Ophthalmology as a Military Doc

[Fishsticks]

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Hey Everyone,

I was hoping to start a new thread regarding life as a military ophthalmologist. I'll start with a quick background. I'm a 3rd year medical student and I'm planning on applying to civilian ophthalmology this summer. I've thought about serving in the military throughout my entire life. My grandfather was a lifer, and both my father and uncle served. You may wonder why I didn't do HPSP or go to USUHS, the short answer is that I was lucky enough to be offered a very good scholarship to attend my dream medical school. Reading this forum back as a premed made me aware of the possibility of doing FAP through one of the branches, so I knew I'd still have the option at the end of medical school.

I basically want to join the military because I've had an strong urge to dedicate at least a portion of my life to serving those who serve our country. Is the FAP still a viable option for ophthalmology? When applying to FAP can we apply to all 3 branches to increase the odds of getting a spot? Can we receive FAP benefits PGY1-PGY4? What is the process/possibility/outlook on pursuit of fellowship? <-- I imagine this is related to the needs of the military. Are any military ophthalmologists active in research? Does anyone have an updated perspective on life as a military ophthalmologist? What branch has the most favorable future projection for ophthalmology?

Tons of questions! I know many of them have been answered in previous threads, however, I think it'd be advantageous to have some updated answers.

Thanks in advance for your time,
Fishsticks

Feel free to PM me if you'd like

 

[backrow]

Try looking on the ophtho forum for Andrew Doan, he should be able to help answer some of your questions.

 

[orbitsurgMD]

Try looking on the ophtho forum for Andrew Doan, he should be able to help answer some of your questions.

LOL, I just told him to bring his post over here.

 

[orbitsurgMD]

If you aren't taking the military's money now, then I recommend you stick with civilian training programs. There are relatively few military ophthalmology residency slots and their competitiveness is, well, disproportionate to that which you might find of equivalent quality in a civilian program. You could always join the reserves and even try for one of their programs like FAP (although if you have little debt having had a scholarship, then there is little reason to take FAP, as it might limit your flexibility in getting fellowships or other things training-related.)

You really have a good deal in the way of a medical school scholarship. It makes no sense to tie your hands over what FAP would offer you. When you don't owe the military for money they have fronted you, you have an enormous amount of leverage in dealing with them. Don't give that up.

 

[Gastrapathy]

Good advice above. You could PM CDR Doan as well.

If you want a fellowship, you should finish all your training before joining.