Thank You American Taxpayers

[island doc]

Your tax dollars at work in HPSP: While in HPSP, you (the taxpayer) bought me a portable OMT (Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment) table. Top of the line, the most expensive model. Used at home during school as a student. Never once used during active duty service. Still in excellent condition. Now a gift to my daughter, a massage therapy student. She is getting good use of it.

To the American Taxpayer: Thank you very much.

Oh, and thanks for the Doctor's Bag, Syphgmomanometer, and the Welch Allyn Diagnostic Kit which you also gave me during HPSP. They have been great to have at home.

(Reason for this post is to provide an example of the wasteful spending which existed at the time.)

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[s42brown]

You're a weird guy.

They still pay for all that stuff. At my school we needed all that equipment for our labs and they pay for the shizt we need.

 

[island doc]

You're a weird guy.

They still pay for all that stuff. At my school we needed all that equipment for our labs and they pay for the shizt we need.

Thanks for the compliment.

I am sure you will really need that OMT table in rads, derm, plastics, or CT Surg. I doubt that you are planning on FP with OMT, or an OMT fellowship or are you?

Does the government really need to buy one just for the first two years of school or couldn't they just rent them? I am willing to bet that after you finish the first two years of med school you will not use it in an operational setting.

 

[UCBShocker]

So wait... first people complain about how bad military medicine is, and then there are complaints about the free stuff?

I must be an idiot, because I am just not getting it. By that logic you should be complaining about the fact that tax payers are paying for your education since so many previous complaints have to deal with never needing to use that either.

Hell I got thousands of dollars in text books and a PDA for free, neither of which I really use, but they give the (albeit false) appearence that I actually have an intellect when people walk into my apartment... so no complaints here. Oh your also paying for my apartment and car too, but I actually do use those... SO THANKS!

 

[DD214_DOC]

Do they pay for laptops if you attend a school that requires them?

 

[island doc]

So wait... first people complain about how bad military medicine is, and then there are complaints about the free stuff?

I must be an idiot, because I am just not getting it. By that logic you should be complaining about the fact that tax payers are paying for your education since so many previous complaints have to deal with never needing to use that either.

Hell I got thousands of dollars in text books and a PDA for free, neither of which I really use, but they give the (albeit false) appearence that I actually have an intellect when people walk into my apartment... so no complaints here. Oh your also paying for my apartment and car too, but I actually do use those... SO THANKS!

Whoa. I thought we were talking about OMT tables here. I did not know that the USUHS had converted to an osteopathic school. I wonder how many "Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences-College of Osteopathic Medicine" (USU-COM) graduates will use their portable OMT tables as a staff military osteopathic physician or surgeon working in the clinics.

 

[UCBShocker]

Whoa. I thought we were talking about OMT tables here. I did not know that the USUHS had converted to an osteopathic school. I wonder how many "Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences-College of Osteopathic Medicine" (USU-COM) graduates will use their portable OMT tables as a staff military osteopathic physician or surgeon working in the clinics.

We were? I thought we were talking about free stuff... certainly the blood pressure cuff and doctor's bag you mentioned cant be limited to DO schools. I read your post again, I am still not seeing that the conversation had to be confined to those nifty tables. I am sorry to say we actually don't get those, but I would definitly find a way to make it look snazzy in my living room and probably still not complain about it =).

 

[island doc]

We were? I thought we were talking about free stuff... certainly the blood pressure cuff and doctor's bag you mentioned cant be limited to DO schools. I read your post again, I am still not seeing that the conversation had to be confined to those nifty tables. I am sorry to say we actually don't get those, but I would definitly find a way to make it look snazzy in my living room and probably still not complain about it =).

Even though the AF clinics do not have enough doctors and nurses, they do manage to come up with a few BP cuffs and otoscopes, so no need to bring them from med school. With PCO, there is no time for OMT, so no need to buy students portable tables. More federal government pork, probably lobbied for by Welch-Allyn, and Strong Lite.

 

[UCBShocker]

Even though the AF clinics do not have enough doctors and nurses, they do manage to come up with a few BP cuffs and otoscopes, so no need to bring them from med school. With PCO, there is no time for OMT, so no need to buy students portable tables. More federal government pork, probably lobbied for by Welch-Allyn, and Strong Lite.

Eh... theres bound to be some excess at some point if a system is so big, its just unavoidable. I geuss you already gave it away, but come on, what a great ice breaker when your geusts look at that whatchyamacallit table sitting there like a normal piece of furniture and start wondering if you are a few bricks short of a building =)

 

[island doc]

Eh... theres bound to be some excess at some point if a system is so big, its just unavoidable. I geuss you already gave it away, but come on, what a great ice breaker when your geusts look at that whatchyamacallit table sitting there like a normal piece of furniture and start wondering if you are a few bricks short of a building =)

Since, I am a "weird guy" according to a previous post, I guess it would be fitting for me to have one of those as a piece of living room furniture.

 

[2006MD]

Your tax dollars at work in HPSP: While in HPSP, you (the taxpayer) bought me a portable OMT (Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment) table. Top of the line, the most expensive model. Used at home during school as a student. Never once used during active duty service. Still in excellent condition. Now a gift to my daughter, a massage therapy student. She is getting good use of it.

To the American Taxpayer: Thank you very much.

Oh, and thanks for the Doctor's Bag, Syphgmomanometer, and the Welch Allyn Diagnostic Kit which you also gave me during HPSP. They have been great to have at home.

(Reason for this post is to provide an example of the wasteful spending which existed at the time.)

You are welcome ...Now go out there and be somebody!

-from an ex-enlisted person...soon to be a doctor (thanks for my car...I mean the GI bill )

 

[island doc]

You are welcome ...Now go out there and be somebody!

-from an ex-enlisted person...soon to be a doctor (thanks for my car...I mean the GI bill )

Now, I am really beginning to have an identity crisis here. I don't know whether I am a "troll", a "weird guy" or a "nobody".

 

[bbawco1]

(Reason for this post is to provide an example of the wasteful spending which existed at the time.)

I really don't understand this! Was it not you that asked for this stuff and wasted the money as a member of the USAF? They did not just "waste" money by buying the stuff and then delivering it to your house w/o you knowing. You bought it and asked for reimbursement.

This is a great example of blaming everyone but yourself for the problems that exist around you when you are just as part of the problem you speak of as those that "gave" you these supplies. If you didn't need it don't get it!

Bottom line:
You are in the USAF, You bought it, You asked for reimbursement

(Reason for this post is to provide an example of the wasteful spending which existed at the time.)

 

[island doc]

I really don't understand this! Was it not you that asked for this stuff and wasted the money as a member of the USAF? They did not just "waste" money by buying the stuff and then delivering it to your house w/o you knowing. You bought it and asked for reimbursement.

This is a great example of blaming everyone but yourself for the problems that exist around you when you are just as part of the problem you speak of as those that "gave" you these supplies. If you didn't need it don't get it!

Bottom line:
You are in the USAF, You bought it, You asked for reimbursement

(Reason for this post is to provide an example of the wasteful spending which existed at the time.)

Believe it or not, I too was once a naive, ignorant, and wet behind the ears, AFHPSP student. I certainly never knew I would end up as an ER GMO (something I never planned or asked for), with no use (in the ER) for that portable OMT table.

 

[bbawco1]

Believe it or not, I too was once a naive, ignorant, and wet behind the ears, AFHPSP student. I certainly never knew I would end up as an ER GMO (something I never planned or asked for), with no use (in the ER) for that portable OMT table.

The point is still the same, how is this an example of wasteful spending on anyone's part but your own, and then why post some random post YEARS later after the event just to blame someone for something that you are COMPLETELY responsible for b/c you are pissed off about something different?

yes, complain about things that you have a reason to complain about but don't let that permeate into everything else

 

[USAFdoc]

The point is still the same, how is this an example of wasteful spending on anyone's part but your own, and then why post some random post YEARS later after the event just to blame someone for something that you are COMPLETELY responsible for b/c you are pissed off about something different?

yes, complain about things that you have a reason to complain about but don't let that permeate into everything else

you MAY have a good point here........a bigger sourse of waste (I beleive) is the military idea of spending your yearly allot/budget just before the fiscal year ends so that you are not penalized the following year. I have seen all kinds of unneeded items purchased under the "use it or lose it " mentality.

 

[island doc]

The point is still the same, how is this an example of wasteful spending on anyone's part but your own, and then why post some random post YEARS later after the event just to blame someone for something that you are COMPLETELY responsible for b/c you are pissed off about something different?

yes, complain about things that you have a reason to complain about but don't let that permeate into everything else

I feel like I am kicking a dead horse here, but it seems I have not been sufficiently clear. The question is: Why is the AFHPSP program purchasing portable OMT tables for osteopathic students if they are not going to be used in an operational setting upon completion of training? This was done when I was a student, and according to replies in this forum is still being done. Would it not be a more wise use of taxpayer resources to purchase them for staff physicians who are using OMT in practice, rather than for all osteopathic students, including those entering fields where OMT is not utilized?? These are not inexpensive pieces of equipment, they cost several hundred dollars a piece. Purchasing otoscopes, etc. makes a little more sense, but still why purchase them for all students when they are already provided in the clinics?? I don't see how I can make myself any more clear.

 

[USAFdoc]

I feel like I am kicking a dead horse here, but it seems I have not been sufficiently clear. The question is: Why is the AFHPSP program purchasing portable OMT tables for osteopathic students if they are not going to be used in an operational setting upon completion of training? This was done when I was a student, and according to replies in this forum is still being done. Would it not be a more wise use of taxpayer resources to purchase them for staff physicians who are using OMT in practice, rather than for all osteopathic students, including those entering fields where OMT is not utilized?? These are not inexpensive pieces of equipment, they cost several hundred dollars a piece. Purchasing otoscopes, etc. makes a little more sense, but still why purchase them for all students when they are already provided in the clinics?? I don't see how I can make myself any more clear.

you are correct Island doc .......
some people just see what they want to see, no matter what the evidence is.

FYI: ask OJ if you need more info on this idea.

 

[Heeed!]

Can't we all just get along? We're all one big, blue, happy family, right???

 

[IgD]

I feel like I am kicking a dead horse here, but it seems I have not been sufficiently clear. The question is: Why is the AFHPSP program purchasing portable OMT tables for osteopathic students if they are not going to be used in an operational setting upon completion of training?

The point here is that *YOU* purchased the equipment. You filed some paperwork seeking reimbursement and claimed it was necessary for your practice. Are you saying it was an unnecessary expense? My gut reaction when I read your first post was "fraud".

I purchased some nice stuff as a medical student including some textbooks and equipment but I can justify it all.

 

[island doc]

The point here is that *YOU* purchased the equipment. You filed some paperwork seeking reimbursement and claimed it was necessary for your practice. Are you saying it was an unnecessary expense? My gut reaction when I read your first post was "fraud".

I purchased some nice stuff as a medical student including some textbooks and equipment but I can justify it all.

Question for you: Does any first year HPSP student know for a certainty exactly what type of military medical practice they will be entering (and the type of equipment they will or will not need) upon completion of training?? In case you don't know the answer to the question, it is: No. Therefore, the military services should not authorize unnecessary equipment purchases in medical school. (Medical students do not know, and neither do the military services for that matter, what equipment the graduates will or will not need in practice.) Am I still not clear on this?????????

 

[USAFdoc]

Question for you: Does any first year HPSP student know for a certainty exactly what type of military medical practice they will be entering (and the type of equipment they will or will not need) upon completion of training?? In case you don't know the answer to the question, it is: No. Therefore, the military services should not authorize unnecessary equipment purchases in medical school. (Medical students do not know, and neither do the military services for that matter, what equipment the graduates will or will not need in practice.) Am I still not clear on this?????????

the USAF bought me a otoscope, BP cuff and a few other nice things while I was in med school, none of which I ever used to see a real patient. Did I defraud the government?

If a med school student is asked if they want some medical equipment, most likely they are going to say yes. This is just an uniformed decision (kind of like how USAF Primary Care is run in general, by the SG).

 

[island doc]

the USAF bought me a otoscope, BP cuff and a few other nice things while I was in med school, none of which I ever used to see a real patient. Did I defraud the government?

If a med school student is asked if they want some medical equipment, most likely they are going to say yes. This is just an uniformed decision (kind of like how USAF Primary Care is run in general, by the SG).

Fraud would have required a willful intent to do something wrong, which you could not have had. My whole point is that these equipment purchases should be made for staff physicians who will actually use them in operational practice settings, not as a knee jerk purchase for all students, including those destined to become pathologists, etc. The students cannot and should not be blamed for this.

 

[IgD]

When I read your post it came across like you were bragging about something you bought on someone else's dime and never used. Everything I purchased and sought reimbursement for I used. I used the equipment heavily during medical school. For example I carried the oto/opthalmoscope with me on my rotations.

 

[island doc]

When I read your post it came across like you were bragging about something you bought on someone else's dime and never used. Everything I purchased and sought reimbursement for I used. I used the equipment heavily during medical school. For example I carried the oto/opthalmoscope with me on my rotations.

I can partially understand the diagnostic kits, even though they are available in most all the facilities where a student, resident or staff physician will work. I do admit that sometimes an otoscope is difficult to find at a nursing station.

The portable OMT table is another thing altogether. Let's face it, for most OMT is just something you have to put up with during the first two years of school in order to become a physician who can diagnose, write orders/prescriptions and perform procedures. I know of few who went to an osteopathic medical school for the express purpose of learning OMT.