Author: Joel Schofer, MD, MBA, CPE
Vice Adm. C. Forrest Faison, III, Retires as Navy’s 38th Surgeon General
Story by Angela Ciancio (original link here)
WASHINGTON (NNS) – Vice Adm. C. Forrest Faison, III, the Navy’s 38th Surgeon General, celebrated the culmination of 39 years of active duty service at a retirement ceremony at the Navy Yard in Washington, DC, Oct. 25, 2019.
Secretary of the Navy, Richard V. Spencer presided over the ceremony, and former Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson, USN (Ret.), gave remarks.
“I’m particularly grateful for the steady hand Admiral Faison provided in our military medical transformation efforts, strengthening readiness and increasing maneuverability. Thanks to his efforts and the hard work of all of our Navy medical professionals, the Department is better prepared to confront a complex world & respond wherever needed,” said Spencer.
The ceremony commemorated both Faison’s career as well as the role of Navy Medicine in the support to the daily readiness of the Fleet and Marine Corps.
“It has been the privilege of a lifetime to honor the trust placed in our hands by those we serve and their families,” said Faison. “The Navy Medicine team is ready and dedicated to doing everything within our power to provide those we serve with the best care our nation can offer so that each Sailor and Marine can return home safely and alive.”
A native of Norfolk, Virginia and Cleveland, Ohio, Faison graduated from Rocky River High School in Cleveland. He went on to earn his bachelor’s degree from Wake Forrest University in 1980 and received a commission as a Naval officer through the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) in 1980, completing his medical degree in 1984 at USUHS. He is also a board certified and a Distinguished Professor of Military Medicine and an associate clinical professor in pediatrics.
During his tenure as Surgeon General, Faison led the way as Navy Medicine redefined itself from a primarily military treatment facility-based care model to a readiness focused, critical wartime enterprise in support of operational medical platforms and enhanced Fleet and Marine Corps Operational unit integration.
Among his many contributions to improving Navy Medicine, Faison dedicated himself to ensuring Hospital Corpsmen were prepared to fight tonight as he directed a comprehensive review, rewrite and update of the Hospital Corpsman “A” school curriculum. His attention to the Hospital Corpsman trauma training curriculum leveraged civilian partnerships to augment the clinical and trauma training experiences to better prepare warrior caretakers for casualty responses.
He established the Navy’s Global Health Specialist Program to ensure professionals who have global health experience, skills and training receive specialized certifications to fill key positions across the Department of Defense, interagency and international communities. As part of this effort, Navy Medicine successfully conducted a trauma collaborative exchange with the government of Vietnam to provide emergency medicine services. The resulting effort strengthened allied medical trauma capacities and provided Navy medical teams the opportunity to sustain their trauma skills in an unfamiliar and resource-constrained environment.
Faison also led the first deployment of the Department of Defense’s $4.3 billion electronic health record system “MHS GENESIS” at Naval Hospital Bremerton and Naval Health Clinic Oak Harbor, Washington. The new computer system will be implemented at all military medical facilities to manage health information in a single health record across the continuum of care for service members, veterans, and their families.
As Faison retires, Rear Adm. Terry Moulton will serve as the Acting Navy Surgeon General until a new Surgeon General is confirmed.
“As I close this chapter of almost 40 years of service, I know our Navy and Marine Corps is in good hands because they are in your hands. I know you will continue to do what you have always done since the founding of our nation: honor the trust,” Faison said. “I wish each of you all life’s blessings ahead and please know that you go forward with my deepest thanks and admiration for all you do.”
Navy Medicine is a global health care network of 63,000 personnel that provide health care support to the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, their families and veterans in high operational tempo environments, at expeditionary medical facilities, medical treatment facilities, hospitals, clinics, hospital ships and research units around the world.
Navy’s Fitness Test Overhaul Enters Next Phase
Here’s a link to this Military.com article about the upcoming revised PFA/PRT:
Fall 2019 USUHS Newsletter and How to Get a Faculty Appointment
Here is the newsletter:
Faculty Development Newsletter Fall 2019
The newsletter contains info on getting a faculty appointment, but here is an explanation recently sent out at NMC Portsmouth:
For those who help train USUHS students (medical students, NP trainees,
nurse anesthesia students, etc.), did you know that you are eligible for a
faculty appointment at USUHS? Why obtain a faculty appointment? If you
have an interest in academic medicine, a faculty appointment is an important
part of your CV. If you are going to make a career in academic medicine,
the longer you hold a faculty appointment, the better your chances for
faculty promotion. Outside the military, promotion equates to more salary
and is sometimes necessary to be considered for certain academic positions.So how do you get one? First, you need to determine what academic “rank”
you are eligible for. See the Clinicians Flow Chart attachment, but for
most the deciding factor will be if you have routine versus random/episodic
teaching of USUHS students. Clinicians who regularly teach USUHS students
generally will qualify to become a Clinical Assistant Professor. Those with
intermittent, random or episodic teaching can be appointed an Adjunct
Instructor or Adjunct Assistant Professor.To apply, you will need to gather the appropriate documents per the
appointment promotion checklist attachment. For example, to become a
Clinical Assistant Professor you will need:– to complete the Online Faculty Appointment Application
– a CV in AAMC Format
– a letter of recommendation from the local department chair or
program director
– a command endorsement (this is usually brief, at the end of the
above letter of recommendation)
– complete a USU Form 107This information is then forwarded to the appropriate USUHS Department POC
(see the dept POCs attachment) who then presents this for appointment to the
University. Subspecialists fall under the parent specialty (for example,
Ophthalmology would go to Surgery). More information is available at:
https://www.usuhs.edu/medschool/faculty/appointmentandpromotions
Hot Fill – O6 Deputy to N17 (21st Century Sailor Office)
This is an opportunity for a CAPT/CAPT(s) to step outside the usual Navy Medicine lifelines and have a major impact on the Navy. OPNAV N17 (this would be CNO staff) is looking for a Deputy for RDML Sobeck, Director of the 21st Century Sailor program.
This is very short fuse, anyone who is interested (and in their PCS window) should reach out to CDR Melissa Austin at BUMED (contact is in the global) ASAP.
National Capital Consortium Ophthalmology Program Director
Here is the announcement/recruitment letter for the Program Director position for the NCC Ophthalmology Residency.
The memorandum to the Surgeons General requests the widest dissemination of the announcement to ensure that all physicians desiring an assignment as a Program Director have the opportunity to apply.
Here also is the DoD Policy and Selection Criteria for GME Program Directors, as well as the ACGME requirements for this position.
Please note: Applicants are required to submit a CV and Letter of Intent to apply for the position.
An applicant’s CV must include a section about faculty development activities that they have done.
An applicant’s CV must demonstrate at least 3 years of documented education and/or administrative experience, as well as ongoing clinical activity in the (sub)specialty for which they are applying.
An applicant’s CV must demonstrate current board certification in the (sub)specialty in which they are applying. Current medical licensure must also be documented on the CV.
An applicant’s CV must demonstrate current ongoing scholarly activity.
The Letter of intent must include the candidate’s level of commitment to GME and the Program Director position, including the number of years they are willing to serve, and that if selected, that they will accept the position. This program is 6 years in length.
Navy applicants must submit to CDR Melissa Austin at BUMED (contact info is in the global).
Finance Friday Articles
Here is my article of the week, which I picked because of #3 in the article, which is particularly relevant to the value of a military pension:
Here are the rest of this week’s articles:
5 Reasons to Pay Off Your Debt
5 Ways to Increase Your Investing Returns
Eight Reasons You Will Never Reach Financial Independence
Establishing Your Own Charity Via a Donor Advised Fund
Get an Alpine Start to Your Finances!
Half of Retirees Afraid to Use Savings
How Does Home Ownership Fit Into An Investment Portfolio and Financial Plan?
How do super savers know when they can quit their jobs?
How To “Lie” With Personal Finance
How To “Lie” With Personal Finance – Part 2 (Homeownership Edition)
Landing a Doctor Job: How to Compare Positions for Physicians
Planning for Retirement is a Guessing Game
Quit Buying Cars On Credit – 15 Reasons to Pay Cash
The 60/40 Strategy Has Worked Even When Bond Returns Have Disappointed
Top 5 Reasons to Exceed 25 Years of Expenses Before Retiring
Why It’s So Important to Diversify Your Real Estate Portfolio
Throwback Thursday Classic Post – How to Read Your Performance Summary Report (PSR)
One of the most important documents viewed during promotion boards is your Performance Summary Report or PSR. It is the document that summarizes all of your FITREPs for the board, and it can be difficult to interpret. I created a screencast that will show you how to read your PSR. Here are the PPT slides and the screencast:
2020 Version of Promo Prep is Ready!
If you want the 2020 version of my Promo Prep, go to this site where you’ll always find the most up-to-date version:
The Easiest Way to Figure Out Your Optimal TSP Investment Plan
If you invest in the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), you need to come up with a plan for how you are going to invest. Here is the easiest way to come up with that plan.
Step 1 – Figure Out Your Asset Allocation
In the TSP, you can only invest in two broad asset classes – stocks and bonds. Because of this, the first decision you need to make is how you are going to divide your TSP among these asset classes.
To figure this out, take this Vanguard survey.
At the top of the page it will give you a suggested allocation, such as 80% stocks and 20% bonds. Jot this down somewhere.
Step 2 – Find the TSP Lifecycle Fund That Most Closely Matches This Asset Allocation
Here are the current broad asset allocations of the TSP Lifecycle Funds as of 13 OCT 2019:
| FUND | STOCKS | BONDS |
| L Income | 21% | 79% |
| L 2020 | 26% | 74% |
| L 2030 | 60% | 40% |
| L 2040 | 72% | 28% |
| L 2050 | 82% | 18% |
Pick the one that is closest to your suggested asset allocation from the Vanguard survey. For example, if the survey said you needed 80% stocks and 20% bonds, I’d pick the L 2050 fund because it is closest.
Step 3 – You’re Done
Seriously, it is that simple. I’m not saying this is the best strategy, but it is the easiest and in all honesty, if someone MADE me do this, I’d be fine with it. It is very reasonable way to approach saving for retirement, which is why I’m telling you about it.
Why do I make you take a Vanguard survey instead of just picking the Lifecycle fund that is closest to the year you want to retire? Because the Lifecycle funds are a little too conservative for my tastes and when you compare them with other target date funds. For example, the Lifecycle 2040 is 72% stocks and 28% bonds. The Vanguard Target Retirement Date 2040 is more aggressive at 83% stocks and 17% bonds, which I think is more appropriate.
Joel Schofer's Career Planning Blog 