Questions about life as staff as a general surgeon in army?

[krzbom]

Hey all,

current third year med student applying for GS in the army HPSP. Just wanted to ask what being a general surgeon as an attending/staff is like following residency? What type of cases are usually done at the AMCs and what type of billets do most general surgeons fill after residency? Also, i have heard about the deployments as a general surgeon in that you deploy frequently, and might not even operate much downrange? Can somebody validate/elaborate on this?

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[DrMetal]

Hey all,

current third year med student applying for GS in the army HPSP. Just wanted to ask what being a general surgeon as an attending/staff is like following residency? What type of cases are usually done at the AMCs and what type of billets do most general surgeons fill after residency? Also, i have heard about the deployments as a general surgeon in that you deploy frequently, and might not even operate much downrange? Can somebody validate/elaborate on this?

Boring as hell, especially if you're at a teaching MTF, where most cases go to residents, attendings have very little to do (same is true in other specialties).

Operational medicine does not usually involve a ton of operating. It's pretty boring for the most part, and the military likes it that way.

You'll have to moonlight a lot if you really care about becoming/staying a good surgeon (er wait, a good doctor!).

 

[Volatile]

I’m an anesthesiologist. Different branch, but probably similar. Case mix/volume is going to depend on which MTF you go to, I would shoot for one of the bigger hospitals. Even then you’re going to do less volume/acuity than civilian counterparts.
Deployments are also highly variable. I went to Afghanistan last year, we were pretty busy, several months we did well over 100 cases so maybe 3-4/day. Obviously general surgery wasn’t doing all of them but definitely the majority.

 

[Slevin]

Operational medicine does not usually involve a ton of operating. It's pretty boring for the most part, and the military likes it that way.

The Soldiers on the line prefer not to have to be operated on so they prefer it to be boring

 

[armytrainingsir]

20+ years ago at a MEDCEN, general surgeons were doing all sorts of cool stuff, mostly on retirees and dependents.
That ship has sadly sailed, and the above folks are correct.

As far as deployments, a few years ago in Iraq, our we did 3-4 GS cases per month split between two general surgeons.

The up side is, if your command allows it, it is relatively easy to get moonlighting gigs as a general surgeon, or so Im told by my GS colleagues.

 

[Per5everance]

Hey all,

current third year med student applying for GS in the army HPSP. Just wanted to ask what being a general surgeon as an attending/staff is like following residency? What type of cases are usually done at the AMCs and what type of billets do most general surgeons fill after residency? Also, i have heard about the deployments as a general surgeon in that you deploy frequently, and might not even operate much downrange? Can somebody validate/elaborate on this?

Doesn't sound like much operating whether deployed or not.

 

[xpert787]

Hey all,

current third year med student applying for GS in the army HPSP. Just wanted to ask what being a general surgeon as an attending/staff is like following residency? What type of cases are usually done at the AMCs and what type of billets do most general surgeons fill after residency? Also, i have heard about the deployments as a general surgeon in that you deploy frequently, and might not even operate much downrange? Can somebody validate/elaborate on this?

For cases, the study above is a good representation of the volume you can expect. Keep in mind outside of the bigger MEDCEN , most of that volume (90%) will be lower complexity cases (hernia,breast,gallbladder). Also you may get some extra cases depending on ODE and MOU at your institution. You will be battling once you leave residency to maintain your skills. You will not be able to maintain them all, just try to maintain enough so that your employable once you leave. When you go to get a job places will want to see your case logs, including locums companies. No one cares that you did 20 Nissens or 10 lap adrenals in residency after your 2 yrs out from residency. There is a lot of nuance in this area so it's difficult to generalize, it will largely be up to you to decide what your comfortable treating, especially if your institution is low volume in certain things like foregut as an example.

As far as deployments go, you will probably go about every 18 months for about 4-6 months, maybe this will improve? I've been deployed for a total of 12 months over the last 3 yrs including CRC. You will not do very many cases, deployed, my personal avg is about 1 per month of deployed time just to give you an idea. I think I may be on the high side as well, from conversations I have had with others. You will be rusty when you get back, and it takes time to ramp your practice back up.

There are lots of options for assignments as 61J. In general you will either be assigned to a MTF or a line unit with duty at an MTF. If your lucky enough to be in the latter then you may also have periodic FTX/ JRTC/ NTC which are basically 1-3 month mini deployments.

Since your already committed, I will just say that you have to keep in mind, just because your not high volume, that does not mean your unsafe. As long as your honest with yourself and stay humble you will be fine.