Army occupational medicine

[Treehun]

Army GMO didn’t match. Considering scramble…

What is occupational medicine in the army. What’s it like and what do they do?
No idea what this speciality really is all about even after reading up on it.

To that end, what’s the difference between occupational Med, prev Med and aerospace?

Do these specialities have utility out side of the army?

Thank you so much all.

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[DrMetal]

What’s it like and what do they do?

Nothing a well-trained internist, general surgeon, FM, or pediatrician couldn't do.

These specialties (occ, prevmed, aerospace) are a scam . . .and have no (or barely have any) civilian equivalency. Best advised you do these as a second residency after a primary care type residency . . .that is if you ever intend to practice as a civilian.

Reapply, or do your time as a GMO and GTFO.

 

[Helpful Troll]

Reapply, or do your time as a GMO and GTFO.

S/He has an 8 year commitment from ROTC and HPSP. GMO and GTFO would be a long time away from a civilian residency.

@Treehun - You previously expressed interest in IM and Psych. Why don't you try to scramble to an open IM or Psych spot? What's open? IM, Peds, and Psych? Find a mentor to help you get IM or Psych. Push hard for it, don't delay, start reaching out immediately.

 

[Treehun]

These specialties (occ, prevmed, aerospace) are a scam . . .and have no (or barely have any) civilian equivalency. Best advised you do these as a second residency after a primary care type residency . .

 

[Treehun]

Strong words, for real??

 

[DrMetal]

Strong words, for real??

For real. Let me put in perspective: you never thought about Occupational Medicine, until now, when you have to face the possibility of a scramble, right? Or, when you were in grade school and somebody asked you what you wanted to be when you grow up, did you answer: "I wanna do Occupational medicine. I can't wait to grow up, and see patients for compensation/disability exams, and be flooded with meaningless paperwork!"

Most people chose these specialties (Occ Med, Prev Med, etc) as an escape hatch.

Only do it if you really have a genuine interest in it, or as a second residency. They're not very employable by themselves in the civilian world (how many 'Prev Med' docs do you think Kaiser hired in the last year, vs Family Medicine).

You're in a tough spot if you owe that much time. What did you apply for? Re-apply maybe?

 

[brickipedia]

I definitely would not call them scams, but you should be aware of what you are signing up for, and definitely agree that if you want to remain highly clinically active in your career, pursuing a primary care residency first is likely the best choice.

Preventive Medicine jobs can be fairly diverse, ranging from being the Public Health Officer for an installation (similar to a county Public Health Officer) or working in research, health surveillance, academics, or policy. Clinically, most of the positions have minimal scope of practice and responsibilities. There are certainly civilian equivalents to these positions out there in the world, however they are essentially all Governmental/NGO/Academic with limited direct patient care clinical responsibilities.

Occupational Medicine positions tend to be more focused on managing occupational health clinics with some positions more related to CBRNE or occupational health assessment type activities. Occupational Medicine physicians are currently in fairly high demand on the Civilian side, however based on recruitment emails I get, many (but not all) jobs do want a board in a primary care specialty as well.

Aerospace allows graduates to get boarded in occupational medicine (and aerospace medicine), but requires a utilization tour as a flight surgeon, after which you could reclassify as an occupational medicine physician. Or if you are so inclined you could pursue a career as a flight surgeon, but not 100% sure what that would look like, especially on the civilian side.

 

[DrMetal]

I definitely would not call them scams

If ever you should wonder whether a particular role/job in the military/gov't is a 'scam' (in other words, something stupid that only the gov't would pay for), ask yourself three simple questions: 1) Does that job have a civilian equivalent? 2) Is the civilian sector hiring in that role? 3) and does the civilian world pay the equivalent (or perhaps better) salary for said role.

Family physician or helicopter pilot: 1) of course there's a civilian equivalent 2) yes the civilian sector is hiring, hiring FPs in the droves! 3) yes, a civilian FP can make $200-$300K/year, depending on locale and volume, equivalent of a O-5/O-6 salary, likewise as a pilot.
So Family Physician/Helicoptor Pilot, not a scam.

Occ/Prev Med, MWR Golf coordinating officer:
1) yeah, there's a civi equivalent, if you look for it hard enough
2) Not really, or jobs are few/far in between
3) No. You're not going to make a O-5/O-6 equivalent salary, doing solely these things.
Therefore, = scam!

Now if you don't like the word scam and want to call it something more PC, go for it.

Preventive Medicine jobs can be fairly diverse, ranging from being the Public Health Officer for an installation (similar to a county Public Health Officer) or working in research, health surveillance, academics, or policy. Clinically, most of the positions have minimal scope of practice and responsibilities. There are certainly civilian equivalents to these positions out there in the world, however they are essentially all Governmental/NGO/Academic with limited direct patient care clinical responsibilities.

All things better done by a MS/MPH/MBA or PhD.

Look, if you're done being a physician and have no intention/desire to ever diagnose/treat someone, then go do whatever you want. If you still like playing doctor, do a primary residency.

 

[brickipedia]

I absolutely agree that if you want your primary role to be direct patient care than you will be best served by doing a primary residency before considering Preventive or Occupational Medicine. These jobs are not typical 'doctor' jobs and I know there are a lot of physicians would never consider transitioning to a job that typically gives you < 10% FTE clinical time. I fully acknowledge it is definitely not for everyone, but there are a wide variety of interesting things that you can do as a part of either specialty that are fairly unique, such as research positions at AFRIMS in Thailand or USAMRU in Kenya.

I would disagree however, especially for occupational medicine, that there are not people hiring in the civilian world. I am not aware of anyone who separated and had difficulty finding a position paying similarly or significantly more than military service, and am aware of at least one individual who who transitioned to a Corporate Medical Director position making upwards of $750,000. Preventive Medicine will likely not pay as well outside the military; but likewise I have never seen people have difficulty finding a job; typically at state or local health departments or as a federal civilian employee.

 

[Gastrapathy]

I was writing a long post but I’ve had too much bourbon watching mnf. So, in brief, you owe forever. Apply back to your desired specialty next year. Figure out what went wrong and fix it if you can. Apply to a back up specialty next year. With your commitment, that really doesn’t cost you anything to wait. In the meantime, explore occ med and other low competitive specialties and actually know what they do before committing your professional life to writing work notes and the civilian equivalent of profiles.

Edit: I read my post and kinda like it at my current BAL. Will reassess in the am

 

[DrMetal]

I was writing a long post but I’ve had too much bourbon

I prefer the peated whiskeys with SDN