Treatment towards the docs

[berdugo75]

I know that there are a lot of docs in this forum who wish they had never enlisted in the military as a physician, there are some who love it, and then there are those who would sell their souls to get out....but with that said....

Generally, how are the military docs treated by the military staff and superiors? Is there a mutual respect amongst the officers? Do higher-ranked nurses take orders from lower-ranked physicians?

Please answer all questions.

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[IgD]

That's a difficult but good question. I think it's very difficult to be a doctor in the military. If you are a Marine or Sailor you have a lot of co-workers who are exactly in the same situation. A lot of times you are isolated and alone as a medical officer. The best analogy I can give is the commander's spouse had a coffee group but it was akward for my spouse to participate. There is a lot of general resentment for doctors from the warfighters. We are misperceived as taking people out of the fight when our job is the opposite. People resent the money we make and the relative ease at getting promotions. On the other hand, when s*** hits the fan, everyone comes running for the doctor.

We are set up for failure too because there is not enough doctors to go around. The patients blame the medical staff for the system problems such as not being able to get a timely appointment when the blame lies somewhere else.

I think most of the time people see rank for what it is and get along fine. On the other hand at times senior non-physicians take a perverse delight out of torturing lower ranked docs.

 

[AF M4]

I know that there are a lot of docs in this forum who wish they had never enlisted in the military as a physician, there are some who love it, and then there are those who would sell their souls to get out....but with that said....

Generally, how are the military docs treated by the military staff and superiors? Is there a mutual respect amongst the officers? Do higher-ranked nurses take orders from lower-ranked physicians?

Please answer all questions.

Bah. We will answer only the questions we feel like answering, since we are unpaid forum denizens and not a public utility. If you want more, I can PM you a P.O. Box where you can send funding. Cash only.

Also you should send IgD some money as his answer is spot-on. There are countless other stories strewn about on the various threads as well.

The simple answer to your question on how well docs are treated in milmed is: about well enough that roughly 14 out of every 15 docs get out immediately after their initial contract is up.

 

[IlDestriero]

The above is absolutely spot on. The larger the hospital, the more "civilian" it functions. The smaller places and deployments are where things can get difficult. It is very hit or miss and, obviously, can dramatically change every few years based on who is in what role there.