HPSP???

Hey everyone, I kind of stumbled onto this site. My hubby is considering a 3 year Army HPSP scholarship. I have a few questions for you other spouses. I would like to hear from resident and attending spouses on what you think of your experiences so far? Does it lend time for a family life?
Does time spent in school and residency in which he receives HPSP count towards reserve retirement?
What can he expect to make once finishing a FP residency?
What exactly is a GMO? Do all army docs have to do this?
What about placement after finishing residency, will we have any say on where we go and what are some good sites?

Sorry for the 20??'s Just need some info
Thanks- lori

[mommax3]

Hi Lori,

My husband is Air Force, but I will answer what I can of your questions. I am assuming he is just starting med school? Does he know for sure that he wants to do Family Practice? Does he already have time in as a reservist? (I ask that because of your question about retirement.)

My husband was HPSP also and had the four year scholarship. He was selected for a military residency, which isn't necessarily a given -- sometimes people do civilian residencies and then begin active duty as attendings. I don't know how the army and air force differ on how many of their HPSP people get civilian residencies, but Jenn may have an idea and it probably depends on the specialty as well. Residency in the military was quite nice from a financial standpoint because my husband got paid quite a bit more than he would have in a civilian residency program. The drawback was that we moved far, far away from our families and his schedule as a resident made it difficult to visit them.
Another drawback for my husband was that he was looking forward to having some choices about his residency program and actually looked forward to interviewing with programs, etc. He had rotated in the military med center that chose him for their program, but he purposely didn't interview with anyone there because he wasn't interested in doing residency there -- they took him anyway, and now he feels like he missed out on part of the experience since he didn't go through interviews, and he feels ill-prepared to interview for jobs once he gets out of the military. Having said that, he would still say that the experience was more positive than negative and he received excellent training. Residency sucks, no matter where you do it, so you might as well do it where you can make the most money and get good training as well.

He has been an attending now for a year and a half, and we are at a small base with a small hospital. It is very different in this scenario compared with the two huge medical centers (with sub-specialists) where he did residency. There are some serious problems in his clinic that are not being addressed and it is not even clear who should address them. The chain of command is weird -- his boss is a nurse who mostly does administrative stuff and paperwork, but she outranks him. He enjoys seeing the patients but is frustrated when different policies make them unhappy because he can't do anything about those policies. He also has no authority over his support staff (receptionists, nurses, techs, etc.). He just has to take what he is given and the best ones aren't usually there very long. He is proud to be a part of the military, but he will be very glad to get out in 2 1/2 years. The threat of deployment, while small for his specialty (OB/GYN) is still a threat that is always looming over us, especially these days. Since you mentioned family practice, I will tell you that the family practice docs, along with the trauma and orthopedic surgeons are the first to be deployed when units are sent overseas -- I am sure that is true for the army as well. Something to consider as we teeter perpetually on the brink of war.

I don't think that most Army docs are required to do GMO time -- mostly it happens when a residency is not available in the specialty you want. You do GMO time (which counts toward your payback) while you wait for a slot to become available.

I don't know about the reserve retirement thing. Jenn?

I am not sure about what he would make once he was an attending -- every specialty is different -- but I am guessing around 80K right out of residency and then more when he promotes to Major, which happens 6 years after med school graduation unless you have prior service as an officer -- correct me if I'm wrong, Jenn.

Towards the end of residency, he will fill out a preference sheet for where he wants to go and will meet with an assignments officer to discuss his options. I will be the first to tell you, though, that the bottom line is he would go where the Army needed him, and that would be the first consideration, not his preference list.

Hope this helps.

Sally

[DCJenn]

Lori-

We've covered all of these questions in a variety of ways but the short answers are:

1) Like all residencies- the internship year is the hardest- some specialties are obviously harder than others. It will impact family life- but every residency impacts family life- military ones are no different from what I've observed. Our experience so far has been great- but we have a different mindset as my husband will be a lifer. Others here haven't had such positive experiences once they left residency.

2) The HPSP people will have to answer about retirement- my husband was considered a 'reservist' but paid as an active duty second Lieutenant while at USUHS. His time in counts for retirement (years) but not pay.

3) He can expect to make the starting salary of any other Army Captain with additional monies added in as a 'physician bonus' plus an annual bonus every year after residency is completed. The salaries are public knowledge and are posted on the varied military websites and published in the military newspapers. They just got a 4.1% increase in pay Jnauary 1.

4) GMO- General Medical Officer- no not every doctor has to do this- some choose to go that route- some go that route waiting for a residency slot. Some go that route to do the payback and apply for residency in the civilian world. For example- going to Korea for a year as a GMO would give someone additional bonus points to then get a residency or fellowship.

5) After residency, well- you submit a list of the places that you would like to go. (they let you know what posts have openings and you select during December- you find out in March) And no- after that, you have no say. There are extenuating circumstances sometimes- if you had a disabled child or were disabled yourself, if your husband was a fellow, if you were a fellow military officer- then there are things they can do to try to help. People with disabilities have to be able to access specialists so they are often sent to Army posts near large medical centers. (not necessarily an Army Medical Center though) Fellows can only really be sent to the large medical centers. People with spouses in the military can sometimes arrange to be sent to the same post. They do try to keep you happy, if they can, but the bottom line is that needs of the Army come first (as they should, really)

Personally- everyone we know is perfectly happy to do their 3 or 4 years in exchange for not having a looming debt. Some of our friends are planning on staying in, some are planning on getting out but all seem pretty happy with their decisions

Hope this helps-

Jenn