Flight Medicine or GMO in Air Force. What is the difference?

[Panama Red]

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If I decide to just do an internship year and then subsequent years in FM or GMO in the Air Force to "burn off" my commitment time, where can I expect to be stationed? Also, per the Air Force General Medical Education application, the Physician Utilization Branch determines assignment as a General Medical Officer or a Flight Surgeon. What is the difference between GMO and Flight Surgeon and how/when do I contact the Physician Utilization Branch to notify them of my intentions to do a GMO/FS?

 

[sethco]

If I decide to just do an internship year and then subsequent years in FM or GMO in the Air Force to "burn off" my commitment time, where can I expect to be stationed? Also, per the Air Force General Medical Education application, the Physician Utilization Branch determines assignment as a General Medical Officer or a Flight Surgeon. What is the difference between GMO and Flight Surgeon and how/when do I contact the Physician Utilization Branch to notify them of my intentions to do a GMO/FS?

You can be stationed literally anywhere.

The difference between a Flight Surgeon and GMO is the GMO generally works in the FP clinic (seeing Non-Flyers, Retirees, and their dependents). This is generally a much larger patient population, while the Flight Surgeon only sees active duty Flyers and their dependents (above age of 14).

GMOs will generally be in the clinic Mon-Fri 7 AM-4 PM, while a Flight Surgeons time is suppose to be split 50/50 between clinic and administartive/squadron time. Administrative/Squadron includes Flying hours, Waivers/MEBs, shop visits, squadron meetings, and much more. IMHO, it is much better to be a Flight Surgeon. It breaks up the monotony of seeing healthy patients complaining of colds, sprained ankles, low back pain, and knee pain everyday.

If you are Air Froce and don't match into a residency past your Internship year, you will be a Flight Surgeon, unless you are medically disqualified from flying status. Then you will become a GMO.

If you have any other questions, let me know.

 

[tamafitafita]

What if one wants to be a flight surgeon? Can you choose that as your specialty? If so, is it competitive/are there a limited number of slots?

 

[sethco]

What if one wants to be a flight surgeon? Can you choose that as your specialty? If so, is it competitive/are there a limited number of slots?

I am assuming you are talking about being non-residency trained. Once you finish your PGY-1 (internship) year and are state licensed, you are eligible to be a flight surgeon or a GMO. A lot of docs I know are "GMOs for life" but the Air Force use to discourage this (they may in the future). After 4 years as a GMO, they try to encourage you to enter residency.

Entering flight surgery is non-competitive (as long as you qualify medically). In fact, there will always be a need for Flight Surgeons in the Air Force. I don't know if this is the same for the Navy or Army, but the Air Force has so many flying squadrons that they can not possibly be expected to fill them with 1-2 Flight Surgeons each (especially given retention issues).

 

[MacGyver]

I am assuming you are talking about being non-residency trained. Once you finish your PGY-1 (internship) year and are state licensed, you are eligible to be a flight surgeon or a GMO. A lot of docs I know are "GMOs for life" but the Air Force use to discourage this (they may in the future). After 4 years as a GMO, they try to encourage you to enter residency.

WTF? So you can be a "doctor" in the military without even completing residency?

IF thats true, then why the **** would anybody want to go into a residency if they dont have to? Makes zero sense if its optional.

 

[psychbender]

WTF? So you can be a "doctor" in the military without even completing residency?

IF thats true, then why the **** would anybody want to go into a residency if they dont have to? Makes zero sense if its optional.

Welcome to the Military Med forum, MacGyver, I can only imagine why you wandered over here of all places. Yes, the military makes heavy use of non residency-trained physicians (Gegneral Medical Officers). Most of them cannot wait until their tour is up, so they can begin residency.

Maybe doctors enter residency programs so they can specialize in some form of medicine that can actually be practiced in the real world. Maybe some of them actually want to be surgeons, anesthesiologists, or pediatricians, and realize that they must complete additional training in order to accomplish those goals. You act as though entering residency and specializing is something terrible that civilian doctors are forced to do, and would sooner not if given the choice. Honestly, you're the first I have ever heard put forth that view, as most who first find out about GMOs are upset about having to put their training on hold for several years.

 

[medicine1]

I suppose doing a year of internship training plus doing four years as a fight surgeon is a good way to go if one doesn't know exactly what they want to do, or if they plan on getting out of the military sooner, so that they can apply to civilian residency programs, without having a leash attached to them, called the federal government.