fulfilling your svc commitment with CDC, NIH?

[drseuss]

---

Members don't see this ad.

i'm a global health/international public health person, with a couple years work experience in this area---interviewing at USUHS soon. i hear a lot of pros/cons from USAF, army docs in the military medicine forum--naturally so b/c the overwhelming majority of students are in these services---but what are people's experiences in USPHS? if you can complete your 7 year commitment at the CDC/NIH/HRSA that sounds pretty great to me ! i'd really like to talk to ppl who've done so, or know ppl who have.
thanks all!

 

[delicatefade]

If you want to work for the USPHS you need to look at their scholarship not the military HPSP scholarship and certainly not USUHS.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong but you cannot fulfill your commitment through the USPHS or any other government agency (including the VA system) except for the military.

 

[deegs]

Each USUHS class has 2 USPHS slots, and there are rumors of more being added. The program is designed for payback at an Indian Health Service primary care facility, although I have heard of grads doing other USPHS jobs.

USPHS students play all the games/rotations with us DoD folk while at USU, they just have a different career path ahead of them.

 

[delicatefade]

I stand corrected. 🙂 Thanks.

 

[Dr. Dukes]

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong but you cannot fulfill your commitment through the USPHS or any other government agency (including the VA system) except for the military.

USUHS is the UNIFORMED Services University not ASUHS (Armed Services University) for a reason...

When I interviewed at USUHS (Oct 06) they mentioned that the PHS billets had been increased from two (for the Indian Health Service) to six (two for the Indian Health Service, as before, two for the NCI, and two for the NIAID). None of the tour guides really knew anything about it (mine was the first interview of the year), and I'm not sure if you get matched with your destination at the beginning (i.e. you get your conditional acceptance for the Public Health service saying you're going to do IM residency, then Heme/Onc fellowship, the 7 years at NCI) or at the end (PHS billet and the six PHS people in your class fight it out for the spots in spring 11).

 

[paradude]

USUHS is the UNIFORMED Services University not ASUHS (Armed Services University) for a reason...

When I interviewed at USUHS (Oct 06) they mentioned that the PHS billets had been increased from two (for the Indian Health Service) to six (two for the Indian Health Service, as before, two for the NCI, and two for the NIAID). None of the tour guides really knew anything about it (mine was the first interview of the year), and I'm not sure if you get matched with your destination at the beginning (i.e. you get your conditional acceptance for the Public Health service saying you're going to do IM residency, then Heme/Onc fellowship, the 7 years at NCI) or at the end (PHS billet and the six PHS people in your class fight it out for the spots in spring 11).

We do have six USPHS students this year. Actually, one of my anatomy partners is public health. I really don't know much about the program but if you want more info, pm me and I'll put you in contact. Personally, I don't know why someone wouldn't want to go all of the way and join the military vs. public health but it doesn't matter to me.

 

[orbitsurgMD]

USUHS is the UNIFORMED Services University not ASUHS (Armed Services University) for a reason...

When I interviewed at USUHS (Oct 06) they mentioned that the PHS billets had been increased from two (for the Indian Health Service) to six (two for the Indian Health Service, as before, two for the NCI, and two for the NIAID). None of the tour guides really knew anything about it (mine was the first interview of the year), and I'm not sure if you get matched with your destination at the beginning (i.e. you get your conditional acceptance for the Public Health service saying you're going to do IM residency, then Heme/Onc fellowship, the 7 years at NCI) or at the end (PHS billet and the six PHS people in your class fight it out for the spots in spring 11).

I can't say for those with ADSC remaining, but I know it is possible to transfer your commission to the USPHS from an armed service commission. Typically it is done by people with a research career interest. The people I knew who did this were trained in Preventive Medicine and obtained their MPH in course. One went on to do a fellowship in ID.
As the numbers are small, there is probably no typical pathway except to transfer to some NIH activity as a researcher/clinician.

 

[FizbanZymogen]

when I interviewed at USUHS dec. 7th they said there was 6 slots for PHS but I was told it was very competative to get one of those slots and that all 6 were already filled. As a side note my first interviewer was a former Marine doc who now works for PHS at NIH. Apparently you can switch after your intial time is fulfilled but I don't no anything about the exact regulations involved.

 

[kwiggo]

When I interviewed at USUHS i was curious about the public health service route and when I asked questions about it they had no administrators that seemed to know anything about the program and were extremely unhelpful in providing any real information or guidance in how to pursue this option. Admittedly, I am a 3rd year med student now not at USUHS- this was one of the reasons I didn't get a great feeling from USUHS on my interview day.... I joined HPSP at my civilian med school.