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[47Pilot]

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[DrMetal]

I’d like to pursue a career in medicine and have avoided it for quite some time due to self-doubt and constraints of being in the military / military pipeline. I’d like to attend USUHS and finish out my 20 years as a physician. I’m a little nervous to take the first step due to the investment and the numerous unknowns (branch releasing me to AMEDD, being accepted into a school, being able to support my family if I do HPSP instead of USUHS).
Details:
-Currently an Army AV officer with 4 years left on my ADSO.
- Stationed overseas for the next two years so I’m having trouble completing the pre-reqs with labs.
- Engineering undergrad so I have a good bit of the pre-reqs complete.
- Primarily would like to attend USUHS but interested in HPSP as well.
- Struggling to obtain clinical experience since my post is quite small overseas but I have been shadowing at the hospital on post.
- Undergrad GPA isn’t stellar but still good by most standards (upward trend, excelled in STEM etc.)

Anyone who’s gone into medicine while already being an active duty O in another branch, please chime in! Would love to hear your experiences.

Also would love to hear anyone experiences being a physician in the army. I’ve done lots of research and talked to a ton of physicians but can never get enough of hearing about everyone’s experience.

Thanks!

How old are you, and how much time do you have active duty? (how far are you from retirement).

Not being able to do your prereqs is a show-stoper. You'll have to wait until get CONUS, then do them. So you may be 3 to 4 years from even applying.

I generally recommend people NOT go to medical school after the age of 40. That's generally the age at which you start questioning humanity and whether or not we're really worth saving. (In your 30s, you still have some glimmer of idealism . . . but past 40, forget about it).

 

[47Pilot]

How old are you, and how much time do you have active duty? (how far are you from retirement).

Not being able to do your prereqs is a show-stoper. You'll have to wait until get CONUS, then do them. So you may be 3 to 4 years from even applying.

I generally recommend people NOT go to medical school after the age of 40. That's generally the age at which you start questioning humanity and whether or not we're really worth saving. (In your 30s, you still have some glimmer of idealism . . . but past 40, forget about it).

Currently 25, so I’ve still got a bit of time to play with. I can get all the prereqs completed online, just not sure if there are options for online labs, maybe I’ll see if there’s an option to complete them at a Korean university?

 

[DrMetal]

Currently 25, so I’ve still got a bit of time to play with. I can get all the prereqs completed online, just not sure if there are options for online labs, maybe I’ll see if there’s an option to complete them at a Korean university

Ahh, youth is king. Then you have plenty of time and idealism. I wouldn't do your pre-reqs online, as most medical schools wont accept them, especially if they don't have lab components. Come home, find yourself a nice junior college, knock 'em out.

 

[DeadCactus]

Seems like every medical school class had 1 or 2 military pilots turned physician. Maybe an exaggeration but I've definitely run into a number of them. HPSP, HSCP, USUHS, etc make a lot of sense for people with that background and a willingness to stay in the military. Realistically, you would end up doing it after your current obligation.

 

[pgg]

It used to be that online prerequisites were a definite disadvantage when applying. With the last couple years of COVID altering the state of distance learning and telecommuting - I wonder if online coursework still carries the same stigma to adcoms.

I am curious, if anyone has any recent experience or first hand knowledge.

 

[47Pilot]

It used to be that online prerequisites were a definite disadvantage when applying. With the last couple years of COVID altering the state of distance learning and telecommuting - I wonder if online coursework still carries the same stigma to adcoms.

I am curious, if anyone has any recent experience or first hand knowledge.

Maybe with the progress of online learning + an explanation on knocking out classes because I’m stationed in a foreign country while working full time could get a slight pass? I could do everything but the labs and knock those out stateside.

 

[pgg]

Maybe with the progress of online learning + an explanation on knocking out classes because I’m stationed in a foreign country while working full time could get a slight pass? I could do everything but the labs and knock those out stateside.

I honestly don't know. I'm 25+ years away from applying to medical school and have no connection to any med school adcom now. I'm curious but completely ignorant about it.

I'd like to think adcoms would both accept distance learning in this era, and cut some slack to an active duty servicemember getting stuff done while stationed overseas, but the proof's in the acceptance letter.

 

[militaryPHYS]

You can get a conditional release from your current ADSO but only after your application for med school is complete and you're in the process of accepting an offer to go. USUHS makes this a little bit easier as the military overall is a net neutral as it relates to manning but lots of unknowns.

Agree with most of the above. Focus on completing your pre-reqs. When that is done see where you are at in your timeline and either apply for conditional release or just finish up your time and apply during your final years so you can roll right in to med school

 

[47Pilot]

I’d like to pursue a career in medicine and have avoided it for quite some time due to self-doubt and constraints of being in the military / military pipeline. I’d like to attend USUHS and finish out my 20 years as a physician. I’m a little nervous to take the first step due to the investment and the numerous unknowns (branch releasing me to AMEDD, being accepted into a school, being able to support my family if I do HPSP instead of USUHS).
Details:
-Currently an Army AV officer with 4 years left on my ADSO.
- Stationed overseas for the next two years so I’m having trouble completing the pre-reqs with labs.
- Engineering undergrad so I have a good bit of the pre-reqs complete.
- Primarily would like to attend USUHS but interested in HPSP as well.
- Struggling to obtain clinical experience since my post is quite small overseas but I have been shadowing at the hospital on post.
- Undergrad GPA isn’t stellar but still good by most standards (upward trend, excelled in STEM etc.)

Anyone who’s gone into medicine while already being an active duty O in another branch, please chime in! Would love to hear your experiences.

Also would love to hear anyone experiences being a physician in the army. I’ve done lots of research and talked to a ton of physicians but can never get enough of hearing about everyone’s experience.

Thanks!

Digging deeper, found this on the USUHS website:
“Community college, online and hybrid courses are accepted as long as it is a US accredited university or college. This includes science labs.”
Obviously in person would be preferred but this leads me to believe, due to circumstances like being stationed in a foreign country for an extended period of time, I could take these pre-reqs online. I’ll reach out to admissions for their take, just posting this in case anyone is in the same boat and finds this post helpful.

 

[DrMetal]

Digging deeper, found this on the USUHS website:
“Community college, online and hybrid courses are accepted as long as it is a US accredited university or college. This includes science labs.”
Obviously in person would be preferred but this leads me to believe, due to circumstances like being stationed in a foreign country for an extended period of time, I could take these pre-reqs online. I’ll reach out to admissions for their take, just posting this in case anyone is in the same boat and finds this post helpful.

If it's from an accredited school, and the transcript indicates "General Chemistry w/Lab", and makes no mention whether it was on-line or in-residence . . . then it might fly. I've also heard of some schools (especially now in the COVID era) offering online courses with lab (where you get the lab materials and perform the experiment at home, video yourself or something, and turn that in).

USU is likely more accommodating than other medical schools. Bear that in mind if you want to apply to other schools as well.