Married Officers

[OMTStudent]

Referencing my previous post here:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=644522

I had previously asked about married couples. I'd now like to know, in your first hand experience, how often do you see married officers separated? This includes deployments and general stationing (assignments/orders-whatever you might call it). Oh, and what branch of the military you've seen this in.

My fiancé will be a practicing clinical psychologist and I will be a family practice doc. I've been told that the more subspecialized I get the harder it is and I can see the logic of that.

Thanks all!

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[Gastrapathy]

Referencing my previous post here:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=644522

I had previously asked about married couples. I'd now like to know, in your first hand experience, how often do you see married officers separated? This includes deployments and general stationing (assignments/orders-whatever you might call it). Oh, and what branch of the military you've seen this in.

My fiancé will be a practicing clinical psychologist and I will be a family practice doc. I've been told that the more subspecialized I get the harder it is and I can see the logic of that.

Thanks all!

I would argue the opposite. The less subspecialized you are, the more places you can go and the fewer billets there are for your spouse at some remote locations.

Between deployments and colocation issues, count on being apart 50% of the time. You might do better than that and you probably won't do worse.

 

[Ziehl-Neelsen]

In 2 doctor couples (for the sake of expediency I am considering your husband a medical doctor) the more specialized of the two drives the train. Since there are not psychology billets at every MTF while FP billets are everywhere, it should not be that hard to co-lo the two of you. The trick to being co-loed is to not be picky. The Army is generally pretty go about stationing couples together, as long as the couple doesn't immediately dismiss all of the "undesirable" locations. It just depends on the couple. Is it more important to be together is Sierra Vista AZ or apart with one at WRAMC and one at TAMC. THe more specialized the 2 of you get, the fewer billets there are to work with. The best results I have seen involve couples where one is ridiculously specialized (major MEDCEN only) and the other is moderately or not that specialized. These couples generally get to homestead at major MEDCENS for long periods of time.

Deployments are the big issue. I don't know how much psychologists deploy, but FPs deploy a lot, and as batallion surgeons (longer deployments).

 

[NavyFP]

Speaking for the FP community...

We can and do deploy frequently. There are few places we are not needed. Our diverse skill set makes us highly desirable. I am currently on deployment #3 since 9/11.

Mental Health is another big need out here in the netherlands and clin psych is here as well.

I agree that the services will attempt to keep you together, but deployments will pull you apart.

 

[Gastrapathy]

Speaking for the FP community...

We can and do deploy frequently. There are few places we are not needed. Our diverse skill set makes us highly desirable. I am currently on deployment #3 since 9/11.

Mental Health is another big need out here in the netherlands and clin psych is here as well.

I agree that the services will attempt to keep you together, but deployments will pull you apart.

Didn't realize you were out there. Stay safe.

 

[PhoenixCR]

I am interested in FP and plan on doing the Navy HPSP. How long and where have you deployed for each time, and how has the experience been for you, if you don't mind me asking? I am married, and my wife is going to have our baby girl at the end of the month. I have spoken to a Pediatric trained Navy physician, but I have not been able to ask a Family Practice Navy physician how she/he liked their training in the Navy? My wife has stopped working to stay at home with the baby. I realize I will have to deploy, but it's hard to imagine what anything like that would be like.
Thanks.

Speaking for the FP community...

We can and do deploy frequently. There are few places we are not needed. Our diverse skill set makes us highly desirable. I am currently on deployment #3 since 9/11.

Mental Health is another big need out here in the netherlands and clin psych is here as well.

I agree that the services will attempt to keep you together, but deployments will pull you apart.

 

[NavyFP]

Didn't realize you were out there. Stay safe.

It's my turn and I havn't had anyone from the other side shoot at me yet.

 

[elderjack21]

Referencing my previous post here:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=644522

I had previously asked about married couples. I'd now like to know, in your first hand experience, how often do you see married officers separated? This includes deployments and general stationing (assignments/orders-whatever you might call it). Oh, and what branch of the military you've seen this in.

My fiancé will be a practicing clinical psychologist and I will be a family practice doc. I've been told that the more subspecialized I get the harder it is and I can see the logic of that.

Thanks all!

I think there are plenty of people in the medical field who don't want to deploy, that if one of you goes, the other one may be able to volunteer and at least be in country at the same time. Thus you would be home at the same time as well. Have seen this happen plenty of times.