United States Public Health Service

[Rattlergirl53]

I know people have previously discussed Army, Air Force, and Navy pharmacist jobs. But I was curious to know if anyone has or is employed under the USPHS. I been on the website and looked at most of the information. I am interested in the Senior Commissioned Officer Student Training and Extern Program (SRCOSTEP) where you an apply and if picked get offers from like the BOP, FDA, NIH, IHS and other government agencies that fall under the USPHS. You get payed a stipend during your P4 year and then service time is equal to twice the time sponsored. They also have a 30,000 sign on bonus, and loan repayment options. Of course the 20 year retirement pension and access to all military bases so you can go to places like exchange and commissary.

Only thing that is doubting me on whether to apply is the weight requirements, Im not fat at all and workout 3-4 tiimes a week but I do not meet that weight also the medical history report it says a physician's signature is not needed but in the document it has a part for a provider to evaluate you?? I wear glasses and had mild asthma as a kid for like 2 years but I haven't used an inhaler since I was 7 it also asks if you've ever been admitted to the emergency room I have but it for a green tea supplement making me jittery is this stuff really going to disqualify me??? and on the medical history report it has a disclaimer saying if you lie about information you can be prosecuted is there a way they could like obtain your medical records? I mean half the crap on the medical report is so detailed like have I ever had a hemorrhoid??? Is that really necessary info.

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[aboveliquidice]

Several things.

First - never lie on an application. No, they won't hunt for your medical records. However, if something does happen, they might (as part of a medical review board). Bottom line - don't do it, it's against the law.

Second - when someone is not within ht/wt standards, typically a "tape" measurement is made to assess %bodyfat. This standard varies by service, but both the Army and Marine Corps do it.

Finally - each section of thr usphs has SRCOSTEP and 30k sign on. However loan repayment is limited to a few branches of thr PHS, usually just the IHS. Make sure you dig a little deeper into the service.

You really need to schedule a time to sit down and discuss this with a PHS recruiter. Definitely post up here what you learn.

 

[StevePerry]

I mean half the crap on the medical report is so detailed like have I ever had a hemorrhoid??? Is that really necessary info.

 

[pinksparkly]

I had to fill out something similar when I applied for my Army ROTC scholarship, then again at the Military Entrance Processing Station when I took my Airborne School physical (which I failed for anemia ).

With the ROTC scholarship, I had quite a few sinus infections in high school, and they requested my medical records from that time. Everything turned out okay.

When I did my Airborne physical, I had a disgustingly infected foot (from running in new jungle boots) and was on antibiotics. When I did my intake, they told me to just keep quiet about it. Basically, the guy said, "Lalala... What? I can't hear you! You didn't say you on ANTIBIOTICS, did you? Because Dr. SoandSo is on the floor, and he will send you home right quick if he finds that out. You definitely are NOT on antibiotics. Let me fix this form you just filled out to reflect that." Dr. Soandso was about eighty, and he was so excited by a flock of girls prancing around in their underpants that he did not notice my swollen foot and ankle.

Although I was in pretty good shape at the time, I always had trouble making both weight and tape. Unless they have reevaluated the standards/methods, I do not believe that the tape measurements are accurate for female body fat percentages. I say this because I was in the best shape of my life and not making weight. I was tiny. Whenever they taped me, it came out around 30% body fat. I just had my body fat measured by a more accurate method, and with plenty of baby weight still on, and it came out around that number. No way it was that high back then, when I could do 50 push-ups in two minutes and weighed a good twenty-something pounds less. Can you tell I am not a fan of the tape method? make sure you stand up really tall when they measure you.

 

[aboveliquidice]

To this ^, I can say that this does happen. Let's just say that the Navy and PHS are a lot more forgiving in this regard. The PHS had some impressively rotund personnel.

 

[pharm B]

To this ^, I can say that this does happen. Let's just say that the Navy and PHS are a lot more forgiving in this regard. The PHS had some impressively rotund personnel.

The Navy's adherence fluctuates cycle to cycle and by command. When the Navy started down-sizing through the "food for freedom" program a few years ago, the corpsmen started being pretty precise about weight and tape measurements.