.Hi,
2.) HPSP: ADTs aside, how often are you on "military mode"? I.e., will you be given orders to check in with your CO during spring break? Will you be voluntold to do the HPSP pitch to your alma mater's pre-med society?
I'm AF and several years removed from HPSP, so bear that in mind with these responses that there are obviously service-dependent variables and that things obviously change over time. As a med student, you're quite detached from the regular military. Although I suppose you do technically have a CO, you will never see/hear from that person. You will be in touch with the civilian HPSP program coordinator via email a couple of times a year.
2.) Would you be allowed to attend special training courses or symposia at non-military facilities? For example, if you are Neurology resident would command allow you to attend the Penn Conference on Clinical Neuroscience and Society held at UPenn?
[My gut feeling: "no", since I've got the impression that getting permission to complete CME credits is akin to pulling teeth]
Residents from my program attend national conferences and seminars every year. They're not going to send everybody to Hawaii for some BS, and true it's not always the easiest thing to coordinate logistically (not only funding but in terms of general scheduling and coverage also), but it's definietly not a categorical 'no'. Depends on the program, certainly neuro is probably more conducive to this kind of thing than say orthopedic surgery. BTW you don't need special CME courses as a resident, you get more than enough through your regular training schedule to satisfy any state medical board.
3.) Is a graduate more likely to have friction with a nurse commander as a resident or as an attending?
Again, even though you're active duty you're a bit separated from the regular military as a resident. Your 'commanders' are your chief resident and PD. During residency I interracted with the actual command of my wing exactly twice, once during intern orientation and once to get some paperwork signed. If you've got a crappy chief or PD as a resident then your education will suffer greatly; if you don't get along with your crappy nurse commander as an attending then you'll be getting pissed on because of failed inspections, picking up ****ty evals, having your leaves/TDYs/funding requests denied, etc. Not sure if that answers your question.
4.) How much does the electronic medical records system really slow you down?
AHLTA blows, can't really give you a 'it slows me down x minutes per patient' since I don't have any other DoD-wide outpatient records systems as a basis of comparison. I can tell you that the inpatient EMR system at Wilford Hall/Brooke Army (where the AF neuro residency is currently located) is quite excellent, and I know of other .mil inpatient systems that are very good as well.
1.) What are the automatic health disqualifiers? I've read that many things can be waived, but can someone point me to the definitive list of conditions that absolutely cannot be waived? Are the health qualifications more stringent for flight surgery?
If there is a universal list I'd like to have it as well, my gut says it's service-specific and circumstances-specific. I could name you a few things like sickle cell disease and psychotic disorders, but it would be no way all-inclusive and there'd probably be exceptions. In general if you're functional enough to make it through 4 years of med school you're functional enough for uniformed service. Flight surgery and other specialized billets are of course a bit more stringent on some things, but again in general it's not difficult to get a waiver for nearly everything.
3.) Social networking policy: besides the obvious things--such as troop location or mission details-- what are the other no-nos when it comes to things like facebook and twitter? Can my fiancé post pics of me in my uniform? Can I leave a status update saying, "Gone for SERE training, wish me luck"?
I'd DELETE my facebook account prior to going to SERE 😀
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