Podcasts by 301 Moved Permanently

FY23 Promotion Boards – What are They Looking At and How Can You Get Ready? from 2021-08-23T10:00

Personal Finance for the Military Physician – A 2021 Update from 2021-01-05T11:00

Here are the slides I used:

FY22 Promotion Boards – What are They Looking At and How Can You Get Ready? from 2020-12-05T11:00

Here are the Powerpoint slides: Here is the screencast:

Debt, College, and Discretionary Spending from 2020-06-20T06:00:39

Here are the slides I used to record this episode of the podcast: Debt, College, and Discretionary Spending   Here’s the screencast:

Tips to Build Your Career During Residency from 2020-05-13T06:00:56

Here are the slides I used for this episode of the podcast: Tips on Building Your Career During Residency

The New Medical Corps Career Progression Slide – What Does It Mean to You? from 2020-04-15T06:00:40

Navy Medicine has been undergoing a lot of change. We have a new Surgeon General, a new Corps Chief, and a renewed focus on readiness. With these changes come a new career progression and path for ...

Playing the Game and Managing Your Military Career from 2020-03-17T06:00:54

What better to do during a global pandemic than listen to a screencast about managing your career! Here are the PPT slides I used for it: Playing the Game – Managing Your Military Career

Personal Finance for the Military Physician – A 2020 Update from 2020-02-16T07:00:13

Here are the slides I used for this podcast, in both PDF and PPT format: Personal Finance for the Military Physician – A 2020 Update – PPT Personal Finance for the Military Physician – A 2020 Updat...

FY21 Promotion Boards – What are They Looking At and How Can You Get Ready? from 2020-01-07T07:00:56

Here is a screencast/podcast of this updated lecture as well as the PDF of the slides I used: FY 21 Promotion Boards Slide Deck

Personal Finance for the Military Physician: A 2019 Update from 2019-01-18T07:00:27

I updated my Personal Finance for the Military Physician talk for 2019 and have this week’s articles listed below:   Here are this week’s articles: 1 in 3 eligible active-duty troops signed up for ...

FY20 Promotion Boards – What are They Looking At and How Can You Get Ready? from 2018-12-10T07:00:39

I gave this talk to the medical staff at NMC Portsmouth a few weeks ago, and I finally got around to recording it for all to enjoy… Here is a PDF of the slides: FY20 Promotion Boards – What are The...

How to Evaluate the Promotion Potential of a Billet/Position from 2018-10-21T17:19:30

Recently I advertised the USUHS Commandant position. A reader asked: Any thoughts on whether you think this is a position that would make an O5 competitive for O6? This is a common issue. A positio...

You Should Care About Promotion Board Precepts and Convening Orders from 2018-04-09T04:01:04

Whenever a promotion board starts, the members are provided two items to guide them as they decide who to promote, the board precept and the convening order. These documents are available on-line a...

How I Write My Fitrep from 2018-01-14T22:47:01

O5 fitreps are due soon, so it is time for me to write my fitrep. How do I do it? Here are the steps I go through: I get the Surgeon General’s priorities and the convening order for last year’s O6 ...

Do You Still Need to Send the Above Zone Letter? from 2018-01-09T06:01:07

The standard advice has always gone something like this: “If you are above zone, you need to send a letter to the promotion board so that they know you are still trying to promote. Otherwise they w...

New Addition to the Promo Prep – Check Your Security Clearance from 2018-01-07T19:37:13

During the last Specialty Leader Business Meeting, the Detailing Update mentioned that there were about 10 cases of officers who lost their promotion due to a security clearance issue. As a result,...

How to Prepare for Important Navy Interviews from 2017-12-11T06:01:08

A reader recently asked me for help preparing for a big interview that I had done in the past (the interview to become a Specialty Leader). We both thought that interview prep would be a good blog ...

Quick Review of How to Update Your Record from 2017-10-19T00:01:45

While you need to go to the promo prep for a full record review, here is a video podcast that should give you an idea of how much work you need to do. Download your OSR, PSR, and ODC from BOL. Then...

What Should You Do If You Didn’t Promote? from 2017-07-30T22:59:01

If you are particularly interested in this post, I’m sorry. You or someone you care about probably failed to promote. In reality, nowadays it is normal and expected to fail to promote to O5 and O6,...

3 Financial Tips Every Young Doctor Needs to Know from 2017-07-16T00:19:35

1. You can’t control the investment markets, so focus on the two things you can control – investment costs and your asset allocation. No one, and I mean no one, knows what is going to happen in the...

I Paid Off My Mortgage – Should You? from 2017-06-22T23:57:49

(Here is a pdf of this article, one of my personal finance columns I write for a national Emergency Medicine newsletter.  Find more of them here.) I cut a check and paid off my mortgage in February...

Outside the Box Opportunities from 2017-06-20T12:17:42

Here are the slides for a lecture on “Outside the Box Opportunities” that I gave at the 2017 Transition to Practice Symposium at NMCSD for all the graduating residents and fellows: Outside the Box ...

Fitreps in 18 Minutes from 2017-05-31T10:58:51

Here is the Powerpoint and screencast of a lecture I gave on Fitreps a few weeks ago at the NMCSD Transition to Practice Symposium for all the graduating residents and fellows.  Without audience pa...

Tricks for Long-Term Asset Protection from 2017-05-22T16:04:51

Here are the slides and a screencast of a lecture I recently gave at a national conference on tricks for long-term asset protection: Tricks for Long-Term Asset Protection

You Were Selected for Promotion to O5 or O6 – Should You Accept It? from 2017-05-16T15:31:50

BLUF – If you are hoping to retire but are not willing to serve 3 years as a Commander or Captain, you should decline the promotion.  (This is not applicable if you are resigning.  Only if you are ...

Personal Finance for the New Attending from 2017-05-11T18:00:19

Here is an audio podcast of a 30 minute lecture I gave at Naval Medical Center San Diego’s Transition to Practice Symposium that they put on last week for all the graduating residents and fellows. ...

Long-Term Care, Disability, and Umbrella Insurance: Do I Need All of This? from 2017-05-01T19:51:02

This video podcast/screencast is a recording of a talk I gave at a national Emergency Medicine conference two months ago.  Bottom line up front: Long-Term Care Insurance – You probably don’t need i...

How to Resign Worry Free from 2017-03-12T16:45:58

Recently Navy Personnel Command (PERS) has started enforcing some policies that had largely been ignored, and I’ve heard a few horror stories from people trying to resign from the Navy.  With that ...

Joel Schofer’s Fitrep Prep from 2017-01-30T00:22:16

Thousands of times a year Navy physicians struggle to do something that no one really ever teaches them how to do…write their fitrep.  I have read the Navy fitrep instruction, taken guidance I’ve r...

Tips to Get Selected for GME from 2017-01-16T15:17:43

The Graduate Medical Education Selection Board (GMESB) results were released last month with a 30 DEC deadline to accept or decline any spots you were offered.  Undoubtedly there were some people w...

Types of Deployments from 2016-11-14T18:59:29

This post will help you learn all that you can about deployments.  Personally, I’ve done three deployments, one as a GMO during the initial invasion of Iraq, and two after residency.  In 2010 I dep...

The New Blended Retirement System from 2016-10-09T17:49:44

There has been a lot of recent activity surrounding the new Blended Retirement System (BRS), and I don’t intend to reinvent the wheel and explain the whole system to you when there are some nice re...

How to Find Out Your Reporting Senior’s Fitrep Trait Average from 2016-09-21T01:12:12

One of the most important markers of a good fitrep is that your trait average is above your reporting senior’s trait average.  Since most officers initially write their own fitrep and create their ...

LCDR Fitreps – Language for Writing Your Block 41 from 2016-08-30T12:36:50

LCDRs all over Navy Medicine are busily writing their fitreps, so I wanted to offer some assistance.  Keep in mind that when you write your block 41, the narrative portion of your fitrep, you are w...

Getting Your Annual CFE (Continuing Financial Education) from 2016-08-21T14:53:15

We are all required to get continuing medical education or CME.  Just as important, however, is continuing financial education (CFE).  I’m as busy as the next guy, but I am able to stay reasonably ...

FY17 LCDR Medical Corps Promotion Board Statistics from 2016-08-14T15:18:44

Here is a PDF of the FY17 Medical Corps LCDR promotion board statistics, summarized here: Above Zone – 3 of 7 eligible officers selected – 43% selection rate In Zone – 219 of 249 eligible officers ...

Tips to Improve Your Concurrent FITREP from 2016-08-02T17:13:35

Yesterday an officer e-mailed me and asked for tips on improving his concurrent FITREP, which I thought would make a nice blog post. A concurrent FITREP is most often received when you are deployed...

6th Step to Financial Freedom – The Rent vs Buy Real Estate Decision from 2016-07-26T07:15:34

The classic advice has always been to purchase your home if you can afford it, but in the military the decision is much more complex.  You can’t simply compare your rent versus a mortgage payment. ...

You Didn’t Make CDR. Now What? from 2016-07-06T10:47:44

I receive questions all the time about what happens when you are passed over for promotion and are now “above-zone”. If you find yourself in this position, here is what you need to do: Realize that...

You Made CDR! Now What? from 2016-07-04T12:12:40

If you are one of the lucky people who made CDR, I have some things for you to consider: The next 2-3 years of fitreps may mean very little to your overall career.  First, you are soon going to be ...

FY17 CDR Promotion Board Basic Stats from 2016-07-02T13:48:36

Here are the promotion board statistics from the FY17 O5 board released yesterday: Below Zone – 0 officers selected/382 eligible – 0% selection rate In Zone – 85 officers selected/192 eligible – 44...

Consolidated Special Pays from 2016-06-30T17:22:08

I recently attended a brief where we were given an update on the upcoming change in how we receive our special pays.  This new plan is called “Consolidated Special Pays” or “CSP”.  Many of the deta...

How to Read Your Performance Summary Report (PSR) from 2016-05-23T20:03:01

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 di...

New Feature: Career Consult & Record Review! from 2016-04-24T11:44:09

There are a lot of people you can turn to when you need career advice.  There’s your Specialty Leader, your Detailer, and other senior mentors you’ve developed relationships with during your career...

What are AQDs and How Do You Get Them? from 2016-04-10T13:26:36

Additional Qualification Designation Codes or AQDs are 3 letter codes that: Identify special skills required by a billet. Identify a qualification awarded to an officer for serving in a specially c...

How Valuable is a Military Pension? from 2016-03-20T13:03:18

Two recent events led to this post.  First, this article about becoming a multimillionaire in the military appeared on military.com.  Second, I was having a discussion with some other officers abou...

Congress and Military Healthcare Reform from 2016-03-05T13:20:36

Recently there have been some high level discussions in the Senate Armed Services Committee, including our top Navy admirals, about reforming the Military Health System (MHS). Here is a transcript ...

The 5th Step to Financial Freedom – Invest in Stock and Bond Index Funds from 2016-02-18T12:37:38

Investing in stock and bond mutual funds (not individual stocks and bonds) is the simple way to get higher investment returns than more conservative investments like bank accounts, money market fun...

FY17 CAPT Board Convening Order Deconstructed from 2016-02-07T21:44:50

The FY17 Staff Corps O6 Board Convening Order was released after conclusion of the board.  The best news was that the promotion opportunity for Medical Corps was 70%, up from 50% last year, which w...

Normal Promotion Timeline and the Jobs/Achievements That Get You There from 2016-01-18T12:31:18

(Here are some Military Career Progression Slides from a career planning lecture I often give to accompany this post.) The typical career progression for a Medical Corps officer if promoted on time...

Promotion Board Changes from 2015-12-27T18:05:20

The following is from a PDF document created by RDML(s) Swap, Chief of the Medical Service Corps, and adapted for the Medical Corps with permission.  Her unedited PDF is here: Talking Points #33 AZ...

Highlights of BUMED Specialty Leader Business Meeting from 2015-12-11T13:54:39

I was recently selected to be the Emergency Medicine Specialty Leader, and earlier this week I attended the BUMED Business Meeting for Specialty Leaders and Program Directors.  Below are the highli...

4th Step to Financial Freedom – Contribute Maximally to Your Tax-Favored Retirement Accounts from 2015-12-08T01:13:12

The benefits of tax-favored retirement plans like the Thrift Savings Plan or an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) are too great to ignore, and over the span of your career sheltering your investm...

Should You Send a Letter to the Promotion Board? from 2015-11-27T15:43

Assuming you are at least in zone or above zone, the answer is yes if: You are above-zone and wish to be considered for promotion. You will be considered whether you send a letter or not, but you s...

How to Get on a Promotion Board from 2015-11-20T15:05:20

The promotion boards for FY17 are rapidly approaching, so I wanted to briefly discuss who makes up the promotion boards and how to get on one. COMPOSITION OF THE BOARDS The promotion boards consist...

Specialty Leader vs Detailer – What’s the Difference? from 2015-11-12T23:32:22

Many Medical Corps officers don’t understand the difference between their Specialty Leader and their Detailer. After you read this post, this won’t be a problem. DIFFERENCE #1 – WHO THEY WORK FOR A...

Who’s On Your List? from 2015-11-02T20:02:32

In my opinion, every Naval physician needs to have a list of people. On this list are the people who you absolutely, positively will not mess with. When you talk to them, you show them the utmost r...

How to Manage Your PRD and Not Get Stuck with a Hotfill from 2015-10-17T14:24:57

(This is a re-post of one of my first blog posts.  Since it was back in the beginning when the blog didn’t get much traffic, I wanted to repost it because I think it is one of the most important po...

3rd Step to Financial Freedom – Debt Management from 2015-10-12T12:45:43

“Annual income, twenty pounds; annual expenditure, nineteen pounds; result, happiness. Annual income, twenty pounds; annual expenditure, twenty-one pounds; result, misery.” – Wilkins Micawber in Da...

The Top 5 Critical FITREP Mistakes from 2015-09-19T12:28:21

When I was a Detailer, I would review a lot of records for people who failed to promote. Over and over again I would see FITREPs that reflected poorly on the officer. A lot of the time they didn’t ...

2nd Step to Financial Freedom – Get Properly Insured from 2015-09-05T19:41:41

Having adequate insurance is a fundamental part of your overall financial plan and the 2nd step to financial freedom after establishing an emergency fund (perhaps it should even be 1st). It is also...

1st Step to Financial Freedom – Establishing an Emergency Fund from 2015-08-24T22:50:41

Bad things happen to good people. Houses burn down or flood. Cars get totaled. Physicians are served unexpected divorce papers. Extended family members get huge medical bills that they can’t pay. Y...

Sailor of 2025 Talent Management Initiatives from 2015-08-15T03:05:36

There are some exciting and interesting initiatives underway to modernize the Navy’s personnel system.  There have been many articles on this in Navy Times.  Here is one article recently released b...

FY16 O5 Promotion Board Takeaways from 2015-08-09T22:15:52

Now that the FY16 O5 promotion board results have been released and I’ve had a chance to review a number of officer records, here are my O5 promotion board takeaways. If you’d like to review the st...

Moonlighting in the Navy from 2015-07-26T13:54:02

It’s July and a whole new crop of recent residency graduates can now moonlight for the first time in their Naval careers, so here is a video podcast and blog post that discusses some of the basics ...

Basic Anatomy of a FITREP from 2015-07-23T02:13:54

There is a HUGE knowledge deficit in the Medical Corps about FITREPs, which is sad when you consider that they are probably the most important document in our Naval careers.  To address this defici...

O5 Promotion List Released from 2015-07-10T00:17:59

Below this message is the O5 promotion list.  For those that were selected, congratulations.  Now that you are a CDR(s), you should strongly consider mixing your career up a little.  No matter what...

Introduction to Medical Corps Special Pays from 2015-07-07T02:29:08

This is my first videocast of a lecture I gave to the Emergency Medicine residents at NMC Portsmouth a few weeks ago.  I was surprised by how many questions there were about special pays.  I think ...

Could a Master’s Degree Get You Promoted? from 2015-06-30T01:10:32

When discussing why they failed to promote, one of the more common reasons that officers give is that they were unable to get a leadership position. When I ask them how they prepared themselves for...

You Failed to Promote…Now What? from 2015-06-21T14:28:54

My June 13th post that discussed whether CDR is the new terminal rank and other O6 promotion board takeaways has gotten the most attention thus far. I received some questions about what happens whe...

Is Commander the New Terminal Rank? (And Other O6 Promotion Board Takeaways) from 2015-06-13T18:53:12

In case you haven’t figured it out yet, it is getting harder to promote to Captain. Here are the historical promotion opportunities for O6. You don’t have to be a mathematician to notice the trend:...

Welcome to My Medical Corps Career Blog from 2015-05-31T12:10:52

I’ve learned a lot during my 14 years in the Navy, but the most important lessons are: By the time you learn what you need to know, it is often too late. There is no consolidated website or resourc...