Navy HPSP-open disc.

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j8463dp

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I am starting a discussion area for Navy HPSP students. I am a M1 and 1st year HPSP student. I also have a Navy HPSP discussion area in the DO directory.
 
Hey do they still have the gmo requirement? that would be the thing that would keep me out of it. If it was gone then I would probably think about it.
 
Do you think that it will be gone soon like in the next 4yrs because I wouldnt mind serving with the marines.
 
I don't understand. Do you want to do a GMO tour or not? I thought that serving with the marines is a "GMO" tour. And when I say GMO I am talking about practicing medicine after your internship but before completing a residency and becoming BE/BC, thus encompassing all the operational medicine tours. I was under the impression that they will never get rid of the GMO entirely. None of the branches will because there will probably always be the need.

GEo
 
Serving as a physician at a navy hospital at a marine installation. Places like Camp Lejeune, Cherry point, beaufort nas. I spent time in the corps. And would probably feel more comfortable in cammys or around ground pounders. I am also considering the Army because the seem to have their s*** together a little more than the Navy or Air force.
 
If you have any questions about the Army, I could answer those a little better.

2LTGeoLeoX
HPSP USAR MC
 
First on the army how hard is it to get residencies, second how hard is it to get the duty station that you want. And are there billets with the rangers and airborne and is there an age cutoff for the billets. Thanks.
 
The Navy Discussion thread in the Osteopathic section deals with many of the gaps in navy and army info in this one.
Also, the Army vs. Navy section in Osteo has some other good info.
would I be correct in saying, GMO or not, you are going to spend the same time paying back HPSP in the Army as You will in the Navy?
 
HERE ARE SOME GOOD WEBSITES ABOUT NAVY HPSP. I thought I'd pass them on...

(Officer Indoctrination School) http://www.cnet.navy.mil/netc/ois/
(Navy Magazine) http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/allhands/ah0197/contents.html
(Association of Military Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons Website) http://www.amops.org/
(HPSP official website) http://nshs.med.navy.mil/hpsp/
(Medical Corps professional programs site) http://nshs.med.navy.mil/gme/mcpp.htm
(Compares private docs vs navy docs salaries) http://navymedicine.med.navy.mil/med00mc/Internet%20Information/provtxt.pdf
(Interesting stay - navy site) http://www.staynavy.navy.mil/default.asp?increment=0&page=about_ccd/mission_and_initiatives.htm
 
The "GMOs are going away" speech has been in circulation for the past 10+ years. The lastest word is the Navy is short on GMOs this coming year (and they're not counting the number handing in their resignation letters this summer). The few people I saw go straight through either had pervious operational experience or were a shortage specialty.
+95% of my internship class at Postmouth/Bethesda/San Deigo was "deferred" to do a GMO tour- and with the TRI(S)CARE HMO. It's my impression that many GMOs like myself are opting to head for civilian land to complete Residency.
 
Flea:
I take in you are with the Navy HPSP. What tips would you have for people like myself who are just starting out? Where are the good clerkships for 3rd and 4th year, also internship? When they assign you a GMO, do they give you several choices or only one place?

What do you mean when you say because of TRICARE HMO that most people are trying to do civilian residency? Is the system not good? What are the negatives of doing a Navy RES. ?
THANKS
J
 
ALso, where are you serving as a GMO? on land or sea? If you have served at sea, how is that ? How long have you been sent out for at a time? Has the ship been large or small? Have there been other docs aboard ?

thanks

J
 
As far as 3rd and 4th year clerkships, make an extra effort to make your 4th year more of an acting internship. Definately cater your schedule to the ortho(outpatient)/ER/derm/ FP electives(one advantage to doing them in the military hospitals is that the attendings and residents tend to teach more on the "when your shipwrecked on an island" mentality- the chances of you being isolated with no communication or back up is good on many tours--Knowing how long you can sit on a guy with a.fib and a open fracture becomes helpful and "less" of a pucker.
This carries onto internship--I've had friends "granted" a civilian internship and were put at a significant disadvantge when they were billeted as solo practitioners in Kosovo with little exposure to the military, infectious disease tx/prevention and no other physician to talk to. The IM, FP, and transitional internships seems to prepare you best (MOST of what you'll see is psych, colds, and the occasional train wreck -figurative and literal).
Most GMOs end up on Ships, Marines,Subs (as a UMO and you don't deploy), Sea Bees (mobile construction workers), or stuck in a Clinic (working for TRICARE). From talking with other GMOs Carriers are a pretty good tour (probably the best type of tour- you've got back up and you get to travel-- ALOT).
I was with the SeaBees for 2 years- the corpsmen were great and I logged enough air miles to circle the world (we were deployed 3/4 of the time). Although there were some good things, I would not willingly do it over/again. You can e-mail me if you want the details.
Then there's TRICARE, the bean counters have taken over- your free and captive labor. You are scheduled pts every 15-20 min with little support staff and alot of paperwork (someone has to count the beans).
I opted to make the final two years as a bean counting tour to prep for residency. The Navy began excuding >65yo from the clinics and hospitals 5 yrs ago- I didn't want a residency that excluded that age group. 😉
 
Flea:

What tips would you have about attending OIS in Newport. What must we bring ? What should we leave at home? How is a normal day like? ANy other tips or advice would be appreciated .

thanks
 
Hay, guys, one question what is GMO, I mean do you have to have one year of internship done or what. I can't find an exact answer.
 
Leutenant Geolex, is it true for all branches?
 
Dreamer....

GMO = General Medical Officer

From what I heard you can be stationed for up to two years..... Please correct me if I'm wrong.... I sure would like to know that real answer to this as well.

It's not true of all branches.... I believe the Army and Air Force have eliminated their GMO duties.

That's the limited knowledge I can share....

As for what to bring to OIS.... Shouldn't your med corp recruiter have given you a pamphlet of instructions on what to bring? If not, you should bug them about it....

Good luck to those of you going off to OIS!!!
😎
 
As a new selectee for the Navy HPSP, I, too, have been trying to figure out what a GMO is. After talking with a flight surgeon and an FP (talk to your recruiter for contacts), and doing a little Internet research (type "General Medical Officer" into google.com), let me see if I understand what it's all about.

GMO's are the core doctors in the Navy. After serving a year of internship, most HPSP docs do a GMO tour, which can last 1-4 years, but usually 2-3. These can be in clinics, bases, or on ships, and with both sailors and Marines all over the world. As a GMO, my impression is that you're an officer first, a doc second. You supervise corpsmen, who are providing most of the general care. On board ship, for example, you are (most often) the department head, and report directly to the captain and the XO. You are in charge of all the administrative stuff that happens in your department, from ordering supplies to performing inspections in the galley.

From my perspective, it's an opportunity to have a lot of fun while learning a lot about leadership and responsibility--to have the Navy experience. From the Navy's perspective, they're getting officers with medical training to oversee the corpsmen and to ensure that the sailors and Marines are combat-ready (which can lead us into all sorts of ethical debates about the role of physicians in the military, but not on this thread, please).

It also appears that a GMO tour is a gold star on your record, particuarly when applying for residencies and fellowships. The more you accomplish/the higher your praise from superiors, the greater your chance of securing that derm residency you always wanted.

Please feel free to clairify or correct anything I've said. (I just felt compelled to answer this question before the tread went away.)
 
Look at all my fellow Oregonians! This place is usually pretty poorly represented by us.

Dreamer, from my research all of the branches still have the GMO. According to the Army reps with which I spoke the GMO will never go away because there is always a need and some people choose it as a "lifestyle". The GMO is much more rare in the Army and Air Force than in the Navy.

Hope this helps,

Geo
 
so help me understand this i was under the impression that

a) first you do medical school
b) fulfill residency
c) as required to participate as a GMO on a float or vessel unless specialty makes it unsuitable to perform as a GMO

do you act as a GMO before you take your residency?
 
again, yes.

Unless someone corrects me I believe that the GMO has completed medical school and the first-year of graduate medical education (FYGME, aka internship). At that point, one can take USMLE III and be a practicing physician. Not a board-eligible or certified physician, though. The military doesn't seem to care - you are a cheap drug-prescriber for them (that's not meant to be as cynical as it sounds). After completion of GMO (provided you have paid back your entire obligation as such) you are a free-agent. You can sign back on again for a military residency or you can enter the civilian world.

Geo
 
As I prepare to attend OIS next week I was wondering if anyone had any insight into whether or not there is a telephone jack in each room. I'm considering bringing a laptop to communicate with my family better. If anyone knows tell me about it. Thanks.
 
To those of you going to OIS this June.... *salute*.... Good luck and congratulations!!!
 
FLea:
I just signed on to Navy HPSP and get the impression that you've got some issues with Navy placments etc.. please email me details.

I'll be interested in NON-ship deployement?
What disciplines get to go straight to residency?
Options for foreign placment but not on a ship.
etc..
etc..

Strom 'I've fallen and I can't get up' thurmond
 
GoeLeoX is 100% correct!

If your Navy HPSP PLAN on doing a GMO tour, and you won't be caught off guard. There are only a few people that are not "invited" to do a GMO tour and that's not going to change any time soon.
We are cheap/less skilled labor and no Board Certified person in there right mind would willingly take these positions-- you'd lose your skills (too narrow a pt population) and the deployable billets are gone ALOT.

I DO think doing a GMO tour is the least of all the evils--(for us, not necessarily our patients)

1. If you plan on staying in forever- it gives you the insight you'll need and it's an important box to check to promotion/getting a compeditive residency.
2. If you don't know what you want to do, it gives you #1 AND the flexability to opt out earlier. 😉
3. If you want out- you'll get out earlier (by at least 2 years) and when you start filling out those residency applications again, you can say you did "something" with your life after internship. 🙂

OIS- piece of cake! I took a trip to martha's vineyard and went to a Jimmy Buffet concert..lots of good dining. Remember - they've spent a chunk of money on you and it's NOT boot camp (even though they may pretend at first)- the Navy loses money if your weeded out. It's basically there so you don't look like a complete idiot when you hit real active duty.
 
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