Primary Care...

[stonewall22]

I have read that one of the knocks against mil med is a loss of skills due to low case loads, particularly in the surgical specialties. However, I was wondering about primary care? I'm assuming there is plenty to keep you busy? How about OB/Gyn...are there a high number of OB cases?

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[Mirror Form]

I have read that one of the knocks against mil med is a loss of skills due to low case loads, particularly in the surgical specialties. However, I was wondering about primary care? I'm assuming there is plenty to keep you busy? How about OB/Gyn...are there a high number of OB cases?

It all depends. Maybe, maybe not. Basically you're rolling the dice w/ mil med in regard to the above.

For example, maybe you'll be at a post that has a low case load. Or maybe you'll be at a post that gets tons of OB/gyn cases, but then you get deployed in an administrative position for 6-12 months and don't get to practice medicine once in that time peroid.

 

[BigNavyPedsGuy]

True, you can't know what it will be like during your payback time.

However, in my very biased opinion I thinkg that peds and OB are two of the Navy's best GME programs (at least at my MTF). A lot of the problems that other specialties run into from lack of trauma and geriatrics don't really affect us. A crapload of young families makes us have a good volume.

 

[HackFuJones]

True, you can't know what it will be like during your payback time.

However, in my very biased opinion I thinkg that peds and OB are two of the Navy's best GME programs (at least at my MTF). A lot of the problems that other specialties run into from lack of trauma and geriatrics don't really affect us. A crapload of young families makes us have a good volume.

what he said!! And from experience so far in the Army, most milmed primary care I would say is above average compared to civilian programs. Its no Hopkins but its pretty decent compared to a lot of the garbage residency programs that are out there.

 

[Homunculus]

primary care has plenty to go around. at MEDDAC's FP's do it all-- at mine they did everything from gomers in the icu to delivering babies.

and they delivered babies because there weren't enough OB's to go around. so they were busy, too.

and if it's one thing that pvt snuffy knows how to do, it's procreate. repeatedly. enough so that at our MEDDAC news of the arrival of a real "pediatrician" was met with shouts of joy to all the parents whose kids were being diverted off post due to lack of appointments. the excitment was only matched by the wailing and rioting that occurred when that pediatrician was deployed for a year to take care of adults, lol. i swear the parents were more exasperated than i was-- they finally get a pediatrician, then they take me (and another one) away for a year, leaving them less than they had to begin with.

so anyway, yeah, primary care is well-worked (to put it nicely) in the military. and at the MEDDACS your skills are forced to improve. everyone becomes something of a pseudo-subspecialist since subspecialty appts have 2+ months waiting time. 2 months gives you a lot of room to read up and try something instead of waiting around

--your friendly neighborhood pediatric pseudoinfectiogastronephrocardineuropulmirheumiallergineonatal caveman

 

[NavyFP]

I agree, primary care is busy. The training programs are all very good. And the pay is on a par with our civilian counterparts.

 

[glamqueen]

When you say not enough OB's to go around - does that mean if I match into OB/GYN - I should end up possibly ok? Is that a decent field for military med? I'm willing to roll the dice for sure (otherwise I wouldn't be commissioning), but I was just curious. To be honest, there is nearly not a specialty out there that doesn't interest me to some degree. Medicine in general is fascinating. I'd be cool doing any kind of medicine.

 

[edmadison]

I agree, primary care is busy. The training programs are all very good. And the pay is on a par with our civilian counterparts.

I've said this before and I will repeat it. I felt that I got great training for outpatient pediatrics. After all, I did train at the premier pediatrics program in the army (sharp barb pointing toward my deployed caveman colleague).

However, my acute care/inpatient training other than for NICU was minimal. Our volume of 4-10 ward patients for a team of 3 can't compare to the 40-50 patients per team of 6 at the academic center. If I was expected to do significant inpatient peds, I'd feel pretty insecure. On the other hand, I know that the graduates at the academic programs feel a little wary about being general community pediatricians.

Ed

 

[stonewall22]

Awesome! I think I want to be a pseudoinfectiogastronephrocardineuropulmirheumiallist when I grow up