What is like to be a pharmacist in the military?

Hi,
I am considering to join either the Air force or the Navy after I graduate from pharmacy school. I was wondering if I would be placed in a clinic setting. I really appreciate it if someone could give me some feedback and share their experience. 🙂

glowinglimabean said:

Hi,
I am considering to join either the Air force or the Navy after I graduate from pharmacy school. I was wondering if I would be place in a clinic setting. I really appreciate it if someone could give me some feedback and share their experience. 🙂

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You can be in any type of setting that you would like. Typically, the smallest medical facility you end up at just out of school is a community hospital. This is where you learn how to become an officer in the US Military. When/if you join the military, you are a soldier first, then a pharmacist. Never the other way around. Clinic settings are usually for people that have at least 3-6 years of experience and have a proven track record. Both the AF and the Navy are great choices but don't limit your options right away. You maybe surprised with the Army or the Public Health Service (they are a part of the military). Each branch has it's pro's and con's so it would behoove you to go seek out what they are.

Also, don't ever believe "well my friend said..." when it comes to any military base. Typically it's a skewed opinion or the words are taken out of context. Many people that have no idea what it means to be a US Soldier love to rip the military so it's important to get opinions from people that are either in the military or were once in the military. It also helps when they are former medical personal.

One of the librarians I work with was in the Army and he is also a Vietnam veteran. He warned me about moving frequently and serving them for 10 years. I was looking into the air force scholarship and it stated that for every year they pay for my education I would have to serve them, but I am not sure about serving them for 10. Right now I am hesitant to contact a recruiter because they are usually pushy. It feels like the right choice at this moment, but I am definitely going to do my homework regarding the Army, Navy,or Air Force. I was wondering what you meant by "you are a soldier first"? I know that in the military you are considered first by your ranking not specialty. Is that what you meant? My mom for example thought that I would be out in combat, but I assured her that I wouldn't be. Right? Thanks for your input. 🙂

glowinglimabean said:

One of the librarians I work with was in the Army and he is also a Vietnam veteran. He warned me about moving frequently and serving them for 10 years. I was looking into the air force scholarship and it stated that for every year they pay for my education I would have to serve them, but I am not sure about serving them for 10. Right now I am hesitant to contact a recruiter because they are usually pushy. It feels like the right choice at this moment, but I am definitely going to do my homework regarding the Army, Navy,or Air Force. I was wondering what you meant by "you are a soldier first"? I know that in the military you are considered first by your ranking not specialty. Is that what you meant? My mom for example thought that I would be out in combat, but I assured her that I wouldn't be. Right? Thanks for your input. 🙂

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Well...the military is not for everyone if you want to believe everything you hear.

As far as moving frequently, if that's not something you like, the military is not for you. Officers have to move every 3-5 years, like it or not.

As far as the scholarship, they go year by year basis. However keep in mind that you are committed to honor your contract. Once you are out of the military, they can always call you back to service up to four years. Chances of this happening are relatively small. In the event of catastrophe, more than likely that would be the only time you would be called.

When dealing with recruiters, deal with the health professions recruiters specifically. They typically are not the pushy type.

As far as being a soldier first, it's exactly what it means. You may have to do "odd" jobs every now and then thats not a pharmacist job. Think along the lines of being a part of the unit color guard or something. You will also be trained to use a gun as well. Does that mean you will be toting a gun around on a daily basis? No, of course not

As far as combat, you don't join the military without the expectation of deploying. There is a good chance you can be deployed to a combat hospital regardless of what service branch you are in. If this is a problem, you really should look at something else like the Public Health Service.

perhaps eelo can add to this discussion?

PHS isn't part of the military....they are under H&HS...they just wear uniforms and get rank titles for some reason...and they control the coast guard....that's kinda like the military....

WVUPharm2007 said:

PHS isn't part of the military....they are under H&HS...they just wear uniforms and get rank titles for some reason...and they control the coast guard....that's kinda like the military....

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The Dept of Transportation controls the Coast Guard unless we're at war, then they fall under the DoD. The PHS provides healthcare for the Coast Guard. PHS can be a good career for pharmacists- I've known some guys that have done that.


On the topic of military pharmacy, I've consolidated a lot of the common questions that I get into this one thread. Ignore the med school crap, sorry, it's all lumped together. Here's the link:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=469812&highlight=Navy+Pharmacy

In the Navy
Yes, you can sail the seven seas
In the Navy
Yes, you can put your mind at ease
In the Navy.

I talked to a (supposed) health care recruiter while I was living in the same town as an air force base in 2003-4. He didn't seem to know any of the answers to questions I asked, occasionaly I would get two different answers.
I didn't really believe anything he said, but at the time, he told me I could basically choose whatever base I wanted and I would get some huge bonus and only have to serve 4 years. A friend later told me a different guy told him he'd have to do 8 years.
Is is true one of your years has to be overseas?

At a former job, I knew most of the ER docs and nurses, one doc was a major (I think) in the AF and worked a couple nights a month. I talked to him several times about the AF, he told me "don't do it - they OWN you".

I would like to work for the VA in the near future, maybe an alternative?

The Coast Guard hasn't fallen under Department of Transportation since April 2002 (or maybe 2003, I don't remember). At that time they moved under DHS: Dept of Homeland Security, not HHS: Health and Human Services, but when used in wartime capacities, they do fall under DoD control and administration.

If you are thinking about joining the military as a medical professional, you absolutely need to speak to an Officer Recruiter, ideally an Officer Health Professions recruiter. This is NOT the recruiter in the office in the strip mall; those recruiters' jobs are to get people to enlist in the military. They'd take you in the heartbeat, but not as a pharmacist or nurse or medical administrator or physician or allied health professional.

Now, you really, REALLY need to speak to someone who is knowledgeable in this area. That would exclude anyone who falls under the heading of "I heard from a friend.....," and it pretty much rules out a lot of things that you may be told in a chatroom such as this one. At least people in here will tell you "this is what I heard, but you should verify that with someone who knows."

My experience (20+ years with Navy medicine) is that pharmacists will work in hospitals of all sizes, both inside and outside of the United States. Hospital pharmacists will do a lot of hospital-type work, but keep in mind that the patient population tends to be younger and healthier than most, so there's a lot of Orthopedic-related work. The other side of that is the incredible upswing in Traumatic Brain Injuries and survival of severely injured patients who would have died from those injuries a few years ago, so my guess is there will be a great deal of research done through military medical facilities. If that interests you, this could be an excellent time to become part of the military health care team.

Pharmacists can also be assigned to clinics, and will serve a primarily outpatient population consisting of military members, their families, and possibly retirees. Hospitals and clinics can be stateside or overseas. Part of the 'draw' of military medicine is the opportunity to work closely with people around the world and get a take on how they do things. At the naval hospital in Japan, we had two military pharmacists and about 15 techs of varying rank and experience. We also ran Japanese interns through the facility every year, so the 'training' part of the pharmacists' jobs involved working with the interns. Stateside facilities usually have interns also, but those will be American medical students.

Military members move around. As was stated, people tend to move every 3-4 years. If this is a problem, then please do not consider a career in the military. You can, however, seek employment as a civilian health care professional in a military facility (see usajobs.gov). Military members also get deployed on ships, with field units, as traveling medical teams, or any number of other possibilities.

To get the straight scoop, you might want to check out the actual military sites (goarmy.com, gonavy.com, not sure about the Air Force). From there you can be referred to someone in your geographic area who can answer questions factually.

eelo said:

The Coast Guard hasn't fallen under Department of Transportation since April 2002 (or maybe 2003, I don't remember). At that time they moved under DHS: Dept of Homeland Security, not HHS: Health and Human Services, but when used in wartime capacities, they do fall under DoD control and administration.

If you are thinking about joining the military as a medical professional, you absolutely need to speak to an Officer Recruiter, ideally an Officer Health Professions recruiter. This is NOT the recruiter in the office in the strip mall; those recruiters' jobs are to get people to enlist in the military. They'd take you in the heartbeat, but not as a pharmacist or nurse or medical administrator or physician or allied health professional.

Now, you really, REALLY need to speak to someone who is knowledgeable in this area. That would exclude anyone who falls under the heading of "I heard from a friend.....," and it pretty much rules out a lot of things that you may be told in a chatroom such as this one. At least people in here will tell you "this is what I heard, but you should verify that with someone who knows."

My experience (20+ years with Navy medicine) is that pharmacists will work in hospitals of all sizes, both inside and outside of the United States. Hospital pharmacists will do a lot of hospital-type work, but keep in mind that the patient population tends to be younger and healthier than most, so there's a lot of Orthopedic-related work. The other side of that is the incredible upswing in Traumatic Brain Injuries and survival of severely injured patients who would have died from those injuries a few years ago, so my guess is there will be a great deal of research done through military medical facilities. If that interests you, this could be an excellent time to become part of the military health care team.

Pharmacists can also be assigned to clinics, and will serve a primarily outpatient population consisting of military members, their families, and possibly retirees. Hospitals and clinics can be stateside or overseas. Part of the 'draw' of military medicine is the opportunity to work closely with people around the world and get a take on how they do things. At the naval hospital in Japan, we had two military pharmacists and about 15 techs of varying rank and experience. We also ran Japanese interns through the facility every year, so the 'training' part of the pharmacists' jobs involved working with the interns. Stateside facilities usually have interns also, but those will be American medical students.

Military members move around. As was stated, people tend to move every 3-4 years. If this is a problem, then please do not consider a career in the military. You can, however, seek employment as a civilian health care professional in a military facility (see usajobs.gov). Military members also get deployed on ships, with field units, as traveling medical teams, or any number of other possibilities.

To get the straight scoop, you might want to check out the actual military sites (goarmy.com, gonavy.com, not sure about the Air Force). From there you can be referred to someone in your geographic area who can answer questions factually.

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Are there any other obvious differences between the branches when it comes to pharmacy? How do they get away w/ sites with no pharmacists? Is it true that there are no holidays worked? How much vacation? If you do ROTC, how tough is it to get the designator (or does it vary branch to branch?)

Thanks in advance, and sorry if these questions have already been asked. I really need to go study🙂

Beav@Hilo said:

Are there any other obvious differences between the branches when it comes to pharmacy? How do they get away w/ sites with no pharmacists? Is it true that there are no holidays worked? How much vacation? If you do ROTC, how tough is it to get the designator (or does it vary branch to branch?)

Thanks in advance, and sorry if these questions have already been asked. I really need to go study🙂

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When it comes to terms of pharmacy, there are not a whole lot of differences. The biggest difference is the culture of the Army, Navy and Air Force.

Every site that has a pharmacy has a pharmacist. If no active duty personal is available, they will use civilian pharmacists instead. These places also have loads of awesome tech help because the military produces some of the finest tech's in America...

Most pharmacists get federal holidays off. You maybe on call though if anything comes up that the technician can't handle.

I know nothing about ROTC so I will leave that to someone else

Beav@Hilo said:

Are there any other obvious differences between the branches when it comes to pharmacy? How do they get away w/ sites with no pharmacists? Is it true that there are no holidays worked? How much vacation? If you do ROTC, how tough is it to get the designator (or does it vary branch to branch?)

Thanks in advance, and sorry if these questions have already been asked. I really need to go study🙂

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Militarymedicine isn't that different from civilian medicine, really. The standard of care is the same (no matter what some folks may have told you). The licensing and credentialing requirements are the same. JCAHO, AABB, CAP, and a host of other regulatory boards inspect and certify military facilities just as they would civilian facilities. Actually, military medical facilities consistently score higher on JCAHO and other national board inspections, primarily because when we're getting a facility ready for inspection, there's no such thing as an 8-hour shift.... you work until it's done, and done right. No overtime pay, either. ;-)

I don't know enough about medical programs and ROTC. I do know that some schools with ROTC programs are having a real problem filling the spots for nurses and have, on occasion, left them empty (they're dedicated nursing scholarships). For more info on that, check out the goarmy.com, gonavy.com, goairforce.com sites and click around into Medical Programs and ROTC. Mostly, however, the ROTC programs tend to be for undergrad degrees.

Holidays are worked- but depending onthe facility, it may be by a pharmacist or by senior technicians. A lot depends on whether you're at a large or small clinic, large or small hospital, in the states or overseas. In the states, most of the large pharmacies (hospitals and large clinics) have both military and civilian pharmacists on staff. Holidays tend to be "off" days, but if you've got duty, then you're scheduled to work.

And caverject is deadly serious about the techs. Top-notch, really, with an incredible work ethic (the whole military mentality of ("I don't go home until my job is done" thing).

Unfortunately most of the CONUS technicians are contract and not military.

I currently live on a large Army post within the CONUS with my husband. He is a medical service officer and is a plattoon leader for medics. Active duty military is both rewarding and challenging. My husband is always gone either to the field for a few weeks of training, JRTC(pre-deployment training), Iraq what have you. Seperation is a BIG part of this lifestyle. We will be stationed here for at least 4 yrs, if not more. Officers are not authorized to PCS before 3 yrs. Some people have been here over 10 yrs, just depends.

If you are concerned about moving, long hours(trust me they can be long) seperation, doing odd jobs-Don't Sign Up. I know the army does tuition reinbursments of around $30,000 yr for 4 years(not sure of the length of enlistment to get the reinbursment) Don't join for the money, join because you want to serve your country. You and your family must be willing to sacrifice. The military needs good soldiers, regardless of what degree, rank or title you hold.

Hopefully this helps
FYI: I have talked with a health professions recruiter about pharmacy. He told me to contact them after I had been accepted into pharamacy school.

tellsarah said:

I know the army does tuition reinbursments of around $30,000 yr for 4 years(not sure of the length of enlistment to get the reinbursment) Don't join for the money, join because you want to serve your country. You and your family must be willing to sacrifice. The military needs good soldiers, regardless of what degree, rank or title you hold.

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The Army just raised this to 39k per year towards tuition reimbursement. You have to request 4 years to get the full amount now because the standard is 3 years. Joining the military can be like buying a car. But like what tellsarah is saying, don't join for the money...join cause you want to be a member if the US Military

Caverject: Is it $39,000 per year now for a 4 year commitment?

tellsarah said:

Caverject: Is it $39,000 per year now for a 4 year commitment?

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no...its 39k for a 3 year agreement. However, you can have that negotiated for a 4 year agreement. (117k vs 153k)

A 3yr commitment is really good for 39k yr reinbursment. Dh's commitment is 7yrs active. He went through ROTC and did an add service agreement to get med. service. So, 3yrs seems short in comparison. I think its a great opportunity if you want to be a soldier.

What is the criteria to get the Air force Scholarship?

eelo said:

At the naval hospital in Japan, we had two military pharmacists and about 15 techs of varying rank and experience. We also ran Japanese interns through the facility every year, so the 'training' part of the pharmacists' jobs involved working with the interns.

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I'm curious about the work setting (i.e., how many techs and interns you'd be responsible for at any given time), will you elaborate on it? With only 2 pharmacists and 15 techs plus interns on the roster it seems that the ratios may be a bit overwhelming, even though not all will be on the same shift of course.

Also, after reading through this thread I still don't have a clear idea about the time commitment. Is there some 7, 8, or 10 year minimum, or can you serve just 3 years w/out further obligation if they pay for 3 years of tuition? After you're done with your commitment are you a civilian again or is there an inactive duty status applied? Thanks.

glowinglimabean said:

What is the criteria to get the Air force Scholarship?

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you need to google that or talk to a recruiter

soyroger said:

I'm curious about the work setting (i.e., how many techs and interns you'd be responsible for at any given time), will you elaborate on it? With only 2 pharmacists and 15 techs plus interns on the roster it seems that the ratios may be a bit overwhelming, even though not all will be on the same shift of course.

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It's really not overwhelming at all. Again, some of the military techs are better than some pharmacists. You will be given your responsibilities when you first show up and the rest is easy. Just do your job. Not overwhleming at all

Also, after reading through this thread I still don't have a clear idea about the time commitment. Is there some 7, 8, or 10 year minimum, or can you serve just 3 years w/out further obligation if they pay for 3 years of tuition? After you're done with your commitment are you a civilian again or is there an inactive duty status applied? Thanks.

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It's been answered several times on the forum. Your active duty commitment period is 3-4 years depending on your contract. You can get out, but the military has the right to call you back into service if there was ever a dire emergency that needed your services. So once your discharged, your discharged but they still can call you back in if they need you. If you don't understand this, google it. If you don't understand anything that you find, then military is not for you either. (Being in the military means you have to figure out a lot of things on your own with resources available to you)

good luck

my current preceptor is trying to join the army as a pharmacist. He is like 60 and is having to get a waiver or something. But he told me some cool things about it. He said he would get paid like 90k year plus housing allowance something like 1200. He said he would most likely be stationed in germany and only something like 18 pharmacists were in iraq. He also said that he had the option of going to airborn school which seemed pretty cool. What else. I think you can get sign on bonus and then when you are done you can use teh GI bill and go get another degree or something. This was for a 5 year commitment I think. Sounded kinda cool, travel the world for a few years get back and go to law school or get an MBA or something.

Hpower12 said:

my current preceptor is trying to join the army as a pharmacist. He is like 60 and is having to get a waiver or something. But he told me some cool things about it. He said he would get paid like 90k year plus housing allowance something like 1200. He said he would most likely be stationed in germany and only something like 18 pharmacists were in iraq. He also said that he had the option of going to airborn school which seemed pretty cool. What else. I think you can get sign on bonus and then when you are done you can use teh GI bill and go get another degree or something. This was for a 5 year commitment I think. Sounded kinda cool, travel the world for a few years get back and go to law school or get an MBA or something.

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Good heavens. If you don't know what you're talking about (clearly, this is the case), please don't make crap up or say whatever you think might sound interesting.

For people who truly want the real information, speak to a Health professions Recruiter (these are officer recruiters, not the gang handing out at the recruiting station in the mall) and get the straight scoop.

Long post warning...

Just happened on this thread via a google search for something completely unrelated but thought I'd reply since it didn't look like any actual active duty pharmacists had replied yet. Hope the threads not too dead yet.

I served from 1996-2002 in the Navy as a pharmacist. I went in on one of their old scholarships that paid me as an enlisted (E-4/E-5), with benefits as such, for the last two years of pharmacy school (which counted as active duty time towards retirement). This ended up being about $30,000 plus benefits. With a Pharm. D. new out of school, I went in as a Lieutenant (0-3). I owed them 4 years. After pharmacy school, I went to OIS (Officer Indoc. School) in Newport, RI. That was 6 weeks of learning how to march, who salutes who, some basics of military doctrine, etc. Essentially "Navy Camp" for 6 weeks. Right on the water in Rhode Island in the summer. Not a bad start.

Then I was stationed at Navy Med Center, San Diego for my first 3 year tour. The Navy tended to put their new recruits at one of the 4-5 bigger hospitals for their first tour (Norfolk VA, Bethesda MD, San Diego CA, Jacksonville FL, and Bremerton WA). I did get offered Okinawa at the last minute if I wanted but I had already made plans for San Diego so I declined. The people who decide where to send you (called detailers) usually bend over backwards to get you what you want.

At NMC, San Diego I initially did outpatient for about a year. The outpatient was incredibly busy at that time, doing over a million scrips/year. I had lots of responsibility and was immediately put in charge of the narcotics vault. After 6 months, I was made the division officer, meaning I was the military supervisor for outpatient pharmacy. I reported to the assistant manager. After a year of that, I did a mix of inpatient and ambulatory care for a year (probably 75% decentralized clinical stuff and 25% ambulatory care in a warfarin clinic we ran). My last year, I was the supervisor for 5 branch clinics around the San Diego area. I worked at the busiest of the clinics (Miramar MCAS) about 60% of the time as an outpatient pharmacist and the other 40% of the time was spent managing the other 4 clinics, some of which were only staffed by technicians.

After that, I was offered the chance to be the department head for the Naval Hospital in Naples, Italy, so I decided to stay in the Navy an extra two years so I could take the three year tour to Italy. I could have extended for a year and done my four in San Diego and gotten out, but the chance to go to Italy was too tempting. I'm glad I did it. I was the department head of a small hospital (2 pharmacists, about 10 technicians in a 5-10 bed community hospital). We had a JCAHO inspection while I was department head and I got to plan the move to a brand new facility (the move didn't happen until a year or so after I left). As the pharmacy wasn't terribly busy, I had many auxiliary duties. I was the legal officer for the command for a couple years (essentially the prosecutor for the minor military offenses that an activity commander takes care of in the military, in the Navy called Captain's mast). I also ran the duty schedule for the Officer of the Day for a year or so. Also, Naples was wonderful. I consider it my second home now. I was sorry to leave.

I'm glad I did 6 years and no more.

Overall the negatives are like this: A) I wasn't looking forward to moving every 3 (or 4, at the most) years for another 12 years. B)Also, I didn't want to go into pharmacy management which is what you inevitably end up in when you get promoted in Navy pharmacy. C) I also got sick of the competition for promotion. If want to stay in the Navy, you have to get promoted and to get promoted you have to get good performance reviews every year. That entails allot of work not related to pharmacy. I did all that until I realized I didn't want to do it for another 12 years. D) During my last year in the Navy, the other two services enacted a pharmacy bonus pay program while the Navy did not. So, the Army and Air Force were getting paid $5-20 grand more per year than the Navy pharmacists were. The Navy instead put up a larger recruiting bonus than the Army and Air Force. What that told those of us who were on the border about staying or leaving is that they valued brand new recruits than they did those who'd served for 4-6 years. I understand this was corrected a few years later, but it still pissed me (and most of those who came in with me) off enough to leave the Navy.

Meanwhile, the positives were: A) I really miss the techs I had in the Navy. I'd have to say 80% of them would be the one of your best techs in any civilian hospital/community pharmacy. B) Where else would you get to live and work in Italy (or Japan or Guam or Puerto Rico or Great Lakes, IL?!). C) If you like a variety of experiences, you can get the whole gamut in the Navy. Management, clinical, research, ambulatory, community. It's all there. And you get responsibility, like it or not, right away. I was in charge of 6 civilian pharmacists and 20 techs (both civilian and military) 6 months after I was in the Navy. After 3 years, I was a department head.

As far as pay went, even correcting for the tax benefits of having a third of your pay be tax free, my pay when I was in was still about 25% less than comparable civilian jobs. Checking pay charts now, I see that, as a civilian, I get paid about what a Navy Captain makes. Most people don't make Captain until they've put in a good 15-20 years. Now, if you get $130K in loan repayments and only put in 4 years, then you'll probably do better than you could on the outside. It's pretty easy to do the comparative math for pay. They even have charts that add in the theoretical value of the benefits you get in the military (which are substantial). These pay charts are all public and on the internet and any recruiter who's worth a crap should be able to get you specifics on pharmacist specific pay bonuses (it took me a month to find a recruiter who knew anything when I went to join - they kept wanting me to enlist and go to nuclear technology school).

Feel free to email or PM (do they have that here?) me if you have any questions. nealpolitan(at)gmail(dot)com

Thanks for the info, Hoodoo. It was very informative.👍

One thing has been in the back of my mind. Can the military pull you out during your PharmD. program to serve? Because that would be extremely disruptive in a rigorous program like pharmacy school.

Caverject said:

You can be in any type of setting that you would like. Typically, the smallest medical facility you end up at just out of school is a community hospital. This is where you learn how to become an officer in the US Military. When/if you join the military, you are a soldier first, then a pharmacist. Never the other way around. Clinic settings are usually for people that have at least 3-6 years of experience and have a proven track record. Both the AF and the Navy are great choices but don't limit your options right away. You maybe surprised with the Army or the Public Health Service (they are a part of the military). Each branch has it's pro's and con's so it would behoove you to go seek out what they are.

Also, don't ever believe "well my friend said..." when it comes to any military base. Typically it's a skewed opinion or the words are taken out of context. Many people that have no idea what it means to be a US Soldier love to rip the military so it's important to get opinions from people that are either in the military or were once in the military. It also helps when they are former medical personal.

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Lots of good thoughts, but being prior Air Force, I have to point out that if you join the Air Force, you are an airman. The Army has soldiers. I can't speak for the Navy or Marines, but I'm pretty sure they are not referred to as soldiers, either. I would think that each branch is proud of its own ranks and traditions, even though we are part of the overall military.

I do understand that your thought means that you are a military member, first, and then a pharmacist. It just always bugged me to be called a soldier when I was actually an airman.

glowinglimabean said:

One thing has been in the back of my mind. Can the military pull you out during your PharmD. program to serve? Because that would be extremely disruptive in a rigorous program like pharmacy school.

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I'm sure any contract you signed would have to state that up front. It is up to YOU to make sure you understand the terms of the contract.

.

glowinglimabean said:

One thing has been in the back of my mind. Can the military pull you out during your PharmD. program to serve? Because that would be extremely disruptive in a rigorous program like pharmacy school.

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It wouldn't make any sense to pull you out to make you serve. They're paying for a pharmacist, they want a pharmacist. Perhaps if aliens invaded or somesuch, they might pull a pharmacy student out to serve as something other than a pharmacist, but in reality, they won't. When they recruit a pharmacy student, they already have them slotted in as a pharmacist as soon as they're graduated and licensed.

In the scholarship I had, there was language in the contract that said if I dropped out of pharmacy school, I may have had to fulfill my obligation by enlisting, but I don't remember ever hearing of that happening to anyone. I knew a couple of people on scholarship who ended up taking an extra year to graduate for one reason or another and the Navy still took them, they just didn't pay for the extra year.

...

don't forget 30 days paid vacation!

I've been looking into the army and navy, and at this point, I'm leaning towards the Navy for, if no other reason, the locations. a crappy naval post is still on a coast somewhere, which, to me, beats getting stuck in oklahoma or something. The benefits will be similar no matter which branch you pick, but like was mentioned earlier, the cultures are all different. My grandfather served in the Navy in WWII which is another reason why I would like to join the Navy, for the family tradition. Also, I've had quite a time getting good info and contact from the Army and their various recruiters (although I have a friend who graduated last year and is not an Army pharmacist, so he is a good source of info), and I've had nothing but prompt and helpful responses from the Navy recruiters (and it's not like I"m anwhere near a coast at the moment).

pharmpilot said:

Lots of good thoughts, but being prior Air Force, I have to point out that if you join the Air Force, you are an airman. The Army has soldiers. I can't speak for the Navy or Marines, but I'm pretty sure they are not referred to as soldiers, either. I would think that each branch is proud of its own ranks and traditions, even though we are part of the overall military.

I do understand that your thought means that you are a military member, first, and then a pharmacist. It just always bugged me to be called a soldier when I was actually an airman.

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bah! particulars!

Jbuprepharm said:

don't forget 30 days paid vacation!

I've been looking into the army and navy, and at this point, I'm leaning towards the Navy for, if no other reason, the locations. a crappy naval post is still on a coast somewhere, which, to me, beats getting stuck in oklahoma or something. The benefits will be similar no matter which branch you pick, but like was mentioned earlier, the cultures are all different. My grandfather served in the Navy in WWII which is another reason why I would like to join the Navy, for the family tradition. Also, I've had quite a time getting good info and contact from the Army and their various recruiters (although I have a friend who graduated last year and is not an Army pharmacist, so he is a good source of info), and I've had nothing but prompt and helpful responses from the Navy recruiters (and it's not like I"m anwhere near a coast at the moment).

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You're post is a very good reason why the military needs better quality control over their health recruiters. For me, the AF responded in 6 hours of me inquiring about joining. The army took 2 days. The Navy took SIX WEEKS!!! And to top it off, the jerk acted like he was insulted that I would even consider the AF or the Army over the Navy!!! The Army and AF recruiters have been great to me

Caverject said:

You're post is a very good reason why the military needs better quality control over their health recruiters. For me, the AF responded in 6 hours of me inquiring about joining. The army took 2 days. The Navy took SIX WEEKS!!! And to top it off, the jerk acted like he was insulted that I would even consider the AF or the Army over the Navy!!! The Army and AF recruiters have been great to me

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that's interesting, the Navy guy put me in contact with a different army recruiter to help me find out more about them. He said he'd love for me to join the navy but wanted me to make the best decision for me. Kinda funny how different it can be from place to place.

Jbuprepharm said:

that's interesting, the Navy guy put me in contact with a different army recruiter to help me find out more about them. He said he'd love for me to join the navy but wanted me to make the best decision for me. Kinda funny how different it can be from place to place.

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believe it or not, your navy recruiter did that because he is required to by law. The AF and Navy have to refer all information on possible recruits to the Army. Not sure where that law is, but it was explained to me by both the Navy and the AF recruiters without my prompting. Weird huh?

that is weird, seems like a raw deal for the other guys

Jbuprepharm said:

don't forget 30 days paid vacation!

I've been looking into the army and navy, and at this point, I'm leaning towards the Navy for, if no other reason, the locations. a crappy naval post is still on a coast somewhere, which, to me, beats getting stuck in oklahoma or something. The benefits will be similar no matter which branch you pick, but like was mentioned earlier, the cultures are all different. My grandfather served in the Navy in WWII which is another reason why I would like to join the Navy, for the family tradition. Also, I've had quite a time getting good info and contact from the Army and their various recruiters (although I have a friend who graduated last year and is not an Army pharmacist, so he is a good source of info), and I've had nothing but prompt and helpful responses from the Navy recruiters (and it's not like I"m anwhere near a coast at the moment).

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I asked a former Navy pharmacist about his experience regarding the differing cultures and he told me that he knew Army pharmacists and Air Force pharmacists who he found had experiences that were more similar to his than different, especially regarding balancing being a pharmacist and a military officer at the same time. (Thanks hoodoo!)

He also mentioned that all three branches are administered by completely different chains of command with different missions so differences will exist. However, I am still confused by what I have read about the difference between the cultures of the Army vs. Navy vs. Air Force?

Can anyone else comment on what they have experienced regarding the differing cultures of the Army/Navy/Air Force/Public Health Service/etc. If you can provide any example, that would be great. I am really trying to understand!

Thanks!

paracetamol said:

I asked a former Navy pharmacist about his experience regarding the differing cultures and he told me that he knew Army pharmacists and Air Force pharmacists who he found had experiences that were more similar to his than different, especially regarding balancing being a pharmacist and a military officer at the same time. (Thanks hoodoo!)

He also mentioned that all three branches are administered by completely different chains of command with different missions so differences will exist. However, I am still confused by what I have read about the difference between the cultures of the Army vs. Navy vs. Air Force?

Can anyone else comment on what they have experienced regarding the differing cultures of the Army/Navy/Air Force/Public Health Service/etc. If you can provide any example, that would be great. I am really trying to understand!

Thanks!

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One major difference between the PHS and the other military branches is that their promotion is non-competitive, or if it is competitive, it is much, much less so than the Army, AF, or Navy. The Army, AF, and Navy all have pyramid shaped rank structures, shaped by congressional limits on the numbers allowed in each officer rank for each of the services. The limits on the PHS, if there are any, are very loose. I had two friends who left the Navy and transferred to the PHS because they couldn't make O-5 in the Navy. Almost immediately, they made O-5 in the PHS. They weren't dirtbags or bad pharmacists, they just didn't have the resumes to make it past O-4 in the Navy. It happens.