Navy Gmo?

[VCOMLover]

I'm new to the site so i'm not sure if this has been discussed...but i'm about 85% sure on applying for the Navy scholarship but i just had one question. Are you required to do a GMO tour? I just didn't know if it was something that they made you do. I was told that htey made you do it if you didn't get into a residency, which makes sense. But i just wanted to make sure that they couldn't make you do a tour even if you did get picked up in a residency. Any help in this matter would be greatly appreciated.

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[IgD]

I'm new to the site so i'm not sure if this has been discussed...but i'm about 85% sure on applying for the Navy scholarship but i just had one question. Are you required to do a GMO tour? I just didn't know if it was something that they made you do. I was told that htey made you do it if you didn't get into a residency, which makes sense. But i just wanted to make sure that they couldn't make you do a tour even if you did get picked up in a residency. Any help in this matter would be greatly appreciated.

Yes the Navy can and will make you do a GMO tour. The way it works is when they decide who gets what residency position they tabulate all your points. It is setup so the people who have completed a GMO tour have all the points. The truth is for many of the competitive residencies you don't even get a look unless you've completed a GMO tour.

 

[usnavdoc]

Only a small percentage of applicants go straight through with training. With recruiting goals falling off you will see fewer going straight through as the need for GMOs has not changed. The Navy would have to really evaluate its priorities to see any substantial change, and then you will have all the members who have gone out as a GMO competing against you and they would and should recieve more consideration than a new grad.

 

[Capt_Mac]

I'm new to the site so i'm not sure if this has been discussed...but i'm about 85% sure on applying for the Navy scholarship but i just had one question. Are you required to do a GMO tour? I just didn't know if it was something that they made you do. I was told that htey made you do it if you didn't get into a residency, which makes sense. But i just wanted to make sure that they couldn't make you do a tour even if you did get picked up in a residency. Any help in this matter would be greatly appreciated.

I reference you this thread:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=277210

Did you apply for an army or air force scholarship? To me it looks like the navy is in a world of hurt. Here is an ironically funny metaphor:

You see all the rats running from a ship?? Either they bought a new pesticide or the ship is sinking!

In this case, there is something not right with the ship. JMO

 

[RisingSun]

Can anyone give me an idea what the GMO options are and where they are located? For example, could anyone post a snapshot of available GMO positions at a time when interns would be coming out of intership (like, summer 2005). The links on this site lead to dead ends, and the recruiter that I talked to the other day said he would try and find what is currently available as an idea of what's out there, but no word yet.

One other question, are docs with famlies (wife, kids) more likely to get GMO assignments within a clinic somewhere than on a ship/assigned to a marine unit? How much flexibility do you have when choosing your GMO?

Finally, I have looked around but can't seem to find info on how much you make as a _normal_ GMO (i.e. not FM or a dive doc). Can anyone give me the amount (with no prior service).

RisingSun

PS I've got a lot more questions but I will try and post them on relevant threads.

 

[usnavdoc]

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[usnavdoc]

Can anyone give me an idea what the GMO options are and where they are located? For example, could anyone post a snapshot of available GMO positions at a time when interns would be coming out of intership (like, summer 2005). The links on this site lead to dead ends, and the recruiter that I talked to the other day said he would try and find what is currently available as an idea of what's out there, but no word yet.

One other question, are docs with famlies (wife, kids) more likely to get GMO assignments within a clinic somewhere than on a ship/assigned to a marine unit? How much flexibility do you have when choosing your GMO?

Finally, I have looked around but can't seem to find info on how much you make as a _normal_ GMO (i.e. not FM or a dive doc). Can anyone give me the amount (with no prior service).

RisingSun

PS I've got a lot more questions but I will try and post them on relevant threads.

The billets change from year to year and the Navy doesnt post a website where they are located to see whats coming up(they used to but it has been down for 3 years or so and detailors are less than forthcoming about info) That being said there are billets you can count on:

(1)Marines-east and west coast, 29 palms, hawaii(not every cycle), okinawa
(2)Ships-east and west coast, japan, very few elsewhere but maybe italy and guam depending on the year
(3)Seabee units- East and West coast
(4)claimancy 18 billets, shore side support units, branch clinics on both coasts. These generally go to returning GMOs but some placements are available and no they are not held preferentially for married docs, why would they be?

In terms of your decision to go where you want. You will work with the detailor and give him/her preferences based on what he tells you is available. But ultimately you will go where they tell you to go. Ie..I asked to go overseas with any operational/deployable billet europe was first preference then japan. I was given the choice of Camp Lejeune with marines, 29 Palms with Marines, Yuma AZ with Marines. I chose camp lejeune so that i have a beach and wouldnt be in a desert. Then my second GMO tour which is supposed to be a bit more cush. I had orders on 2 separate occasions to Gaeta, Italy just to have my command at lejeune go behind my back and alter my orders with the detailor keeping me in the dark. Needless to say I spent 4 years at Camp Lejeune deploying and "enjoying" the good life here in scenic jacksonville, NC.

 

[JA_Perez]

Dude...unless you are lucky: Navy GMO or Flight Surgery = Iraq. Go Army or Air Force if you want to go straight through Residency.

 

[RisingSun]

I participated in a thread a while back about the likelihood of being stationed in Japan (long term resident there, wife and her family are Japanese). The recruiters from all of the different services came to campus the other day and sold their services to us - the Navy guys said that there are so many spots in Japan both GMO and post-residency that I should not have a problem being put somewhere in Japan (but acknowledged that I wouldn't be in one spot for long, although could likely stay within the country). For me that was a big selling point for the Navy (plus their bases are in pretty sweet locations for the most part).

Air Force said that overseas positions were almost never given to guys fresh out of residency, and instead were given to docs on their second tour (he said residency trained docs were too green for the rigors of working in an overseas clinic by themselves / without much support from other physicians). The guy also seemed like a real creep. Reminded me of a used car salesman.

The Army guy and his dentist HPSP-recipient sidekick were real cool and laid back. They gave a good impression, and didn't seem to be sugar-coating their service. He said that most of the opportunties for overseas assignments right now were in europe and/or with units stationed in Iraq. That was definately a detractor for me, but I liked how there are no GMO tours and there are lots of places where you can do your residency.

My question about GMO tours is that while I personally think that I would enjoy being on a boat for a while, I would not want to be away from my family for an extended period of time at sea (6+ months), and if I was, at least if I could be stationed in Japan or assigned to a unit based out of Japan, my wife would be in her own country with all of her friends and family and for her that would be MUCH more tolerable than being stuck somewhere stateside without me or the support of friends and family and having to wing it here without me. I don't think that I could do that to her.

So there it is. Any comments?

RisingSun

 

[Capt_Mac]

[/QUOTE]The Army guy and his dentist HPSP-recipient sidekick were real cool and laid back. They gave a good impression, and didn't seem to be sugar-coating their service. He said that most of the opportunties for overseas assignments right now were in europe and/or with units stationed in Iraq. That was definately a detractor for me, but I liked how there are no GMO tours and there are lots of places where you can do your residency.

My question about GMO tours is that while I personally think that I would enjoy being on a boat for a while, I would not want to be away from my family for an extended period of time at sea (6+ months), and if I was, at least if I could be stationed in Japan or assigned to a unit based out of Japan, my wife would be in her own country with all of her friends and family and for her that would be MUCH more tolerable than being stuck somewhere stateside without me or the support of friends and family and having to wing it here without me. I don't think that I could do that to her.

So there it is. Any comments?

RisingSun[/QUOTE]

Right now, with ANY service you will be deployed within 6 months of finishing residency. Anything different is an exception to the rule. You must understand that the climate may be completely different when you graduate from internship. Navy = GMO Army/Air Force = Residency (general rule, exceptions may apply). You have to decide which environment you want to work in, do you want a career, do you like the ocean? What the Navy will do, correct me if I am wrong guys, is they will send you for a 3 year GMO tour and then when you only owe 1 year left "give" you a residency spot, during which time you will incur anywhere from 2 to 4 more years of ADSO. This is a big time commitment depending on your specialty.

MY 2 CENTS...then I will shut up...

Do you really think that it is wise and good practice of medicine to be taking full responsibility of patients as a GMO only have 1 year of post graduate training?

 

[orbitsurgMD]

I participated in a thread a while back about the likelihood of being stationed in Japan (long term resident there, wife and her family are Japanese). The recruiters from all of the different services came to campus the other day and sold their services to us - the Navy guys said that there are so many spots in Japan both GMO and post-residency that I should not have a problem being put somewhere in Japan (but acknowledged that I wouldn't be in one spot for long, although could likely stay within the country). For me that was a big selling point for the Navy (plus their bases are in pretty sweet locations for the most part). . . .

Even if every word the recruiter said about the availability of GMO billets in Japan was true, that doesn't mean you will get one of them, however badly you want it or however convenient a job there would be to your family. Even if you get a billet to Okinawa as a GMO--Marines, you will deploy with the Marines, likely these days to Iraq and Afghanistan.

What are your objectives in medicine? What sort of training do you want? Do you want a military career? Do you want a hard-to-match specialty?

I strongly suggest you reflect on your motivations and I equally strongly suggest you think of more than how convenient one possible overseas assignment might seem as the basis for choosing a particular service branch.

 

[Croooz]

RisingSun,
You are taking a chance. I would bank more on getting an unaccompanied tour to Okinawa than mainland Japan. Bottom line...don't join a service because of the likelihood of getting stationed at a particular place. If your wife will not be happy remaining stateside then perhaps a reexamination of both of your expectations of the service. One or both of you will be inconvenienced. Spouses have to sacrifice just as much or even more than the service member. Fact of military life.

 

[RisingSun]

Guys, thanks for the advice. Seems like where you get placed for GMO tours is a crapshoot. As Crooz said, I would be taking a chance. Honestly, I think I would enjoy time delpoyed on a ship, and maybe that is why I have been giving consideration to the Navy even though I know it would be hard on my wife and family.

I lived in Okinawa for a year as a civilian as a Japanese-English interpreter for Okinawa City, and ended up spending a lot of time on base. My wife loved the base and even was a manager of one of the small collector item shops. I guess I have a pretty good impression of the military from what I have seen, and for a while have thought that wouldn't be a bad way to go for a few years after med school.

I live near Bremerton now, and plan on going onto base to talk with some military physicians and shadow some of the family practice docs. I think after all of the doom and gloom of this site that I need to talk to a human being actually in the military and take a look at the working environment.

Thanks guys for being real. I'm gonna think real hard about signing up, and won't make any decisions before I get a better first-hand look at the medicine in the military (at least in the Navy).

RisingSun

 

[Croooz]

Smart move.

 

[VCOMLover]

Yes the Navy can and will make you do a GMO tour. The way it works is when they decide who gets what residency position they tabulate all your points. It is setup so the people who have completed a GMO tour have all the points. The truth is for many of the competitive residencies you don't even get a look unless you've completed a GMO tour.

So question...they are telling me that i have to do Navy and Civilian Match and if you don't get the military Match and you get the Civilian match then they will let you do the Civilian Match...is that true?

 

[orbitsurgMD]

So question...they are telling me that i have to do Navy and Civilian Match and if you don't get the military Match and you get the Civilian match then they will let you do the Civilian Match...is that true?

The will let you do the civilian match if you are not first picked up by the Navy for an internship in one of their hospitals. Even though they may let you do a civilian internship, there is no guarantee they will let you complete a civilian residency.

 

[JA_Perez]

The will let you do the civilian match if you are not first picked up by the Navy for an internship in one of their hospitals. Even though they may let you do a civilian internship, there is no guarantee they will let you complete a civilian residency.

Navy HPSP will let you do ERAS match for a Civilian Internship Program (1-year deferment). Ask for it and you will get it; but start thinking about GMO, FS or DMO afterward. You cannot do a full civilian residency w/o a full deferment approval.

 

[VCOMLover]

The will let you do the civilian match if you are not first picked up by the Navy for an internship in one of their hospitals. Even though they may let you do a civilian internship, there is no guarantee they will let you complete a civilian residency.

So basically if i do the Navy I will have to do a GMO? That's just a problem for me because i really want to go straight through to my OB-GYN residency...but if you're saying that I would have to possiblity do a 2 year plus with a GMO then i might need to re-think it. Thanks guys for the help and the clarification.

 

[militarymd]

There are no guarantees. You are not necessarily guaranteed a GMO tour. You may select and go straight through.


The problem is...you have no way of knowing until December of your intern year.

 

[JA_Perez]

There are no guarantees. You are not necessarily guaranteed a GMO tour. You may select and go straight through.


The problem is...you have no way of knowing until December of your intern year.

True, but is a big gamble. Navy/Residency needs are hard to predict. They might decide to pick a lot of people to go straight through OB/Gyn or just one. Depends in how many returning GMOs want the residency spot. Good Luck. If you do join the NAVY and decide to go operational for a while: Do Undersea Medicine!

 

[fdsa]

I'm not really sure what a GMO does...physicals, clinics, paperwork? What are the responsibilities in a deployed vs. non-deployed position?
Also, does anyone know what the policy is on pregnant GMO's?
I assume that you aren't deployable if you're pregnant but is there a period of time post-partum that you're allowed to be on base with your family?

 

[dstMD]

So basically if i do the Navy I will have to do a GMO? That's just a problem for me because i really want to go straight through to my OB-GYN residency...but if you're saying that I would have to possiblity do a 2 year plus with a GMO then i might need to re-think it. Thanks guys for the help and the clarification.

For OB/GYN in the Navy, the trend for the past 5-8 years is that people who end up at Portsmouth or Bethesda (NCC) go straight through with uninterrupted training. Bethesda fights to keep its OB residents from doing GMOs. Also, there aren't as many returning GMOs that want to do OB at those places. San Diego is a different story and varies from year to year. Some years almost everyone in the intern class ends up doing a GMO and other years only 1 person has to do a GMO.