EM bias against military reserve?

[Beagles]

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I recently got admitted to medical school and also want to serve in the military. I am currently leaning towards the national guard/reserve as opposed to active military. For now, I am interested in EM.

Question: How will future employers view a residency graduate who has a long term commitment to the national guard/reserves. Will there be a bias against me because of the commitment? If so, how much bias? I know that any bias is illegal but curious if anyone has faced this. I am not interested in the military just for the benefits. I want to serve but want to about future civilian employment ramifications, if any.

 

[Rendar5]

I know EM physicians who serve and they're definitely well respected. But that's int he ivory tower. I don't know how it is for community physicians.

 

[Tiger26]

hopefully not--i've been in for 9 years and don't have any intention of quitting anytime soon. from what i've heard, it's generally an asset, not a liability

 

[Dr Fleischman]

I'm not sure I understand your situation. Are you going to do HPSP then, the scholarship through the military?

Ultimately, I believe military experience will more often than not help you with landing jobs. Most people respect military experience - just look how politicians with it talk it up in their ads and speeches, and they're basically "interviewing" for a job with the public as the interviewee.

So I wouldn't worry about it hurting you. I firmly believe it will more often be viewed as a plus rather than a minus by your employers.

I'm an MSIV doing HPSP through the Air Force. If you have any questions, feel free to PM me.

Jake

 

[Beagles]

Dr. Fleischman:

Thanks for your response. You are doing the HPSP that binds you to active duty after residency. I agree that military docs are viewed favorably. But my question relates to how civilian employers may view a doc that has reserve commitments (ie, can get called up for up to 4 months, I believe at a time).

In the end, I want to serve but want to be informed about possible consequences down the road. Any experiences? Also, does anyone have a sense of how frequently reserve/national guard docs get called up for duty?

 

[Khaos]

I just went on a few interviews and have met 2 private EM docs that do the reserves. As long as you ask for the time off ahead of time you shouldn't have any issues. One of the reasons many people go into EM is so they can have a life outside of work.

 

[docB]

We used to have several guys who were reservists and there were few problems, even when they both got deployed back in the mid '00s. It is easier to accomodate that in larger groups, ie. if 20 guys all have to pick up 1 extra shift it's easier than 5 guys all picking up 4 extra shifts.

 

[canjosh]

Dr. Fleischman:

Thanks for your response. You are doing the HPSP that binds you to active duty after residency. I agree that military docs are viewed favorably. But my question relates to how civilian employers may view a doc that has reserve commitments (ie, can get called up for up to 4 months, I believe at a time).

In the end, I want to serve but want to be informed about possible consequences down the road. Any experiences? Also, does anyone have a sense of how frequently reserve/national guard docs get called up for duty?

I worked with an EM attending who was a big dog in his physician group, and a big dog in the Army reserves. Deployed to the sandbox, and the group just picked up his slack. Volunteered for more deployments, but the Army didn't let him go because he was on a command billet. He was the medical director of the department at the time, and was the C.O. of his unit. This guy is also a very active ACEP guy...I imagine many of the EM folks on this forum have heard of him/met him at a convention, etc. Point is, it's definitely possible to have both a successful civilian career in a community EM group + a military commitment. 👍

 

[MRSAful Fate]

I'm a 2nd year DO student also considering the reserves/National Guard and my biggest concern is post-residency employment issues with being gone for 4 months every year and a half. The previous posts are all very encouraging, but I was wondering if anyone has any further comments about employability and how the civilian/military balance works (particularly if you are a reservist/NG). My ultimate goal is to do community EM in a small-mid sized city in Northern California.

Thanks!

 

[Arcan57]

I'm a 2nd year DO student also considering the reserves/National Guard and my biggest concern is post-residency employment issues with being gone for 4 months every year and a half. The previous posts are all very encouraging, but I was wondering if anyone has any further comments about employability and how the civilian/military balance works (particularly if you are a reservist/NG). My ultimate goal is to do community EM in a small-mid sized city in Northern California.

Thanks!

I can't comment on that specific market, but everywhere I've worked has had at least one reservist and they've all come back after deployment and still had their job (these weren't employee positions but IC).