Civilian learning versus Navy

[dOcToRdOn]

Hey all,
In the midst of getting my sent to my prospective schools, ive given alot of thought to joining the navy and letting them pay for it. I'd rather go to school on their dime, travel the world, get paid and then get out when Im 40 and start making really money. Besides, we wont really end up getting "established" into a practice until we're in our mid 30's anyways, so i figured why not get out and be completely debt free? That's the reasoning behind it, and plus i hope to live in spain for a few years like i did in undergrad. Im sure there are others out there that have joined the navy, what do you think? what was your thinking when you started with the HPSP program in the navy? do you like it? are you happy with your decision to spend a few years in the military so youre not paying off 250K for the rest of your life? Just wanted to see what some other future docs thought.

-Don

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[toothless rufus]

Get into a good specialty, live like a pauper for a year after residency, and pay off your debt, or a substantial portion of it. Don't go military unless you are really interested.

 

[MCATTT]

What are the problems with going into army, navy, etc?

It sounds too good. I have been thinking about it lately.
does anyone has any experience with this path?

 

[whatdapho]

the best source or answers to your questions is in the military medicine forum. From what I have read, DO NOT do HPSP or FAP if you are in it for the money. Being in the military is no joke as even though you are a highly trained professional, you are the governments property for X amount of years. And you may be stationed any where in the world. Just make sure you know what you're getting yourself into. It's a huge commitment and do as much research as you can. But don't let money be the deciding factor.

 

[AF DO]

Hey all,
In the midst of getting my sent to my prospective schools, ive given alot of thought to joining the navy and letting them pay for it. I'd rather go to school on their dime, travel the world, get paid and then get out when Im 40 and start making really money. Besides, we wont really end up getting "established" into a practice until we're in our mid 30's anyways, so i figured why not get out and be completely debt free? That's the reasoning behind it, and plus i hope to live in spain for a few years like i did in undergrad. Im sure there are others out there that have joined the navy, what do you think? what was your thinking when you started with the HPSP program in the navy? do you like it? are you happy with your decision to spend a few years in the military so youre not paying off 250K for the rest of your life? Just wanted to see what some other future docs thought.

-Don

Hey Don, I'm starting med school in the fall and I accepted the HPSP for the Air Force. From all that I've researched and everyone that I've talked to one conclusion can be drawn: if you're doing it for money, DON'T. It won't be worth it. You are an officer first and then a doctor. There are pros and cons to joining the military and taking the HPS, and you just have to decide whether the pros outweight the cons. I mean no offense to you, but from the reasons above my suggestion would be to not do it. I was an RA last year in undergrad and we got free room and board for that which was great, but to go through all that I did for free room and board I would have been nuts. Hope that helps in your decision man, PM me if you have any more questions.

JK

 

[dOcToRdOn]

Hey Don, I'm starting med school in the fall and I accepted the HPSP for the Air Force. From all that I've researched and everyone that I've talked to one conclusion can be drawn: if you're doing it for money, DON'T. It won't be worth it. You are an officer first and then a doctor. There are pros and cons to joining the military and taking the HPS, and you just have to decide whether the pros outweight the cons. I mean no offense to you, but from the reasons above my suggestion would be to not do it. I was an RA last year in undergrad and we got free room and board for that which was great, but to go through all that I did for free room and board I would have been nuts. Hope that helps in your decision man, PM me if you have any more questions.

JK

Thanks for your help bud! I sent in my money to WVSOM this week, but im not entirely sure that that is where i want to go. What were your reasons? but more importantly, why did u decide to do the hpsp scholarship? are you doing navy, army or airforce? I completely agree and understand about what youre saying in regards to not doing it solely for the money. It is a big factor, but its not everything. perhaps i shoud've mentioned that i would like to live in spain again for a few years, and the navy has a huge medical facility in rota, spain. That aside, i just thought it would be cool to live in different places around the world. Hawaii, spain, japan, korea, any other bases. i thought that it would be an interesting opportunity to use to go places and learn about new people, new things. What are your reasons behind going military? Thanks for any and all your help.

-Don

 

[AF DO]

Thanks for your help bud! I sent in my money to WVSOM this week, but im not entirely sure that that is where i want to go. What were your reasons? but more importantly, why did u decide to do the hpsp scholarship? are you doing navy, army or airforce? I completely agree and understand about what youre saying in regards to not doing it solely for the money. It is a big factor, but its not everything. perhaps i shoud've mentioned that i would like to live in spain again for a few years, and the navy has a huge medical facility in rota, spain. That aside, i just thought it would be cool to live in different places around the world. Hawaii, spain, japan, korea, any other bases. i thought that it would be an interesting opportunity to use to go places and learn about new people, new things. What are your reasons behind going military? Thanks for any and all your help.

-Don

Hey Don, I decided to go to WVSOM because that is where I felt I belonged. When I started looking into medical schools I had some family pressure to look into it (my whole family including myself if from WV). After weighing everything I knew that I would get a good education wherever I went so I wanted to go where my heart told me (I know, I know, corney), but as soon as I set foot on campus I felt compelled to give them my money! haha. I'm doing the Air Force HPSP. For as long as I remember I have considered going into the military. I was actually on my way to going to one of the academies out of high school, but decided that it wasn't for me at the time. My biggest reason for wanting to go into the military is that I believe the impact I have as a doctor will be much greater than if I went the civilian route. I know that there are headaches being a military doc but you also don't have to worry about malpractice insurance, building a patient base or taking care of billing. I'm hoping this will allow me to focus more on the medicine part.

I recommend going and talking to some recruiters, but take what they say with a grain of salt. If you want a good website check this one out: http://lukeballard.tripod.com/HPSP.html

This is for the AF, but it's a pretty good detailed description of what the program is like. Remember, you have to weigh the good and the bad. And do t because you want to be a military doc.

Congrats on getting accepted to WVSOM man, let me know if you do decide to go there. And if you have any more questions don't hesitate.