- Joined
- Oct 27, 2002
- Messages
- 283
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It seems to be the consensus on this board that military experience is a positive on your CV when looking for a civilian job. Having just gone through a job search for a surgical subspecialty position, I would say that I agree
sort of. I would, however, offer the following caveats.
1. Many employers are aware that military surgical practice is low-acuity, low-volume. This is a major problem and you must be ready to address this in interviews. Several potential employers contacted my references and asked them directly about what my case volume was like, and whether I could handle a high-volume practice.
2. Military experience is not counted the same as civilian experience when it comes to salary or academic rank. With five years of military practice, I do have a leg up on some guy just coming out of residency. But I will be way behind the surgeon who spent five years at an academic medical center, or building a private referral base. Expect low-ball offers.
3. Employers couldnt care less about the stuff that makes good OPR (Army OER, Navy Fit-Rep) bullets. The ridiculous PME requirements, unverifiable dollar-savings figures, and military-specific leadership documentation that appear on your OPR would be a complete joke to your potential partners in private practice or the Chairman of Surgery at Hopkins: Oooooh wow we need more people who completed Air War College here at The Massachusetts General Hospital. The one exception might be if you were the chairman of a large department at a major military medical center and were applying for a similar administrative job in a civilian institution. Dont waste time chasing OPR bullets.
4. Stories about deployments or other military-unique experiences make interesting conversation over dinner, but are ultimately irrelevant to whether you get a good offer. My war-time experience was often a nice conversation-starter at the beginning of interviews, but ultimately nobody cares, and I tried to move on quickly. Mainly, surgeons want to know how you will fit into their practice environment, and a bunch of wild-and-crazy cases I did in Iraq just didnt seem all that relevant. I think focusing on this kind of military stuff makes one seem a little weird.
I ended up with what I felt was a fair offer from a respected institution, but the strongest parts of my resume were things I did completely on my own, often in spite of resistance from the Air Force. Just going with the flow in a military surgical practice may really hurt you when trying to get a civilian job.
1. Many employers are aware that military surgical practice is low-acuity, low-volume. This is a major problem and you must be ready to address this in interviews. Several potential employers contacted my references and asked them directly about what my case volume was like, and whether I could handle a high-volume practice.
2. Military experience is not counted the same as civilian experience when it comes to salary or academic rank. With five years of military practice, I do have a leg up on some guy just coming out of residency. But I will be way behind the surgeon who spent five years at an academic medical center, or building a private referral base. Expect low-ball offers.
3. Employers couldnt care less about the stuff that makes good OPR (Army OER, Navy Fit-Rep) bullets. The ridiculous PME requirements, unverifiable dollar-savings figures, and military-specific leadership documentation that appear on your OPR would be a complete joke to your potential partners in private practice or the Chairman of Surgery at Hopkins: Oooooh wow we need more people who completed Air War College here at The Massachusetts General Hospital. The one exception might be if you were the chairman of a large department at a major military medical center and were applying for a similar administrative job in a civilian institution. Dont waste time chasing OPR bullets.
4. Stories about deployments or other military-unique experiences make interesting conversation over dinner, but are ultimately irrelevant to whether you get a good offer. My war-time experience was often a nice conversation-starter at the beginning of interviews, but ultimately nobody cares, and I tried to move on quickly. Mainly, surgeons want to know how you will fit into their practice environment, and a bunch of wild-and-crazy cases I did in Iraq just didnt seem all that relevant. I think focusing on this kind of military stuff makes one seem a little weird.
I ended up with what I felt was a fair offer from a respected institution, but the strongest parts of my resume were things I did completely on my own, often in spite of resistance from the Air Force. Just going with the flow in a military surgical practice may really hurt you when trying to get a civilian job.