Military to Pay for Medical School

[mln]

I was curious if any of you joined the military to pay for medical school? Can you tell me opinions on advantages and disadvantages of Air Force, Army, and Navy? I'm meeting with an Air Force recruiter next Wednesday, but I was wondering if anybody had experience with the other branches.

Also, I understand that it used to be that you had to do you residency at a hospital for the branch you joined. For example, you can't go to Walter Reed if you're Air Force because it's an Army hospital. Is this true?

I could ask the recruiter these questions, but I from my phone conversation with him, I get the impression that he's telling me what just what I want to hear. Also, any advice is welcome if anybody can think of some other good questions that I should be asking.

Thanks!

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[orbitsurgMD]

I was curious if any of you joined the military to pay for medical school? Can you tell me opinions on advantages and disadvantages of Air Force, Army, and Navy? I'm meeting with an Air Force recruiter next Wednesday, but I was wondering if anybody had experience with the other branches.

Also, I understand that it used to be that you had to do you residency at a hospital for the branch you joined. For example, you can't go to Walter Reed if you're Air Force because it's an Army hospital. Is this true?

I could ask the recruiter these questions, but I from my phone conversation with him, I get the impression that he's telling me what just what I want to hear. Also, any advice is welcome if anybody can think of some other good questions that I should be asking.

Thanks!

This sounds like a troll, but oh well . . .

You really should read a few of the sticky threads on this page first.
After you have done that, make a list of all your questions that you want answered. Be as detailed as you can. Ask the recruiter those questions.
Take notes. Talk to other recruiters if you can. Find out what they have to say. Every branch has a pitch as to why they think they are the best. Go talk to the Army and Navy recruiters too, and ask them your questions. Then go look up some former military docs and get their opinions.

Have you been accepted at a medical school? Is the military something you are interested in besides as a way to finance your education? Have you ever served in the armed forces before? How important is it to you to be able to decide the path you will take once you are done with school?

It would help a little if you could say a little about your career interests; that can have a lot to do whether the military is a good fit for you.

 

[delicatefade]

Also, for possible scenarios that your recruiter won't tell you about, search posts by MilitaryMD, USAFDoc, IslandDoc and R-ME-DOC. These guys have been through quite a lot, although it's not necessarily representative of 100% of military medicine across the board, their experiences are well worth considering.

 

[mln]

Yeah, I noticed the stickies after I posted and that answered a lot of questions. I didn't realize this board existed until today when someone on the pre-allo board sent me here. Right now for school, it's between Creighton and Loyola. I know a little about the military because my husband was in the Marine Corps as a staff sargeant.

Since I'm a woman, I wasn't wanting to go into something like the Marine Corps. And I wanted to know the main differences between the branches. I just found that Navy requires a year as GMO before residency, so I really don't want to do that. I wanted to know the key benefits/disadvantages of joining the Air Foce vs. the Army. At both schools, I had interviewers who were Army and they were saying to be extremely careful about the Air Force because residency options are highly limited. Then I hear from another Army HPSP student that the military has consolidated all of their hospital so that Air Force can work in Army hospitals. But the recruiter told me that Air Force does civilian residencies. I don't know what to believe. I would like to do surgery of some kind - I really like pediatrics, and also orthopedics.