Navy Family Med Residency

[chillin]

Question: Are there any Navy family medicine hospitals where residency can be completed without a GMO? If so, which locations are the most likely for this to be possible?
Thanks,
Chillin

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[Navy Dive Doc]

Chillin,
There are 5 family medicine residencies in the Navy, all at hospitals that have no other residency training programs so you get a very good FP experience...no competition from OB, Surgery, etc.
They are Camp Pendleton, CA, Camp LeJeune, NC (both USMC bases), Pensacola, FL, Jacksonville FL, and Bremerton, WA. All are supposed to be excellent programs though I have no first-hand knowledge of any of them. If you do your internship at any of these hospitals, you have a good chance of training straight through if you apply as an intern.
Again, let me put in a plug for the GMO tour. Especially if you want to do family medicine, going out to do GMO work for a couple of years makes a lot of sense. GMOs essentially function as FP docs, and we get to have some great experiences at the same time. It also allows you a few years after internship to really decide what you want to do with your life. I know quite a few people who changed specialty while out in the fleet, myself included. Best thing I ever did.
Bottom line, though, if you want to train through, FP, IM are very likely to happen for you.
DD

 

[RisingSun]

Just out of curiosity, what are the odds of going straight through in pathology? I can't see how a GMO would benefit the pathologist. Of course, that's not to say it wouldn't be a great experience and educational in its own right.

Besides, now that pathology is only four years and not five for residency, making buding pathologists do an intern year before sending them on a GMO would be a definate deterrent to anyone interested in path.

 

[Navy Dive Doc]

Currently, the Navy Pathology programs still require an internship before the 4 years of Path, I am not sure how this will change (or not) over the next couple of years. I don't know anyone who trained straight through in Path, but I have heard of it happening. When I did internship, Path was still 5 years.
You would likely be able to get a residency deferment from the Navy for Path, then serve your HPSP time after a civilian residency.
Remember, deferments are based on the Navy's projected need for specialists. Because of the job market for the last decade, most Navy pathologists stayed in, therefore low turnover, therefore low training needs. However, a lot of pathologists are coming up on their GTFO dates, will need to retire and the Navy will need more. So, deferments may appear, your guess is as good as mine.
Having done a post-sophomore fellowship in path, I've followed this a bit. I'm going back for Radiology, not path, but I think the time practicing clinical medicine is good for those of headed for hospital based specialties. An internship also gives you a clue about the hospital outside the Path department, but I must admit if I were applying for path and could avoid an internship, I probably would.
The best person to ask would be the specialty leader for Navy Pathology. Google NAVY GME and you'll find the GME website, which can link you to Pathology and the specialty leader.
DD