Plastic Surgeon in Navy HPSP

[broll05]

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I am currently a junior in my undergraduate studies with a gpa around a 3.9, what is likelyhood that i could become a general and reconstructive plastic surgeon in the navy under the hpsp? Also, if by doing this, would i still be able to practice as a civilian once out of active duty? Any help on this topic would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Founder]

Your undergrad GPA doesn't really mean anything when you apply to those programs. From what I get with the HPSP and Navy a lot of GMO tours are going away so people can do interships.

I'd imagine that'd be in high demand with Iraq and Afganistan. Anything in high demand increases your chances. 🙂

And a Navy doctor is a doctor is a doctor is a doctor.

 

[dEviantrAdiologist]

I am currently a junior in my undergraduate studies with a gpa around a 3.9, what is likelyhood that i could become a general and reconstructive plastic surgeon in the navy under the hpsp? Also, if by doing this, would i still be able to practice as a civilian once out of active duty? Any help on this topic would be greatly appreciated.

Going into plastic surgery while in HPSP would likely take many, many, many years to attain. I looked into this early on in medical school (I was/am HPSP in the Navy) and I was told its basically impossible... it can happen but don't count on it being easy. The easiest (as if getting into plastics is easy) thing to do would be to do medical school on your own and then sign up with FAP after getting accepted into a civilian residency for plastic surgery. The military will pay you money in addition to your civilian salary. In turn you will owe the military time AFTER residency is finished.

Also, try and talk with some plastic surgeons in the Navy and see what route they took and what types of procedures they can actually perform in the military. If you want to keep up your elective surgery skills, the military is unlikely the best place to be.

 

[Gastrapathy]

Your undergrad GPA doesn't really mean anything when you apply to those programs. From what I get with the HPSP and Navy a lot of GMO tours are going away so people can do interships.

I'd imagine that'd be in high demand with Iraq and Afganistan. Anything in high demand increases your chances. 🙂

And a Navy doctor is a doctor is a doctor is a doctor.

I have no idea what this post means.

First, if you get into medical school and want HPSP, its all yours.

Second, you might or might not have to do a GMO tour to complete General Surgery or ENT residency (the most common routes to plastics fellowships). After you complete your residency, you would most likely have to do a utilization tour as a staff in your chosen specialty prior to having any chance of a plastics fellowship. Then you would owe time after your fellowship that would likely keep you in for a career. You might or might not ever get to train in plastics. There are only 2 gen surg trained plastic surgeons and one ENT plastics at my large MTF.

As for the comment about "a doctor is a doctor"...I think he's saying that anyone can deploy in operational billets but this is really an oversimplification. I won't ever deploy in a general surgery job and a general surgeon won't fill the one operational GI billet in the Navy (its in Kuwait).

 

[NavyFP]

I agree there are a number of issues here.

1) Can you train to be a plastic surgeon in the Navy?
Yes. There are two primary routes. Complete a GS or ENT residency and apply for a fellowship. Often you will have to complete a 3 year tour as a GS/ENT and then go off to fellowship (civilian) but the Navy will pay you as a practicing GS/ENT which will mean a salary of $100+K as a fellow. (beats the $40K you would get as a hospital paid fellow). The other route would be a full deferment for GS/Plastics. There is often one per year. (but no guarantee.) This allows you to fully train as a plastic surgeon as a civilian and paid by the civilian program. At the end of the training you come back in and pay back the 4 years.

2) Do you really want to be a plastic surgeon?
Many students who enter med school with a specialty in mind end up changing their minds. It is more likely than not, that you will ultimately end up in another specialty, so planning for multiple outcomes is prudent.

3) Do you want to be in the Navy?
You do need to want to be in the Navy.

4) What is the overall possibility?
2012 and beyond are way to far in the future to give a good prediciton. Probably not 100% or 0%.

 

[broll05]

I guess from what i'm hearing is that this may not be the best route to take. I have shadowed numerous medical professions and am fairly sure that plastics is the profession for me. Is there an easier way for me to combine my passion for plastics as well as for the armed services. I would really like to either be a part of the Navy or the Marines, but i was told that the Marines do not have any medical related fields so i have decided on the Navy. If there is a better route for me to take to combine plastics as well as the Navy please let me know.

 

[Founder]

I have no idea what this post means.
).

He posted his undergrad GPA which doesn't matter if he wants a surgical position. I said Iraq and Afganistan with the injuries there would be a higher demand, and if you need more of X doctors your chances are increased you can get it. And he asked if he could practice medicine once he left the military and I responded a Navy doctor is a doctor.

 

[IgD]

What percentage of plastic surgery is cosmetics? I was always under the impression that elective cosmetic surgery was not permitted in the military. If that is true how can you train to be plastic surgeon?

 

[Roshario]

What percentage of plastic surgery is cosmetics? I was always under the impression that elective cosmetic surgery was not permitted in the military. If that is true how can you train to be plastic surgeon?

Cosmetic surgery is allowed in the military. I remember a message/ memo going around a couple of years ago stating the stipulations of cosmetic surgery but it was available.

 

[Gastrapathy]

We do a ton of cosmetic stuff. It's all free. No joke.

Why joke about something as important as keeping our OR nurses from sagging too much?

 

[Galo]

We do a ton of cosmetic stuff. It's all free. No joke.

It all depends of where you are and who your boss is and how they interpret the rules. First off, if you are a chick and want an implant, you have to pay for the implant yourself. THe surgery schedule and time is often booked months in advance. For example, in our MTF, we had two young aggressive plastic guys, and they were booked for months, doing whole body lifts, and the gamut of plastics, it was truly amazing. They, of course, left the second their commintment was up, and the 0-6 that came out of private practice made it widely and quickly know that he would be doing NO COSMETIC surgery. SO like many aspects of the military, it depends.

 

[Dr. Wexler]

What percentage of plastic surgery is cosmetics? I was always under the impression that elective cosmetic surgery was not permitted in the military. If that is true how can you train to be plastic surgeon?

Not all plastic surgery is cosmetic. In fact, plastic surgery has its roots in the military. Plastic surgery got its start after WWI fixing up deformed soldiers.

 

[MonkeyBread]

In the plastics clinic I'm at right now, no more than 20% of the work (calculated by RVUs) can be cosmetic. The cosmetic cases are cash money only, must be paid in advance before scheduling. The money then goes into the pockets of the hospital.

The remainder is reconstructive (nerve grafts after bullets blow out legs, grafts over burns, flaps over hardware, etc). Surgeons can manipulate the history, so that a breast augmentation may be considered reversing a congenital defect. If plastic surgeons only did reconstruction in the Navy, they would lose their cosmetic skills, and many of them would not want to stay in.

To get plastic surgery with the Navy, first get into medical school, then get through medical school, then get through a general surgery residency, then get through a utilization tour or two, THEN worry about getting a fellowship. It's a long road, and you're just at the start.

- MB

 

[MonkeyBread]

Tired:
You are exactly right. I saw a surgeon do a breast implant because the breasts were asymmetrical, which he said was congenital, and most easily fixed with a boob job.

 

[drchick331]

Broll05,

Consider the FAP route: you go through school, get into a residency, then sign up. They pay a minimal monthly stipend while in school, plus a "bonus" for your loan payback.

Also, while technically true that the Corps has no medical personnel, they use Navy Corpsmen, Nurses, and Doctors. Thus, while assigned to a Marine operational unit, you dress the same, and are essentially a Marine. Your level of "marine-ness" depends upon your personality, and how hoo-ahh you are. Discussion of the medical corps' (lack of) military bearing is another can of worms that we can get into later on.

What was posted earlier about going through med school, internship, potentially a GMO, residency, then 1+ utilization tours as a gen surgeon, followed by an FTOS fellowship and plastics tours for payback is accurate. It's a long row to hoe, but one becomes inured to the time, and you learn to enjoy where you are. The money is better in the short-term, but you will lose out big-time long term. If your motivation isn't ultimate financial compensation, you'll never be hurting while in the Navy, so while not the most lucrative, it is certainly enjoyable, and you will have enough to be very comfortable.

Do yourself a favor: talk to actual Navy plastic surgeons. The Navy (joint-service) selection board is a much more interesting thing than first explained, and bears some investigation. Talk to civilian plastic surgeons. Remember that either way, you're matching into the single most competitive specialty, as measured by board scores. There are only ~80 categorical spots for plastics training in the nation, in fewer than 50 programs. Average board scores on USMLE are in the >250's-260's. There are multiple routes, including the fellowship route, where one first completes at least 3 years of a gen surg/ent/omfs residency, then matches, and there are few more spots there. Point being that plastics is a tough match, and you'd better be top of your class.

My advice would be to start with the intern coordinators at each of the three major Navy hospitals: Balboa (San Diego), Portsmouth, and Bethesda. They can get you in touch with the plastics people, who are usually very willing to help out an up-and-comer.

Best of Luck,

Navy LT
(posting under my wife's account)

 

[broll05]

Thank you Lieutenant that was very informative and a great help.