Army Need help with career path.

[Dayruto]

I'm currently in the Army as an IT guy, and I hate it I want to start in medicine.

I have 2 paths that I can take, each with varying pros and cons.

First I have the option of West Point (a college for the Army).
Pros. Ill be able to put my full time into studying and I'll be able to get the best education possible.
Cons. I talked to someone from West Point they say its not a very good way to become a doctor. Only 3 out of the 900 people in his class went to Med School. I also will have to stay in the Army.

My other option is to attempt to switch jobs to an operating room technician, or an orthopedic technician. With the switch I would start working on my college and really get the experience of a real operating room and get very good hands on experience in the medical field. I would be doing online courses while working a 9 to 5 job which I fear will hinder my grades, but after I finish college I will be able to get out of the Army and go to Med-School as a civilian.
Pros. Out of the army early, I will get experience in the medical field.
Cons. Will be working while attempting to do college courses online. Could affect grades.

Those are my two options, both are free and both will be difficult, but deciding which would be a better idea I feel like this decision is too much to make alone. I'd like some advice from other people with maybe a little bit more experience, even if they're not in the military.

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[psychbender]

Do not go to a service academy if your primary goal is to be a doctor. Yes, there are doctors who went to West Point, but as you and HopefulPilot point out, the number that are allowed to go straight to medical school is incredibly low. The service commitment for West Point and USUHS together is also incredibly long, obligating you to a long military career (which you list as a Con).

There is a program that the Army is just starting to take enlisted that are interested in becoming physicians, allow them to finish undergraduate pre-reqs somewhere, then commission, go to USUHS, and become physicians that way. One of my scrub techs is applying to that program (which also has a large payback). I can see if I can get the name of the program, and who to contact, if you're interested.

Do whatever coursework you can (through actual, legitimate programs) while active, then get out and complete your bachelor's at a regular university, apply to medical school, and decide if you want to come back to the military (FAP or HPSP), or stay civilian. If your goal is to become a physician, that is the best and fastest way. As for continue in IT versus lateral transfer to being an OR tech, do whichever will make you happier, and give you more time to work on undergraduate coursework. Considering you would have to be completely retrained if you went the OR tech route, and being an OR tech also necessitates some late/overnight/weekend/holiday call (which could interfere with studies), that may not be the best way. On the other hand, it will put you in closer proximity to physicians, and you could see if you really want to be a doctor, and possibly secure reference letters that way.

 

[Dayruto]

Do not go to a service academy if your primary goal is to be a doctor. Yes, there are doctors who went to West Point, but as you and HopefulPilot point out, the number that are allowed to go straight to medical school is incredibly low. The service commitment for West Point and USUHS together is also incredibly long, obligating you to a long military career (which you list as a Con).

There is a program that the Army is just starting to take enlisted that are interested in becoming physicians, allow them to finish undergraduate pre-reqs somewhere, then commission, go to USUHS, and become physicians that way. One of my scrub techs is applying to that program (which also has a large payback). I can see if I can get the name of the program, and who to contact, if you're interested.

Do whatever coursework you can (through actual, legitimate programs) while active, then get out and complete your bachelor's at a regular university, apply to medical school, and decide if you want to come back to the military (FAP or HPSP), or stay civilian. If your goal is to become a physician, that is the best and fastest way. As for continue in IT versus lateral transfer to being an OR tech, do whichever will make you happier, and give you more time to work on undergraduate coursework. Considering you would have to be completely retrained if you went the OR tech route, and being an OR tech also necessitates some late/overnight/weekend/holiday call (which could interfere with studies), that may not be the best way. On the other hand, it will put you in closer proximity to physicians, and you could see if you really want to be a doctor, and possibly secure reference letters that way.

After talking to a few people I feel that West Point would be a terrible idea, and that I may just get as much college done as I can while still in. When I get out I will then use my GI bill to help pay for college and also part of Med School.
If you could get me some details on that program that'd be appreciated.

 

[pgg]

After talking to a few people I feel that West Point would be a terrible idea, and that I may just get as much college done as I can while still in. When I get out I will then use my GI bill to help pay for college and also part of Med School.
If you could get me some details on that program that'd be appreciated.

You talked to wise people.

Service academies are a bad path to medical school. West Point is there to make line officers, not doctors.

Get some general ed requirements done while you're in, get out, and finish up your degree at a reputable university. Go to medical school. Live the dream. If you want to be an Army doctor then HPSP or USUHS or FAP can get you there.

 

[Shikima]

Or go to WP, become a helicopter pilot until your tour is complete. While doing your tour, complete the pre-req's and your MCAT and apply to a stateside school afterwards.

 

[j4pac]

West Point is incredibly honorable...but it would be a foolish route if you didn't want to become a line officer.

 

[Red Lobster Actual]

Enlisted to Medical Degree Preparatory Program (EMDP2)

https://www.usuhs.edu/emdp2

And as mentioned above, you need to bachelors degree with a GPA >3.2

 

[Shikima]

While I would never change the path Ive taken, this is not the fastest way to reach your goal.

Sometimes it's the journey....

 

[Gastrapathy]

Get out ASAP. Go to a midtier public university in state. See if you can save your GIB for med school.

 

[DD214_DOC]

Not becoming a doctor is also another viable option. Have you considered that one?

 

[Dayruto]

Not becoming a doctor is also another viable option. Have you considered that one?

Never would I want to even think about any other option. Medicine is the only thing that truly interests me.

 

[Shikima]

Never would I want to even think about any other option. Medicine is the only thing that truly interests me.

Be an ATC. Less schooling, less debt, same stress, and very good pay.

 

[TheEarDoc]

Have you thought about becoming a mid level practitioner? PA or NP's make good money, less stress too. You could do your pre-reqs now for most of the bachelor's stuff then go to a cheap in state school when you got out of the Army and then into one of the Master's programs where your GI bill would most likely cover the costs.

Or how about this option:
Finish your Army tour. Take a job in IT in the VA. Do online classes while a VA employee for your generals. Then see if you can work your class schedules around a VA tour?

 

[j4pac]

Never would I want to even think about any other option. Medicine is the only thing that truly interests me.

Do you know what being a doctor entails? Many people like the idea of being a doctor much more than actually being a doctor. You need to spend time in a variety of medical settings before making your decision.

 

[DeadCactus]

"Do you want to be a physician?" is a totally different question and I'll leave that for another discussion.

If you've decided you really want to be a physician, the path is straightforward. Get out, finish at a civilian college, and apply to medical school while preferably saving your GI Bill for medical school unless you are 100% committed to returning to the active duty military (i.e. getting out with 14 years in toward retirement) which very few people should be. The military academies, ROTC, continuing enlisted and trying to do school on the side are all detours. Detours that come with a risk of life getting in the way and you never making it to medical school. Every year you putz around trying to avoid debt is literally hundreds of thousands of dollars you passed up on and that's not even counting the financial damage that loss does from a retirement standpoint.