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Howdy all,
I have been accepted to USUHS and I am seeking input from ARMY docs who can share their experiences. Here is my situation. I have been accepted to USUHS. I have also been interviewed, waitlisted at SLU and Georgetown but USUHS is my only outright acceptance. Just this wednesday I fed-exed my appointment packet to Louis Taylor but I haven't yet taken my oath and I find it hard to believe that the massive bureaucracy that is the Army can process my orders by the 12th of June (and give me enough time to get to San Antone!). Assuming that it can, I have a decision to make very soon. USUHS or not?
To be honest I am primarily interested in the medical aspect of being a military doctor but I know I could get on and enjoy myself at USUHS. It is the time after graduation that worries me. What I want to get out of my experience is this. I would like to graduate straight into a radiology or rad oncology residency or something similar. I do NOT want to spend time as a GMO. From reading posts here, it seems primary care in the army is not very fulfilling and that is not a field I would prefer to be in the military( or civi life for that matter). This assessment was backup by my experience at Walter R during my DODMERB physical. I would not want the job of the doc who gave me my standard physical.
This is why I chose the ARMY as my branch. From what little I know, it sounds like Navy docs end up marooned on boats as GMO too frequently (or at least the ones who do love to bitch about it on this forum) and it sounds like the army offers more residencies than AF. Army sounds like the best bet to land a residency in a specialty. Know I know that nothing is guaranteed but what are my chances at this coming out of USUHS? How much a + factor is being a USUHS grad vs a grad from a civi school on a HPSP scholarship?
I also have run into a couple posts here which worry me. Some are saying that some specialists are not having their skills fully utilized at their posting after their residency. My Uncle was a civi doc who knew quite a few army docs back in his day and he always got the impression that army specialists were kept busy in their field and came out of their service sharp as a tack. Is this still true? It doesn't make any sense to get a top notch residency training and then have you skills atrophy from disuse.
I would very much appreciate any input anyone can give me although I would very much prefer to hear from ARMY docs your experiences are likely to be at least somewhat different from Navy and AF folks.
Thanks,
Alex
I have been accepted to USUHS and I am seeking input from ARMY docs who can share their experiences. Here is my situation. I have been accepted to USUHS. I have also been interviewed, waitlisted at SLU and Georgetown but USUHS is my only outright acceptance. Just this wednesday I fed-exed my appointment packet to Louis Taylor but I haven't yet taken my oath and I find it hard to believe that the massive bureaucracy that is the Army can process my orders by the 12th of June (and give me enough time to get to San Antone!). Assuming that it can, I have a decision to make very soon. USUHS or not?
To be honest I am primarily interested in the medical aspect of being a military doctor but I know I could get on and enjoy myself at USUHS. It is the time after graduation that worries me. What I want to get out of my experience is this. I would like to graduate straight into a radiology or rad oncology residency or something similar. I do NOT want to spend time as a GMO. From reading posts here, it seems primary care in the army is not very fulfilling and that is not a field I would prefer to be in the military( or civi life for that matter). This assessment was backup by my experience at Walter R during my DODMERB physical. I would not want the job of the doc who gave me my standard physical.
This is why I chose the ARMY as my branch. From what little I know, it sounds like Navy docs end up marooned on boats as GMO too frequently (or at least the ones who do love to bitch about it on this forum) and it sounds like the army offers more residencies than AF. Army sounds like the best bet to land a residency in a specialty. Know I know that nothing is guaranteed but what are my chances at this coming out of USUHS? How much a + factor is being a USUHS grad vs a grad from a civi school on a HPSP scholarship?
I also have run into a couple posts here which worry me. Some are saying that some specialists are not having their skills fully utilized at their posting after their residency. My Uncle was a civi doc who knew quite a few army docs back in his day and he always got the impression that army specialists were kept busy in their field and came out of their service sharp as a tack. Is this still true? It doesn't make any sense to get a top notch residency training and then have you skills atrophy from disuse.
I would very much appreciate any input anyone can give me although I would very much prefer to hear from ARMY docs your experiences are likely to be at least somewhat different from Navy and AF folks.
Thanks,
Alex
), you should probably reconsider USUHS. You are looking at med school plus residency plus 7 years devoted to the military. So, unless you are willing to spend at least 14 years (assuming a minimum 3 year residency) in a military environment, DO NOT go to USUHS.
