Message to Flea:HPSP stuff

[Liljoe2002]

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Flea,

I have an interview at Bremerton coming up and wanted to know if you or know of anyone that had a interview there? You said you did your residency in IM. How was the interview-what kind of questions are they asking??

I've heard that you can do an intern year in one area, such as FP and then do a Radiology residency--so is the Navy good about letting you switch?? Thanks alot.

Brent

 

[Flea]

I haven't heard alot about Bremerton's program..good or bad. But look at the programs closely...with the exception of the "big 3"- Portsmouth,Bethesda, San Diego- many only have inpatient beds (not even census) that is in the 20's for the WHOLE "hospital" 😱. If your going to be a GMO that's not necessarily bad because you need to know the outpatient side real well...but your not going to see real sick patients and sometimes that "sick/not sick" desicion is made before you get to see the patient(ie they goto another hospital)and all you really see is "not sick".
(Even Bethesda's not that busy- why I didn't even apply there).
You also need to consider what you want to do, athough MOST of the attending will have transfered by the time you finish your GMO tour, it's still better to do the internship in a hospital you want to return to. Many of the GMO tours are "medically" isolated and it will help to keep some connections.
Interviews are a snap 😀. Just remember, If they want you--they've got you (it's not like the match). I don't remember the exact questions.. but it was very non-maligant. Typical "why do you want to do IM?". I didn't even do a personal statement. It's basically a screen to make sure your not blind or overtly manic.
😎The Navy is VERY good about allowing you to switch residencies.. one advantage if your not sure what you want to do. I knew quite a few residents that did internships in different areas- sometimes that's considered an advantage!!!! I knew Ortho and surgergy residents that did IM/transitional internships- and surgery interns that did FP, etc-- you STILL have to meet graduation requirements though and most likely you'll have to do additional rotations. There's very little "dicrimination" at the PGY2 level based on your internship. If your completely unsure of what you want to do..transitional works well. 😉

 

[Liljoe2002]

Hey Flea, thanks for the insight. This year there are more HPSP students than there are intern spots, infact they said there will be 80 of us that will have to do a civilian internship. They said of that 80, half will get to do a full deferment and the other half will do a 1-year deferment!! They told us in a email that anyone who wants a 1-year deferment will get one. I think what this all means however, is that those who stay in for internship will most likely be doing a GMO. What is your take on this situation??

Liljoe 🙂

 

[Flea]

Be VERY wary about taking a 1 year deferment!! 😱 You WILL be a GMO afterwards! 😱 Most civilian programs do NOT prepare you to practice on your own-- the military internship will better prepare you for this situation...on the military BS (a little), admin BS AND medicine side...
Of the GMOs that I know that did civilian internships, they had an even harder and unpleasent time.

The people that get the "full" deferment are in shortage areas (what ever it is this year)....My guess is that it's approximately 5-10% of the total HSPS people this year, NOT fiquring in specialty choice. Again, most of these people had a hard time seeing their civilian residency "mates" getting twice the pay and half the hassle 🙁...

I definately don't regret paying my time back up front..after a military internship
😀

 

[platinumdoc]

I agree with Flea with regard to 1 year deferrments. You and your patient may end up 'dead in the water'. However, if you are one of the 'lucky' ones to get a 1 year deferrment, make sure you are getting exposure to the major subspecialties, such as Surgery, IM, EM, OB/GYN, and Psych. I also did Dermatology and Radiology which paid off during an operational tour. Make the most of your internship to learn about everything and try to get outpatient exposure as possible. I initially went into the Navy thinking that I was going into Emergency Medicine. The mindset of training in EM (evaluating life threatening illness and having the guts to tell your Commanding Officer what needs to be done) is important for a tour on a ship/Marine duty. If you are at all hesitant, they can sense that and you will lose credibility.

😀

 

[platinumdoc]

Here are the most common questions that I recall from interviews (Bethesda/Portsmouth):

1) What programs are you considering? (eg. Int Med (Beth), Trans (Portsmouth)) Why?
-You will see many M4's applying for all PGY 1 slots in the same hospital, if their goal is to come to that location (eg. Trans, Peds, Psych, Int Med, and Surgery at Portsmouth Naval Hospital). When you rank the programs, however, it may show a degree of indeciveness to do this since the program directors see your rank list.

2) Why should we choose you?
3) What are your strengths?
4) Tell me about yourself?
5) What are your career goals for residency? The Navy?
6) Do you have any questions for me?
-you better have a few questions to ask, to show your interest

Remember, you are not only selling yourself during an interview, the program is trying to sell itself, also. Talk to residents about the program. Ask about the census on the ward. Ask about the variety of patients that you will be exposed to seeing. Find out what type of preparation they have for an operational tour. Find out what percentage of people have been allowed to complete their residency versus doing an operational obligation.

With regard to residency:

Check out the GME website regarding the grading criteria for residency. They give points based on class rank, board scores, potential for naval career, research, etc.

The most competetive of the navy residencies are dermatology and ophthalmology. I have heard of people doing back to back operational tours, holding out to get a spot in those programs. Remember, apply to Navy GME programs each year, even if you just finished internship. You get more exposure that way when it comes to selection. Try to interview in person, if possible. Also, speak to the 'specialty advisor' of your area of interest. The residency selection board consists of the program directors from each program and the specialty advisor.