will be competing for PGY2 spots which have limited availability considering the many linked programs these days. you will not be as hospital-savvy as an intern who is looking to transfer programs. in my opinion, you will have a hard time convincing civilian program directors to take you.

Not in my experience. Programs that I interviewed at loved the fact that I had military experience. I matched my #1 choice in Radiology and I'm nowhere near the board scores required to get a rads slot. As much as I hated military medicine, I believe that my military experience definitely gave me the edge to get a competitive residency.

I was also deployed during most of interview season and that caused a lot of stress. Luckily I was able to convince my commander to send me home on the first jet so I could cram all of my interviews into what was left of the season. I only had to cancel one interview due to there just not being enough time and I even convinced one program to interview me late. I was the only one there that day. It was a great interview. They were my #2. It came down to geography. They emailed me after the match to ask why they didn't get me. Regardless, military experience goes a long way.

 

[adismo]

Not in my experience. Programs that I interviewed at loved the fact that I had military experience. I matched my #1 choice in Radiology and I'm nowhere near the board scores required to get a rads slot. As much as I hated military medicine, I believe that my military experience definitely gave me the edge to get a competitive residency.

I was also deployed during most of interview season and that caused a lot of stress. Luckily I was able to convince my commander to send me home on the first jet so I could cram all of my interviews into what was left of the season. I only had to cancel one interview due to there just not being enough time and I even convinced one program to interview me late. I was the only one there that day. It was a great interview. They were my #2. It came down to geography. They emailed me after the match to ask why they didn't get me. Regardless, military experience goes a long way.

👍 great to hear this. PM sent.

suppose i've been talking with the wrong programs. can't wait to get back.

 

[BomberDoc]

You realize you just said something really positive about milmed, right?

I know. I washed my mouth out with soap.

 

[adismo]

I'm still in awe.

Every positive thing I've ever said about milmed is dwarfed by the epic positive you just pointed out. And based on your personal experience, no less.

You heard it here first kids: Milmed will make you competitive for a civilian residency you otherwise couldn't get in to!

eaaasy. a lot of sweat and tears go into some GMO billets, especially if you have operational deployments. the frustration and effort that goes into getting the simplest things accomplished (supply, comm) is baffling the lower you are the GMO spectrum - infantry, for example. so your daily victories at some commands are getting things that are taken for granted in any civilian hospital in CONUS. try getting your PD to relate to that.

i'm no OIF1 or 2, but i've had to be semper gumy and ingenius in getting some basic equipment and supplies. i had arranged having a portable untrasound delivered for field testing during this deployment. this was stopped at the last minute because by the medical planner due to admin rules. nevermind the fact that all GMO's should be trained in eFAST and have these at every aid station, but no, this brilliant idea was crushed due to regulations that were created without giving thought to the urgency of some situations, especially operational deployments.

another case in point: we request sterile gloves in size 7.5 and 8, but get 6.5 instead....! if you start from here, being able to run a fully functional department is a victory. but no one outside the green side can relate to this.

in all honesty, there are instances where greatness is thrust upon you, and those are the real moneymaker when it comes to getting people to take notice.

 

[BomberDoc]

I'm still in awe.

Every positive thing I've ever said about milmed is dwarfed by the epic positive you just pointed out. And based on your personal experience, no less.

You heard it here first kids: Milmed will make you competitive for a civilian residency you otherwise couldn't get in to!

This is recruiter speak at its best. Milmed sucks ass and only a fool would knowingly join or stay in. Period. I was indeed a fool a decade ago when I made the horrible decision to join. What I did was to make the best of a bad situation. I would still never recommend anybody join the military medical system. Knowing what I know now, I would not join the military medical system. I pissed away 4 of the best years of my life and fought constant battles against the enormous intertia of milmed. Go back and read a few of my old posts if you want to know if milmed was positive for me.

If I could send a message to myself a decade ago, I would say:
Don't join the F--ing military.
Take the loans.
Go to class more.
Start studying for Step 1 from your first day of med school.
You'll kill the boards and get the residency of your choice.
You won't be 4 years behind your peers.
You'll get to choose where you live and what you do.
Nobody will force you to do the wrong thing just because they outrank you.
You won't spend the rest of your life hating nurses and recruiters and dips#it milmed cheerleaders.

 

[adismo]

seriously though, how do you really feel?

 

[DOindahouse]

seriously though, how do you really feel?

yeah how do u feel

 

[adismo]

No no, you'll still hate nurses.

milmed has, based on my observations, better looking female nurses. if that's not a reason to say in, i don't know what is.

 

[BomberDoc]

milmed has, based on my observations, better looking female nurses. if that's not a reason to say in, i don't know what is.

Well, they aren't the 400 lb hippos that occupy rolling chairs on every floor in every civ hospital in the country. That might make them BETTER looking, but I wouldn't go so far as to say that they are GOOD looking in the military.