Navy MED VIP Trip

[Maverick10]

Has anybody gone on the Navy Medical VIP trip to San Diego? If so, how was it? Did you actually get to speak w/ Navy docs, interns, residents, or med school students on their AT? Was it beneficial/informative...or just a waste of time?

Thanks.

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[IgD]

Link??

 

[Maverick10]

Link??

Link?? What are you talking about?

 

[tech2doc]

I think the OP's talking about how the Navy will pay for potential recruits a trip to San Diego to visit one of the hospitals and talk to physicians, residents, HPSP's, etc. When I was considering Navy HPSP, they told me about this also, but I never took the trip.

 

[NavyFP]

Has anybody gone on the Navy Medical VIP trip to San Diego? If so, how was it? Did you actually get to speak w/ Navy docs, interns, residents, or med school students on their AT? Was it beneficial/informative...or just a waste of time?

Thanks.

Yes, you do get to talk to docs, interns and residents. How many and for how long are really variable. You should go.

 

[IgD]

It's interesting the Navy focuses on recruiting but not retention. Wouldn't it be more cost effective to lower the churn rate?

 

[The White Coat Investor]

I'd go. I'd also ask to talk to as many docs on their first tour as you can find. Don't bother with the O-5s and O-6s. They've already made their bed. Only among the O-3s and O-4s will you find both positive and more importantly, negative points of view. They'll be more diplomatic than posts on here due to the lack of anonymity, but you'll hear the same things.

I met pre-meds on one of these and I told them the same things I say here, although I was more diplomatic.

 

[Kishkinde]

I just recently went on the MED Vip trip. It is a great opportunity for you to get to know what it is like to work for the Navy. We got to tour two ships, and go to the hospitals where the docs work. We met two physicians in two different specialities who had very different experiences in the Navy, one positive, one not so positive(and they were honest about their reasons). After perusing on this forum for quite a bit, I formulated questions of my own to ask, which they answered. Than we got to tour the hospitals and see the working environment.

We also got to meet residents that had been through GMO tours, and residents that had gone through straight through training, and hear about the disadvantages and advantages.

Obviously the Navy is trying to recruit you when you are going on one of these trips, so you get a nice hotel room and all three meals covered, in which dinner for both nights(it was 3 day 2 night trip) was quite extravagant in the heart of San Diego at Gas Lamp!

I met quite of few people and got even quite close with them. We shared about our lousy experiences with our recruiteres and the pros and cons of working for the military, especially with the Navy.

Overall it was an informative trip with some nice benefits whether you decide to join or not.

If you have any specific questions, feel free to PM me.

I definitely recommend this trip to anyone considering doing Navy Med.

 

[IgD]

They should ask my friend who will be deployed one week after graduating residency. Oh wait, he won't be around They told him he was going to Iraq then at the last minute dumped a deployment to Afghanistan on him. I wonder what factors went behind that last minute decision change?

 

[tweaked17]

I met quite of few people and got even quite close with them. We shared about our lousy experiences with our recruiteres and the pros and cons of working for the military, especially with the Navy.

Overall it was an informative trip with some nice benefits whether you decide to join or not.

. . .

I definitely recommend this trip to anyone considering doing Navy Med.

x2. I'm east coast, so they sent me to VA last month. If you've really done your homework, you will learn very little; in fact, you will probably be confused because of all the misinformation flying around and find yourself correcting people, even recruiters. I was shocked at the level of awareness of some other applicants and some of our hosts.

It really amazed me that they would spend such a large amount of money in hopes of recruiting me, when I hadn't even signed any binding documents. I can definitely see how a less-informed, less skeptical person might be enamored by a MED VIP trip - especially if it's their first contact with the military.

I think it would be more cost effective to fix the retention problem, and hopefully the political tides will continue to turn in a way that forces them to focus on some of those issues in the near future.

 

[Sarg's kid]

Has anybody gone on the Navy Medical VIP trip to San Diego? If so, how was it? Did you actually get to speak w/ Navy docs, interns, residents, or med school students on their AT? Was it beneficial/informative...or just a waste of time?

Thanks.

I went to Brooke Army Hospital in San Antonio with the Army. The trip was really great. Lots of face time with the gme coordinator to ask any questions that we wanted. Little bit of hurry up and wait, but definitely worth the time. I also spent the morning with the chief of anesthesiology. It was just the two of us and he took me into several different procedures. He also talked to me about residency options in the military and how to go about getting into the residency that you want.

The physical that I got on that trip was way more relaxed than the one I got through MEPS for USUHS.

 

[DoctaJMa]

I agree with Sarg's kid about the Army experience. I did all my paperwork for the Navy and they wouldnt send me to San Diego until I went to MEPS and passed. Well needless to say I had a DQ for shoulder surgery. Again they didnt want to send me until I got cleared for a wavier. Well they didnt clear me for a wavier. So I didnt even get to go...

In the mean time I had been talking with the Army and they sent me down to San Antonio. Before I went to knew it was something I could do for four years, but once I got down there I could see myself making a career of it. The Sargeants that are there as your escorts are great. They know how to make sure you have a good time. BTW the Army granted me a wavier for my shoulder. I get boarded at the end of the month for HPSP!!!

 

[Gastrapathy]

Retention problems can't just be "fixed." And now that the flow is back up, there is no great pressure to do so. Retirees are very expensive. I'm not sure the military really wants most of us to stay.

Did you really get sent to a VA to see what military medicine is like? Thats very odd.

 

[backrow]

Did you really get sent to a VA to see what military medicine is like? Thats very odd.

I think he's referring to NMC Portsmouth.....too many acronyms.

 

[tweaked17]

Retention problems can't just be "fixed." And now that the flow is back up, there is no great pressure to do so. Retirees are very expensive. I'm not sure the military really wants most of us to stay.

Did you really get sent to a VA to see what military medicine is like? Thats very odd.

Backrow is right, it was NMC Portsmouth (sorry, it didn't occur to me that VA would be confusing). Overall, it was a good experience, but as I said, not very beneficial to those who really did their homework. I liked to think of it as the last time the Navy will be kissing my butt and giving me free stuff.

I would recommend it for those who are on the fence, but please take everything with a grain of salt (if you're a member of this forum, you already know that).

 

[BrickHouseMD]

Take the trip. Stock up on all the free coffee cups, t-shirts, ball caps, pens, etc that you can get your hands on. You gotta get your money out of Uncle Sam somehow. They make nice giveaways for friends and family. Your 6-year old cousin doesn't give a crap that you're a doctor or whatever, all they know is that you look like GI Joe and that makes you AWESOME in their book.

 

[RugbyJC]

They should ask my friend who will be deployed one week after graduating residency. Oh wait, he won't be around They told him he was going to Iraq then at the last minute dumped a deployment to Afghanistan on him. I wonder what factors went behind that last minute decision change?

Wow, you mean the military deploys people?!?

 

[IgD]

Wow, you mean the military deploys people?!?

Let's suppose it was your turn to go on a scheduled routine deployment. What do you think would be fair? How much notice should you be given to prepare you and your family?

 

[NavyFP]

Let's suppose it was your turn to go on a scheduled routine deployment. What do you think would be fair? How much notice should you be given to prepare you and your family?

I have had as long as 6 months and as little as 3 days. I think 3 months is the optimal. Too long and they perseverate. Too short, there are little things that can't get done. 3 months lets you dot the i's and cross the t's.

 

[IgD]

The point I was trying to make is it is important to really research a job before you accept a position. Some will tell you anything in order to bring you in. If a deployment is routine and known about 6-12 mos in advance, I would argue that there is no reason for a last minute orders change especially in the absence of any true emergency. I think it is important for prospective applicants to know that the they can and will be deployed at any point and there are no guarantees.

 

[Gastrapathy]

Welcome to thread-jack land. This sounds like something worth doing. NMCSD is as busy and big a hospital as there is in the Navy. Try to talk to as many folks as you can.