Locations post-residency

[deleted743871]

Hi everyone,

I haven’t been able to find an answer to this anywhere online.

Does anyone know the possible duty stations for an active duty Army radiologist? Can you only work at one of the major military medical facilities (like Walter Reed, SAMMC, Madigan etc)? Any jobs available at smaller clinics, and if so, where are those located? What about at a VA hospital?

Thank you!

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[HighPriest]

You can definitely end up in podunk, USA as a radiologist. Insofar as a whole list goes, it may be difficult to get that here unless a radiologist happens to be on the forum. I know we had two or three in Kansas, one at least on Oklahoma, some in Fairbanks, AK, some in Hood, Bliss, Etc, Etc. They can tuck you just about everywhere. You wouldn’t end up at a VA clinic excepting very unusual and very temporary circumstances as an Army radiologist.

 

[Volatile]

Hi everyone,

I haven’t been able to find an answer to this anywhere online.

Does anyone know the possible duty stations for an active duty Army radiologist? Can you only work at one of the major military medical facilities (like Walter Reed, SAMMC, Madigan etc)? Any jobs available at smaller clinics, and if so, where are those located? What about at a VA hospital?

Thank you!

Email your consultant, they’ll be able to give you a list of options. If you have a good consultant they’ll even tell you which places you are most likely to end up at

 

[HighPriest]

Im guessing this is an HPSP applicant and not a resident? If not, I agree: your consultant can give you all the info you’ll need.

 

[Roberie]

you can be anywhere from a major MEDCEN to Fort Polk with a skew toward smaller places as a non fellowship trained radiologist just out of residency.

 

[ValeRx]

I think I've heard of military doctors sometimes doing a drill at a VA hospital but other than that... VA doctors work at VA hospitals. You need credentials to access our software and a CAC card won't do it, only a PIV.

 

[dwb8p]

Radiologist. Concur, you can end up most places, sometimes n=1 and at a facility without MRI capability. But it’s not terrible usually, because telerads will often provide afterhours coverage for your MTF.

 

[deleted743871]

Email your consultant, they’ll be able to give you a list of options. If you have a good consultant they’ll even tell you which places you are most likely to end up at

Hi Volatile. Thank you for your reply. I'm not sure who my "consultant" is? I'm a fourth-year medical student - perhaps I won't get a consultant until residency?

 

[deleted743871]

I think I've heard of military doctors sometimes doing a drill at a VA hospital but other than that... VA doctors work at VA hospitals. You need credentials to access our software and a CAC card won't do it, only a PIV.

Thanks for your reply, ValeRx. That's helpful to know.

 

[deleted743871]

Radiologist. Concur, you can end up most places, sometimes n=1 and at a facility without MRI capability. But it’s not terrible usually, because telerads will often provide afterhours coverage for your MTF.

Hi dwb8p. Thanks for your reply. Can I ask how much say you get regarding where you end up? Does the Army consider your preferences at all, or not so much?

(The reason I ask is that my spouse is not affiliated with the military, and we are trying to figure out where we might end up after I finish residency, and how it would affect his job situation)

 

[deleted743871]

you can be anywhere from a major MEDCEN to Fort Polk with a skew toward smaller places as a non fellowship trained radiologist just out of residency.

Hi Roberie. Do you happen to know if there are any locations for active-duty Army radiologists in Massachusetts or New Hampshire?

 

[Volatile]

Hi Volatile. Thank you for your reply. I'm not sure who my "consultant" is? I'm a fourth-year medical student - perhaps I won't get a consultant until residency?

Correct, there is a consultant for each specialty who you will be able to contact towards the end of your training. They will have the various locations available for you. Realize as a new doc coming in, you are unlikely to get a popular location, so keep expectations low and you won’t be disappointed.

 

[HighPriest]

If radiology is anything like ENT (which in this regard they probably are), the consultant will give you a list of available positions your last year of training and have you rank them. They’ll do their best, to an extent, to put you where you prefer to be out of a list of places that actually need radiologists the year you graduate. If they can’t make everyone happy, they’ll make the people that they know happy, or they’ll trade resident happiness for political favors with various program directors. Or they’ll just position people based upon pure nepotism, like our consultant did.
If there are other residents in your or other programs with military spouses, they’ll try to put that resident someplace where their spouse can also go. Which makes sense. If you have a civilian spouse without specific medical needs, they do not factor in to the equation.

 

[armytrainingsir]

Army Medical Training & Residency Facilities

When you join the Army health care team, you are joining one of the biggest health care networks in the world. As you choose your residency hospital, practicing your specialty in world-renowned hospitals, you'll use the latest technologies and practices, working in conditions that rival the top...

www.goarmy.com

All the stars on the map (click above link) are the big hospitals.
The dots are all the 'other' places with army hospitals.
Notice there is no description or hot links to the 'dot' locations.
I'll leave you to wonder why that is.
😉

 

[brickipedia]

In theory the AIM system should reduce the nepotism factor of consultants to some extent by allowing duty stations with opening positions and PCSing officers to rank each other to generate 'best match' assignments. However at least from my experience in 2019, the positions were filled directly by the consultant rather than through the AIM system.

Also the AIM system will have its own issues depending on who is ranking people at each location, and some of the favoritism or system gaming that may be associated with that.

 

[deleted743871]

Army Medical Training & Residency Facilities

When you join the Army health care team, you are joining one of the biggest health care networks in the world. As you choose your residency hospital, practicing your specialty in world-renowned hospitals, you'll use the latest technologies and practices, working in conditions that rival the top...

www.goarmy.com

All the stars on the map (click above link) are the big hospitals.
The dots are all the 'other' places with army hospitals.
Notice there is no description or hot links to the 'dot' locations.
I'll leave you to wonder why that is.
😉

Not to be an idiot, but I don't understand why... are the little dots representing other hospitals imaginary? i.e. you can really only work in one of the major hospitals marked by a star?

 

[HighPriest]

No, his point is that they’re so small that they’re not worth describing - even by name. You can be stationed at most or all of those dots.

 

[Helpful Troll]

Not to be an idiot, but I don't understand why... are the little dots representing other hospitals imaginary? i.e. you can really only work in one of the major hospitals marked by a star?

MHS Medical Facilities - Army I limited my advanced search to Army for a list of 65 locations. Can't vouch for the accuracy of this Military Health System data on health.mil nor whether Radiologists can be assigned to the 'dots' but it does look like the 'dots' and more are listed here. Fort Belvoir Community Hospital and Walter Reed are missing but Weed Army Community Hospital on Ft Irwin and Guthrie Ambulatory Care Clinic on Ft Drum are listed. To answer your question about NH and MA - there are no Army medical facilities in those two states.