ARMY HPSP and Preventive Medicine

[Kanna15]

Hey guys
I'm currently applying to medical school, and I was thinking about the Army HPSP. I'm actually interested in Preventive Medicine. Of course the best program in preventive medicine is at John Hopkins. How many people in HPSP have gone onto Preventive Medicine, or is the Army good about giving deferments for preventive medicine? I saw that if you are matched into the Army's preventive medicine program, they let you get your MPH at a civilian school. Just wanted to know how common this was? THanks!

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[NavyFP]

Hey guys
I'm currently applying to medical school, and I was thinking about the Army HPSP. I'm actually interested in Preventive Medicine. Of course the best program in preventive medicine is at John Hopkins. How many people in HPSP have gone onto Preventive Medicine, or is the Army good about giving deferments for preventive medicine? I saw that if you are matched into the Army's preventive medicine program, they let you get your MPH at a civilian school. Just wanted to know how common this was? THanks!

Navy has a few at Hopkins, not sure about Army. Across the board, prev med is hurting in the military, so there is a inclination to allow interested individuals to pursue it.

 

[Kanna15]

That is also what I heard. Why do most people, even in the civilian world, not go into preventive medicine? And it seems like in the military they need more surgeons as well.

 

[notdeadyet]

That is also what I heard. Why do most people, even in the civilian world, not go into preventive medicine?

Preventative medicine as a primary residency? Because it's non-clinical. You do an internship year in something to get your license, then spend a year on your MPH, then do a practicum year. It's intent is to let you go into policy work or occupational medicine. It's not a very attractive residency to most.

Preventative medicine as a field? Most folks do a clinical residency (FP, IM, Peds, etc.) then work in the field or do a preventative medicine fellowship.

 

[DeadCactus]

Why do most people, even in the civilian world, not go into preventive medicine?

Because it pays (relatively) little and isn't clinical. Also, I suspect few medical students really know it exists as an option...

 

[edmadison]

There are quite a few prev med folks in the Army. The Army's prev med program does put some people at Hopkins. Prev med is somewhat popular among line doc (BN, DIV, CORPS surgeons). This is because it is somewhat difficult to get promoted to O-5 and more so to O-6 without a residency. There are a fair number of docs out there that really like operational medicine and have done it since doing a post-internship GMO. They do Prev Med because it's quick and easy.

Ed

 

[Kanna15]

THanks for the replies guys. Yes it does seem that most people are not aware of prevenitive medicine. I kind of want to go into admininstration anyway, so prevenitive medicine seems more relative to me, instead of going into more popular residencies. Anyway, i saw the slide show that the military is need of more prevenitive medicine docs so to me it seems like in the next few years they are willing to grant more docs to go into civilian defferment since there is only one hospital in the military that has a preventive medicine training program, and that too they make you do your MPH at a civilian school.

 

[Ziehl-Neelsen]

I hope you like to deploy.

 

[hosskp1]

Walter Reed and MAdigan both have Preventive MEdicine residencies. Also There is an Aerospace MEdicine Residency in the Army that gets you board certified in both Aerospace and Preventive MEdicine. The MPH year can be done at any accredited program. Some people go to Hopkins, others to USUHS or UW. It all depends on where you get in and whether you want to move after getting into the program.

 

[DrMetal]

I kind of want to go into admininstration anyway, so prevenitive medicine seems more relative to me, instead of going into more popular residencies.

Do you ever intend to touch a patient? Do something clinical first? If not, then why go to medical school? (I'm often puzzled by people who go to medical school, and right off the bat, proclaim that they never want to do something clinical!?)

If the answer is No, would advise you go to Public health school, get an MPH (or PhD even) in health care administration or epidemiology.

There's a bad stigma amongst MDs regarding prevmed doctors, who bear the perception of having gone into prevmed only to cop out of doing "real" clinical work. Whether or not that perception is warranted, I dunno. In some cases (the guy who hasn't touched a pt since his internship year), it certainly is warranted. In same cases (the guys who's practiced for 20 and now doing a prevmed twighlight tour), not warranted, he's paid his dues.

 

[Gastrapathy]

Do you ever intend to touch a patient? Do something clinical first? If not, then why go to medical school? (I'm often puzzled by people who go to medical school, and right off the bat, proclaim that they never want to do something clinical!?)

If the answer is No, would advise you go to Public health school, get an MPH (or PhD even) in health care administration or epidemiology.

There's a bad stigma amongst MDs regarding prevmed doctors, who bear the perception of having gone into prevmed only to cop out of doing "real" clinical work. Whether or not that perception is warranted, I dunno. In some cases (the guy who hasn't touched a pt since his internship year), it certainly is warranted. In same cases (the guys who's practiced for 20 and now doing a prevmed twighlight tour), not warranted, he's paid his dues.

The answer to why go to med school for prev med is simple. These folks can get a job. MPHs are a dime a dozen (its a common track for derailed premeds, bored nurses, etc).

The sort of stigma you talk about matters way more to medical students than to doctors.

 

[DrMetal]

The answer to why go to med school for prev med is simple. These folks can get a job. MPHs are a dime a dozen (its a common track for derailed premeds, bored nurses, etc).

The sort of stigma you talk about matters way more to medical students than to doctors.

Really? What on earth do most medical students know about the prev med pathway? Probably not much, as we've discussed here. So any stigma is influence from our preceptors, at least it is my case. Perhaps I'm easily influenced . . .

Cmon, let's call a spade a spade. If you're busting your rear at an MTF seeing patients all day (doing both procedural and clinical things, as in GI), and you have to deploy once every two years...you don't harbor any resentment against one of your prevmed colleagues who hardly deploys, works 0900-1500, 3 days/wk, calculating odds ratios for some BS research project that he barely cares about . . .all the while collecting an O-6 paycheck until he hits the magic 20??? If you did harbor such resentment, I'd understand.

I don't mean to poo poo on prevmed. If your intentions are honest, if you're really interested in prevmed and intend to work hard, do meaningful research, contribute something to the grand scheme of things ... then kudos.

If you're just looking for the path of least resistance, you harldy care, and you're just trying to scam off a military career (which can easily be done) . . . then I can call you a shthead (but I will call you 'shthead, Sir', if you're an O-6)

 

[notdeadyet]

you don't harbor any resentment against one of your prevmed colleagues who hardly deploys, works 0900-1500, 3 days/wk, calculating odds ratios for some BS research project that he barely cares about . . .all the while collecting an O-6 paycheck until he hits the magic 20???

Personally, one of the fun things I've found in medical school has been that specialty stereotypes like these are usually pretty much bunk. Lots of surgeons actually have fine interpersonal skills. Lots of pathologists are quite funny. Lots of psychiatrists are well-adjusted.

Granted, I only know a couple of preventative med guys. But both seemed fine. Have you had a different personal experience?

 

[jabreal00]

Do you ever intend to touch a patient? Do something clinical first? If not, then why go to medical school? (I'm often puzzled by people who go to medical school, and right off the bat, proclaim that they never want to do something clinical!?)

If the answer is No, would advise you go to Public health school, get an MPH (or PhD even) in health care administration or epidemiology.

There's a bad stigma amongst MDs regarding prevmed doctors, who bear the perception of having gone into prevmed only to cop out of doing "real" clinical work. Whether or not that perception is warranted, I dunno. In some cases (the guy who hasn't touched a pt since his internship year), it certainly is warranted. In same cases (the guys who's practiced for 20 and now doing a prevmed twighlight tour), not warranted, he's paid his dues.

Quite simply a MD is much more marketable in the job market than a MPH or even pHD.

I don't really understand what the prevmed guys does. I had an intern who rotated on my service. He was a prevmed. He tried explaining what he did. I didn't get it.