Hi everyone! I’m a third year med student (Navy HPSP) on my rotations and recently finished up my general surgery rotation.
Coming into med school, I was always telling myself that general surgery was something I was not interested in due to the length/stress of residency and the overall lifestyle, which can be unpredictable.
However, I had a really good preceptor for my rotation and being honest, I enjoyed my surgery rotation a lot which was unexpected. This opened the doors to my interest in general surgery and orthopedic surgery (worked with both on my rotation), but my main concerns regarding residency and life as an attending are still there. I do have a few questions for those that went the surgery route.
For anyone who did a surgical specialty in the military, how was your experience as a resident and as an attending (work/life balance, call, etc)?
Compared to the civilian world, how competitive would you say surgery is in the military match? I’ve passed but never honored my pre-clinical courses. I’ve received pretty good evals in all my rotations so far, but haven’t technically honored them since my shelf scores were in the passing range but not high enough for honors (no high pass at my school).
What makes an applicant competitive in the military match for surgical specialties (mainly general and ortho)?
Are different types of research (case reports vs other forms of research) weighted more than others when it comes to the military match?
Thanks in advance everyone!
Coming into med school, I was always telling myself that general surgery was something I was not interested in due to the length/stress of residency and the overall lifestyle, which can be unpredictable.
However, I had a really good preceptor for my rotation and being honest, I enjoyed my surgery rotation a lot which was unexpected. This opened the doors to my interest in general surgery and orthopedic surgery (worked with both on my rotation), but my main concerns regarding residency and life as an attending are still there. I do have a few questions for those that went the surgery route.
For anyone who did a surgical specialty in the military, how was your experience as a resident and as an attending (work/life balance, call, etc)?
Compared to the civilian world, how competitive would you say surgery is in the military match? I’ve passed but never honored my pre-clinical courses. I’ve received pretty good evals in all my rotations so far, but haven’t technically honored them since my shelf scores were in the passing range but not high enough for honors (no high pass at my school).
What makes an applicant competitive in the military match for surgical specialties (mainly general and ortho)?
Are different types of research (case reports vs other forms of research) weighted more than others when it comes to the military match?
Thanks in advance everyone!
Last edited:
