Need advice regarding deferrment

[dave40]

I know a few of you on here were able to acquire full deferrments through the Navy. There is little in the handbook on this topic and I was wondering if anyone can give me some advice on this topic.

Do I need to schedule a meeting with the selection board, sumbit written requests, etc.? Some have mentioned that they wait until they see how many civilian interviews you get before deciding...any truth to this?


any help is greatly appreciated...

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Croooz]

Not any detailed info but info still the same....

-Start asking and keep on asking. There is alot to be said for snail mail letters and phone conversations. Regardless what the technologically advanced yet military inexperienced say.
-Don't take no for an answer.
-Once you get a "yes" hold on to it for dear life.
-Understand that with every new "decision maker" the policies change, regardless of what "the book" says.

I can't help you specifically with deferment info. This comes from the transplant surgeon I worked for who got surgery, 2 years for PhD, transplant fellow, & 2 years of research...ALL deferred...till payback started. Will you be able to do the same? Not sure but the advice is sound.

Fear not. Someone will post with more specific info. Good luck.

 

[Walasse]

If I recall correctly, the Navy will post the number of deferrals for each specialty for HPSP students sometime in the fall. The program is called NADDS (Navy Active Duty Delay for Specialits). Of course, it's all based on the needs of the navy.

Generally, it's the subspecialties which are poorly represented in the fleet which have the opportunity to train outside the military. My recommendations (and the course I took to get my full deferral) is to definitely do an early fourth year rotation at a navy hospital. The difficulty is this (as explained to my chief resident at the time, who had wanted to get a full deferral but was selected for the military residency); you need to impress the attendings enough, but not enough that they want you. That is an extremely hard line to follow. I would recommend busting your ass and showing them that you're a superstar and would be an incredible asset once you join the fleet. Then, be honest with your desire to train outside the navy for whatever reason (ie family, strength of specific program...).

Also, communicate with the specialty leader for the navy, regardless of where they're stationed and also let them know of your interests to train in the civilian world. When they convene for the selection process, you'll need an advocate, either in person (if your attending is involved) or through a strong letter of recommendation from your military rotation. The person who will not get the deferral is one who fastidiously avoids the military and is not personally known by someone in the military.

Be prepared not to get it. If you look at the statistics, the full deferral is very few and far between and very competitive. And if you've done well during your rotation, you'll be able to pick the residency.

Good luck.

 

[bobbyseal]

I know a few of you on here were able to acquire full deferrments through the Navy. There is little in the handbook on this topic and I was wondering if anyone can give me some advice on this topic.

Do I need to schedule a meeting with the selection board, sumbit written requests, etc.? Some have mentioned that they wait until they see how many civilian interviews you get before deciding...any truth to this?


any help is greatly appreciated...

This is basically what happened to me when I got my deferment from the Navy this year.

First of all, I kept in touch with the GME coordinator and got information as to how many people were granted deferments over the years for the specialty I was interested in. With that in mind I knew I had a shot at getting a deferment.

Sometime during the summer/fall, the coordinator sent out an email with 2 bits of info. The first was the projected # of deferments to be granted in the various specialties. I think if you do a search on this forum you'll see what the #'s were for this year. Then, she gave out the info of the specialty leaders. Once I got the contact info of my specialty leader, I got in touch with him and told him of my desire for a deferment.

I never did get to have an in person interview with him though. I spoke with him on the phone for about 20 minutes discussing the field and the Navy. After that, I kept in contact with him via email through the interview process.

As for Navy rotations, I did a rotation in the summer that wasn't the specialty I had planned on going into. I guess it didn't hurt me that much as I got my deferment. While I was there, I let everyone know that I would be willing to do an internship there, but I told them that my first choice was the full deferment.

I applied to a boat load of programs which was good and bad. The bad part was that I have spent an exorbitant amount of money on interview fees and travel expenses. The good part was that I got a boat load of interviews to go with it. My theory was that I needed to show the navy that I was going to be able to match. Plus, the specialty I was applying to was somewhat competitive so I wanted the increase odds. So, once I got all my interview offers I let the specialty leader know where I was going to interview.

All in all, I got my deferment and now I'm very happy.

 

[navysurgeon]

i got a full deferrment for general surgery residency 7 years ago, from the Navy...I was an HPSP, was graduating AOA, and had interview invites to all of the heavy-hitter gen surg programs...hopkins, harvard, UCSF etc..

i wrote a letter to the selection board and explained that basically i was going to match at a better training program than what the Navy had to offer. i told them i was interested in trauma (which was true, at the time), and that i was aware that navy training programs are weak in this regard...

i got my deferrment.

you gotta write letters and make phone calls. it works.

i did two fourth year navy rotations, one at bethesda, and one in san diego. got letters of rec from both locations, with the specific statement in the letter that i should be allowed to train outside of the navy. i obviously discussed this preference with the letter authors. they all agreed it was a good plan.

hope it all works out for you guys.

TNS