Becoming a military doctor brings along a huge amount of respect and prestige along with it. According to Martin Lloyd Sanders, subsequent to becoming a United States military doctor, one would be at a unique position to serve their country, travel around the world, enjoy rewarding opportunities of providing medical assistance to people in need, as well be at the cutting edge of medical technology. In the United States, ideally, to become a physician at the military, people would have to follow one of the two major paths, which are the Health Professions Scholarship Program or HPSP and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, also referred to as the USUHS.
Even though becoming a military doctor does require a level of sacrifice when it comes to the personal lives of people, this profession has also several benefits associated with it. Martin Lloyd Sanders mentions that unlike typical physicians who majorly work at a clinical or hospital setting, military doctors tend to work in environments like hospital ships and international medical centers as well. They may even participate in certain international relief efforts and help provide medical care to the victims of natural disasters.
The following pointers mark some of the key experiences of military doctors as underlined by Martin Lloyd Sanders:
- One of the highlights of being a military doctor is the type of people these individuals get to care for. Military doctors get the opportunity to provide medical assistance to some of the bravest men and women of the world, who are absolutely committed to serving their country. Majority of their patients are required to maintain a healthy weight, get drug-screened regularly and work out three times a week, and hence do not often get much non-viral illnesses.
- The camaraderie witnessed in the military is like no other. All people of the military, no matter whether they are the commanders, soldiers or even doctors, all of them stand together and try to give their best, against the enemies of the nation. All of these individuals know that they are in their journey together, and always tend to have each other’s back. Such type of camaraderie is hardly seen in a residency or even community hospitals.
- In the military, everyone is insured, including the physicians. While the wait timings can be on bit of a higher side due to this, no one has to pass on the care needed by them due to the inability to pay for it. There are hardly many professions and job environments that offer a comprehensive insurance, but the military is the one that does.
As mentioned by Martin Lloyd Sanders in the military, everyone has some one assigned to take care of them. In many cases it is seen that patients in civilian hospital environments literally do not have a single person whom they can call to come and get them, and take care of them. But every person in the military has a first sergeant and a commander to have their back.
