All Branch Topic (ABT) Medical Waivers and Corps Transfer question

[Noisewater-TDX]

Hey guys, been a long time reader. I'm posting because i can't find a straight answer anywhere else.

Q #1 -
I am 27, and a current ICU/ER/Trauma RN with ~ 4 years of exp, i was hoping to join one of the branches for a 4 year contract and then trying for USUHS or HPSP. But there may be a little snag, when i was 24 i got diagnosed with secondary hypogonadism and have been put on TRT (120mg of test IM every 5 days) - I have spoken with the Army and the AF, the medical recruiters really won't give me any sort of answer. They just tell me to do the paperwork and send it in. Considering some of you probably write Medical Waivers, have any of you heard of a waiver for low t??

Q #2 -
If i did get into the Nurse Corp and did a 4 year contract i would be an O-3, if i took a HPSP would i forfeit my rank and revert to an O-1? And if that is the case, after medical school would i be an 0-3 with 8 years service credit? (4 years nurse corp + 4 years med school).

Thanks for any help.

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[DrMetal]

Hey guys, been a long time reader. I'm posting because i can't find a straight answer anywhere else.

Q #1 -
I am 27, and a current ICU/ER/Trauma RN with ~ 4 years of exp, i was hoping to join one of the branches for a 4 year contract and then trying for USUHS or HPSP. But there may be a little snag, when i was 24 i got diagnosed with secondary hypogonadism and have been put on TRT (120mg of test IM every 5 days) - I have spoken with the Army and the AF, the medical recruiters really won't give me any sort of answer. They just tell me to do the paperwork and send it in. Considering some of you probably write Medical Waivers, have any of you heard of a waiver for low t??

Q #2 -
If i did get into the Nurse Corp and did a 4 year contract i would be an O-3, if i took a HPSP would i forfeit my rank and revert to an O-1? And if that is the case, after medical school would i be an 0-3 with 8 years service credit? (4 years nurse corp + 4 years med school).

Thanks for any help.

Why do you want to join the nurse corps? If your ultimate goal is hpsp/usuhs, why not just work towards that and apply when you're ready? Well-treated hypoginadism in a compliant asymptomatic patient should be waiverable. We say "should/would/could", because you have to apply, ask for the waiver, and get one granted. If thats your only medical condition, i think you'rr likely to be succesful.

 

[Noisewater-TDX]

I thought i read that if you are prior Mil you have a better shot at getting in USUHS and HPSP. Plus it'll give me a good idea of what im getting into and how military Healthcare works.

But it does sound a little simplier just going in as a med student.

Thanks for your response. My low T is very stable and no other med issues that im aware of. heh.

 

[DrMetal]

I thought i read that if you are prior Mil you have a better shot at getting in USUHS and HPSP.

not true. Both prpgrams accept plenty of non-prior service folk

Plus it'll give me a good idea of what im getting into and how military Healthcare works.

That might be true (being in the Nurse corps would give you insight into milmed, but I wouldnt join the NC for that sole reason. Consider it if you're still interested in being a nurse.

 

[deuist]

If i did get into the Nurse Corp and did a 4 year contract i would be an O-3, if i took a HPSP would i forfeit my rank and revert to an O-1?

Yes, you are recommissioned as an O-1 when you take the HPSP scholarship.

And if that is the case, after medical school would i be an 0-3 with 8 years service credit? (4 years nurse corp + 4 years med school).

No, you will only get credit for the time spent in the nurse corps. Medical school does not count toward promotion. After graduating with your medical degree, you would be recommissioned as an O-3. Any prior experience on active duty would count for pay purposes, but not medical school. Also, for promotions, your prior service time is only counted at half-time.

Like others have mentioned, you are going about this the wrong way. If your goal is to become a military doctor, just apply for medical school right now (assuming that you have met all of the prerequisites). If you are hesitant about military medicine and want to see what it's like first, you can try shadowing, meeting some military physicians, or even taking a civilian contract job as a nurse at a military treatment facility.

 

[denali]

If you join a Nurse Corps, in any of the services, then apply to go to medical school at USUHS while an active duty nurse, you will need to get an OK from your chain of command. If you believe the senior Nurse Corps officers in your chain are going to approve you leaving the fold to become a doctor, especially when USUHS offers NP and CRNA studies through the GSN, then you are seriously deluding yourself.

 

[Noisewater-TDX]

Thanks for all the advice guys.

I just had a chance to eat Thanksgiving dinner with a Locum general surgeon who is working the holiday here while on leave, he is a Lt. Commander in the Navy. This seems to have been at the exact right time and he is only in town for 1 week, odd how things happen.

We talked for a good 3-4 hours and he told me pretty much what you guys have and a TON more. He seems happyish with his time in the Navy but says it wasn't what he expected. Lots of ups, lots of downs, not the case volume or level of acuity he had hoped for... But he said he is proud to serve and that scholarship was right for his family at the time he took it.

I think i'll start hitting the books for the 2015 MCAT...

Thanks again.

-Nick