Originally posted by rotatores and GMO_52
Which is why USU quotes a 90% rate of graduates ultimately reaching retirement. Of course, many grads have prior service and get even closer to retirement by the end of their obligated service.
I'll tell you what my simple friend...when classes start back up in Jan, I'll be sure to find you the source.
Merry Christmas
I found the source.
http://www.usuhs.mil/usuhs/brief02.pdf
"Since the first graduating class of 1980, through the present, almost 83 percent of all USUHS graduates remain on active duty in the MHS; the USUHS SOM graduate serves, on average, over 18.5 years on active duty in the MHS.
Over 2,700 USUHS SOM graduates represent 22 percent of the 11,833 physicians on active duty in the MHS.
The median length of non-obligated service for physician specialists in the MHS, not including USUHS graduates, is 2.9 years; the median length of non-obligated service for USUHS grads is 9 years."
From these stats, it sounds like most USUHS grads serve on average, 9 years of non-obligated service which will easily push them over the 20 year retirement mark.
I'm in the FAP for NAVY ophthalmology. Even for a sub-specialty with high compensation in the civilian sector, the retention rates for ophthalmologists in the NAVY is remarkably high. Because physicians aren't retiring, the NAVY is currently ~135% over-manned in ophthalmology. Looking at the current list of ophthalmologists, over half of the current ophthalmologists have served over 15+ years of service.
There are many advantages of working in the military:
1) serving your country, 2) comfortable life-style, 3) 30 days paid vacation plus about a dozen paid holidays, 4) numerous opportunites for training and additional education, and 5) opportunities to serve more than just a clinician.
The grass is always greener on the other side. While in the military, it's difficult to make as much as a civilian physician in private practice; however, as a civilian physician, one may worry about insurance reimbursements decreasing, malpractice rates increasing, and being bored after doing the same thing for 30+ years.
Some on this board look down on being an administrator, but I look forward to being paid an 0-6 salary with my physician bonuses to be an administrator. However, not all military physicians have to choose this route. They can be an 0-5 and practice 100% clinical medicine if they choose. The difference in salary for an O-5 vs O-6 is not much. The other huge advantage of being a USUHS graduate is that most will be 45 years of age when they retire from the MHS. That's awesome. I know a physician who retired after 20 years and has become a faculty member. He gets paid a nice academic salary on top of his NAVY retirement pay. At the age of 45, physicians can also go into the private sector and make good money for the next 20 years if money is
that important. For those who decide to be administrators for the MHS, they are in good positions for being the next wave of directors and chairs for academic medicine in the civilian sector. I know of two at Iowa who have taken this route, the director of Cornea is a retired NAVY captain, and the chairman of Anesthesiology served in the Air Force.
Here's another interesting perspective on military medicine:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Nov1997/n11131997_9711136.html
