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Orthopedic Surgery and Flight Surgery: Income Differences Between the Navy Health Professions Scholarship Program and
Eric Goodrich1, Richard P Goodrich2
1Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine Health/Millcreek Community Hospital Orthopedic Surgery Resident, 5515 Peach Street, Erie, PA 16509.
Military Medicine
|August 18, 2020
Summary
Choosing a civilian orthopedic surgery career offers a higher net future value than a military Navy career. Shorter Navy tours, like flight surgeon roles, approach civilian financial outcomes but civilian practice remains the most lucrative option.
Area of Science:
- Orthopedic Surgery
- Military Medicine
- Health Economics
Background:
- Orthopedic surgery offers lucrative career paths in both civilian and military sectors.
- The financial implications of choosing a military (Navy) versus a civilian orthopedic surgery career are not well-documented in peer-reviewed literature.
- Understanding these financial differences is crucial for medical students and the Department of Defense.
Purpose of the Study:
- To financially analyze the career paths of civilian and military orthopedic surgeons.
- To examine common scenarios for becoming an orthopedic surgeon via the Navy Health Professions Scholarship Program, including flight surgeon roles.
- To compare the present and future values of earnings for various career scenarios.
Main Methods:
- Utilized 2020 Defense Finance and Accounting Service pay tables and 2019 Navy Fiscal Year Medical Corps Special Pay Guidance for military salaries.
- Extracted median income data for civilian orthopedic surgeons from Salary.com.
- Calculated present value (PV) and future value (FV) using the Consumer Price Index-U and average Department of Defense pay increases over 20 years, analyzing six common scenarios.
Main Results:
- The highest net future values were observed for Navy surgeons with tours of 5 years or less (flight surgeon/separate or civilian deferment/separate).
- A civilian orthopedic surgery career throughout yielded the highest net future value ($19,974,673).
- Shorter Navy tours, while financially competitive due to tax shelters, resulted in lower net future values compared to a pure civilian career.
Conclusions:
- Shorter military tours in orthopedic surgery yield higher net future values than extended military careers.
- Flight surgeon roles offer a rewarding experience with a net future value close to civilian careers, though civilian application may be challenging post-service.
- Civilian orthopedic surgery presents the optimal financial path due to higher income potential and benefits like loan repayment and signing bonuses.
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