How to become Medical Colonel?

[sumi808]

Hi All,

I have just been accepted on a scholarship into the (Australian) Army, for sponsorship through the remainder of my medical course.

It is clear to me how to gain rank all the way until Major, we start at Captain and upon completion of specialty or family practice we become major.

But how does one move up to Lt. Colonel and full Colonel?

Cheers

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[orbitsurgMD]

This sounds like an opener for a joke.

 

[Kingfisher]

Hi All,

I have just been accepted on a scholarship into the (Australian) Army, for sponsorship through the remainder of my medical course.

It is clear to me how to gain rank all the way until Major, we start at Captain and upon completion of specialty or family practice we become major.

But how does one move up to Lt. Colonel and full Colonel?

Cheers

1. Kiss a lot of *****
2. Forget about medicine and fall in love with admin
3. Network
4. Do multiple tours in Sydney ? 😀

 

[colbgw02]

This thread has so much potential.

 

[DeadCactus]

I really doubt we even have a second person from the Australian military posting here let alone enough experience to provide meaningful guidance. Though I suspect a lot of the US experience we have here translated to your side of the ocean...

 

[corpsman33]

Hi All,

I have just been accepted on a scholarship into the (Australian) Army, for sponsorship through the remainder of my medical course.

It is clear to me how to gain rank all the way until Major, we start at Captain and upon completion of specialty or family practice we become major.

But how does one move up to Lt. Colonel and full Colonel?

Cheers

Which direction does the toilet water flush out there down under?

 

[sumi808]

Hey,

Haha go for it, laughter is the best medicine 🙂

I think alot of what goes on in the US will translate to Australia, we copy tonnes of American organisation and thinking.

SO it sounds like once a person has finished the board exams (rank of majour) - the rest has nothing to do with how good a doctor you are, its all about making friends and administration/red tape work. Is it kind of like joining a club, you have to be one of the boys in order to get in?

What kind of people useually end up in these posts? Burnt out doctors, dont like medicine, power trip??

What was your guys experience with the higher ranks? I dont mean the pro and cons of military service as a doctor, I mean how were the lt colonels and higher up, what were they like?

 

[Perrotfish]

Nvm

 

[bustbones26]

Hey,

Haha go for it, laughter is the best medicine 🙂

I think alot of what goes on in the US will translate to Australia, we copy tonnes of American organisation and thinking.

SO it sounds like once a person has finished the board exams (rank of majour) - the rest has nothing to do with how good a doctor you are, its all about making friends and administration/red tape work. Is it kind of like joining a club, you have to be one of the boys in order to get in?

What kind of people useually end up in these posts? Burnt out doctors, dont like medicine, power trip??

What was your guys experience with the higher ranks? I dont mean the pro and cons of military service as a doctor, I mean how were the lt colonels and higher up, what were they like?

In the US, making Colonel as a doctor is simply about doing the right steps.

Residency: Captain. If you are in a really long residency, such as say neurosurgery, you will likely be promoted to Major before you finish

Attending: Get assigned somewhere. Might be operational, with a unit as their doctor? flight surgeon? clinic? Hospital? All depends. No matter, that is the time that you should be sitting down and thinking about whether you want to make a career of the military or get out as soon as possible. If you decide to make a career of it, then at some point you should go to the Captains Career Course, else you will likely never see Lieutenant Colonel. At some point, if you are going to deploy, early in your career as a Captain/Major is when this is likely to happen.

Leadership: Okay, as a Captain or Major fresh out of residency, you might be tasked with pseudo-leadership roles. E.g. Clinic chief, Brigade surgeon, Chief of (insert something). After you make Lieutenant Colonel, you may want to consider other leadership roles such as chief of an entire department, deputy commander of a small hospital, Division surgeon, etc etc. If you do not perform those "higher up" leadership roles, then it will be harder to make Colonel. At some point as a Lieutenant Colonel, go to the ILE course or again, will likely be passed over at your promotion board.

The complaint that many US Army docs have is that as you travel up these ranks and place all of your "checks" into the proper boxes to make Colonel, you deviated further from clinical medicine.

 

[sumi808]

I see, this is interesting to hear. It is also pleasing to know that as long as one follows the rules there is a good career in the offering. I am currently doing a masters of public health and tropical medicine whilst doing MBBS full time at the same time and I am enjoying grappling with the issues of economic, social, cultural and policy problems surrounding medicine including logistics and how programs are set up.

This sounds alot like what a higher rank MO would be doing.

Would there still be the chance to work 2 - 3 days a week in clinic seeing patients or does it become full time admin work?

What is the competition like? Is it competitive?