Navy Clerkship; Where would you go?

[kevin512]

I am a total ametuer when it comes to anything Navy. I joined my freshamn year and was not able to go to ODS. I really would like to see something of my future career by doing a Navy Clerkship but do not know anything about the locations, what to expect etc.

If you have any input on the AEGDs and GPRs at the cities listed below, I would be very thankful. I want to maximize my experience during my visit.

<H2>GREAT LAKES, IL; NORFOLK, VA; SAN DIEGO, CA; BETHESDA, MD

</H2>As of now, I have heard that going to San Diego (compared to Bethesda) is great just because of the location.

Again, any help is appreciated!

Kevin, UFCD 2012

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[OffAngleHatchet]

First thing to do is to decide whether you want to do a GPR or an AEGD.

If you are interested in oral surgery, do a GPR to get a taste of what OS residents go through. If it's not for you, no sweat, you have 4 years to do bread and butter dentistry with the Navy and bone up on your clinical skills.

RE: AEGD and GPR: All are fine programs. I can only speak to the programs here in San Diego. You will get a great PGY-1 experience here, the GPRs by their very nature you'll be very busy with plenty of exposure to oral surgery and trauma, much less your bread and butter dentistry.

Personally, I didn't have any interest in becoming OMFS, so I did the AEGD program at Camp Pendleton and had a blast serving the Marines. Definitely a terrific program. It's not in San Diego, but it's close enough to get there on the weekends.

As far as clerkships are concerned, I'm not sure how to get one arranged. Might be hard to get on base as an HPSP student if you don't have your military ID already. PM me and we can discuss more offline.

 

[OffAngleHatchet]

By the way, don't sweat it re: ODS. It's actually a lot better that you go to ODS right after graduation. You'll remember a lot more and be more squared away than if you did it your freshman year and have to struggle to remember how to put your uniform together, based on fuzzy memories of 4 years ago.