USUHS How to be competitive

[ITrustInHimAlone]

It’s possible to be active in your kids’ lives. Being an enlisted person or even a SWO on a ship is much different than being a medical officer.

Can you explain how they are different (Only because I am new to all of this)?

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[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Can you explain how they are different (Only because I am new to all of this)?

Well for one thing most medical officers in the Navy aren’t stationed on ships. So your day to day is basically shore duty as a doctor.

Being on a ship means duty, drills, going underway a lot, workups, deployments, etc. Like when you’re in port, every 4-6 days (more like 8-10 on a big deck) having to spend 24-36 hours onboard the ship to make sure nothing happens, respond to security issues, fires, flooding, etc. Then during workups to deployment you’re going underway for a week or two at a time every couple of weeks, and it ramps up the closer you get to deployment.

And even being a medical officer on a ship, you still have to do all that stuff (though maybe not duty since you’re supposed to be on call for any medical issues) and you’re still a DIVO or department head who has to do admin and deal with the chain of command, but generally you’re more protected from the ass kissing because you’re not in the line designator. You’re not going for command of a ship so if the CO isn’t your biggest fan it’s not as big of a deal.

 

[ITrustInHimAlone]

Did the USUHS secondary ask for a picture? I thought secondaries usually ask for a picture of your face before you submit?

 

[ITrustInHimAlone]

Well for one thing most medical officers in the Navy aren’t stationed on ships. So your day to day is basically shore duty as a doctor.

Being on a ship means duty, drills, going underway a lot, workups, deployments, etc. Like when you’re in port, every 4-6 days (more like 8-10 on a big deck) having to spend 24-36 hours onboard the ship to make sure nothing happens, respond to security issues, fires, flooding, etc. Then during workups to deployment you’re going underway for a week or two at a time every couple of weeks, and it ramps up the closer you get to deployment.

And even being a medical officer on a ship, you still have to do all that stuff (though maybe not duty since you’re supposed to be on call for any medical issues) and you’re still a DIVO or department head who has to do admin and deal with the chain of command, but generally you’re more protected from the ass kissing because you’re not in the line designator. You’re not going for command of a ship so if the CO isn’t your biggest fan it’s not as big of a deal.

Also can you tell me about the Naval hospital at Bethesda? I hear thats where a the president or senators go if they need to go to the hospital. Do Navy doctors only work there or do Army doctors get to work there too? And is it the same thing as Walter Reed? Or is Walter Reed and the Naval Hospital two separate things?

 

[deleted555445]

Also can you tell me about the Naval hospital at Bethesda? I hear thats where a the president or senators go if they need to go to the hospital. Do Navy doctors only work there or do Army doctors get to work there too? And is it the same thing as Walter Reed? Or is Walter Reed and the Naval Hospital two separate things?

Walter Reed used to be a Naval hospital exclusively, but is now a joint hospital, so you'll see Army, Navy, and Air Force personnel working and getting care there.

 

[ITrustInHimAlone]

Walter Reed used to be a Naval hospital exclusively, but is now a joint hospital, so you'll see Army, Navy, and Air Force personnel working and getting care there.

So is the Naval hospital exclusively for navy doctors?

 

[deleted555445]

So is the Naval hospital exclusively for navy doctors?

At Walter Reed, there is no longer a real distinction between the three branches in terms of exclusivity. However, if I'm not mistaken sailors are still largely treated by sailors, but given the nature of medicine there is a lot of cooperation. But you could join any of the 3 branches and still work on the same campus. I'm a military member who has spent time there but never worked there so maybe someone else can break down the actual administrative differences between the branches there.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Also can you tell me about the Naval hospital at Bethesda? I hear thats where a the president or senators go if they need to go to the hospital. Do Navy doctors only work there or do Army doctors get to work there too? And is it the same thing as Walter Reed? Or is Walter Reed and the Naval Hospital two separate things?

It is tri-service. There are docs from Army, Navy, and Air Force. Plus some PHS docs. The Navy hospital and the Army hospital merged and are now Walter Reed. The residency programs are almost exclusively Army and Navy, but there are plenty of Air Force attendings here.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

At Walter Reed, there is no longer a real distinction between the three branches in terms of exclusivity. However, if I'm not mistaken sailors are still largely treated by sailors, but given the nature of medicine there is a lot of cooperation. But you could join any of the 3 branches and still work on the same campus. I'm a military member who has spent time there but never worked there so maybe someone else can break down the actual administrative differences between the branches there.

There are a lot of Sailors there because it’s a Navy base. But you can easily get seen by an Army or Air Force doc.

 

[deleted1108162]

Quick question about the USUHS secondary..... Does having family in the military count as being highly valued?

My stepmom was in the military, but she wasn't there for me all my life, only for the past few years. But her service has affected me, so I guess I'll write about it in the secondary?