To those who would know since I do not.
With the Navy HPSP, it seems as though GMO is a requirement before residency. However, I was wondering if I had to go through GMO again after IM residency to be competitive enough to obtain any IM subspecialty fellowship?
Answers much appreciated.
Thank you.
Some fairly inaccurate answers above.
After completing a few months of a categorical IM internship, you will have to reapply for IM residency. It is not a sure thing that you will be selected for residency at that point. However, as the number of trainees dip over the next few years, you have to like your chances. I'd say its 75% that you get to go straight through (total swag, obviously).
Regardless of whether you do a GMO or not, in the last year of your residency you can apply for fellowship. At this point, you can also get selected straight through from residency to fellowship but the odds aren't as good as going straight from internship to residency. You are at a particular disadvantage if you went straight through in residency, as you will not be competitive with current staff or fellow residents who did GMO tours. Just as an aside, you are better off applying as a staff than as a current resident with GMO experience, so it is in your interest to go straight through residency and take your chances. Occasionally, people are selected to go straight through both residency and fellowship.
More likely, you will have to do a staff utilization tour as an Internist. I'm not sure why posters above suggested that these were GMO billets. Its possible that, with the GMO conversions, a few staff IM types will fill these jobs, but there are already a large supply of staff IM billets at overseas hospitals, conus clinics and conus hospitals. You would be much more likely to fill a typical staff IM billet than even be offered an operational billet at that point. Toward the end of this utilization tour, you can apply back for the fellowship of your choice (or possibly get out and apply as a civilian) and you'll probably beat out all the poor saps that are applying from a training status.
Hope this helps.
