Indian Health Services

[Ediddy]

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Hello all,
I am currently a 2nd year opt. student and find myself thinking a lot about what I will be doing soon after graduation. Among my options is Indian Health Services. I've heard from second hands sources that it is a great experience but I have yet to talk to someone who has worked for IHS.

So... anyone out there that has worked for IHS, can you enlighten me a little on your experience? How was your work environment? How was your lifestyle? Are you glad you did it? Any and all information would be appreciated.

 

[KHE]

Hello all,
I am currently a 2nd year opt. student and find myself thinking a lot about what I will be doing soon after graduation. Among my options is Indian Health Services. I've heard from second hands sources that it is a great experience but I have yet to talk to someone who has worked for IHS.

So... anyone out there that has worked for IHS, can you enlighten me a little on your experience? How was your work environment? How was your lifestyle? Are you glad you did it? Any and all information would be appreciated.

I have never worked for them but did a student rotation with them and it was a tremendous experience.

As far as making a career of it, the answer I guess would be "it depends."

It's not particularly lucrative because it's a "government job" but the benefits are good. Also, there seems to be a very wide range of situations. For example, working for IHS in Phoenix Arizona would generally mean working in a fairly urban area or at least very close to an urban area.

Most IHS sites though are extremely rural. At least where I was. So there are potential family issues etc. etc.

But professionally, I think it's great and I do believe that they have some loan repayment schemes as well.

 

[LionSight]

I have never worked for IHS but lived on the Creek Nation for a year in OK. Most of the people there depended on the IHS for routine eyecare including treating eye disease. Since most of your patients are lower SES and don't utilize available health resources,there is a wide variety of knowledge and experience to be gleaned. You won't gain much experience with ophthalmic materials, etc because the government dictates what materials are available, but it is a wonderful and rewarding opportunity to know you are making a difference in a patient's life. Go check it out; you may like what you see.