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Started by Doggeronie
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Doggeronie said:
I did not join the HPSP during medical school. I have matched into a civilian residency. However, I am having second thoughts about completing residency. If I do not complete residency, it will be very difficult for me to pay off my almost 200k in student loans.

Would I be able to become a GMO in the military after intern year and have my loans paid off in exchange for a few years of service? Does such an option exist?
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My first question would be why are you having second thoughts on residency?

"The Financial Assistance Program (FAP) is for physicians (Medical and Dental) currently accepted to or enrolled in an accredited residency or fellowship program progressing toward a specialty which has been designated as critical to the Department of Defense."

There are always exceptions but I wouldn't count on such a plan, especially since MilMed is shifting and maintaining only those physicians which directly improve the readiness of a deployable fighting force.

If you complete your internship you can still technically get a civilian job somewhere although reasons for not completing residency would weigh heavily on this (grades, motivation, etc.). What residency did you match in? You have come this far. At the very least you could do a short residency in an easily employable specialty so that you can ensure a stable income for a few years to pay off debt before changing careers. Just my two cents.
 
Big Navy is shifting towards a greater emphasis on placing board certified physicians out into the fleet.

I would advise you to consider switching to another residency offered at your current hospital.

Please also consider the foreign medical grads or Canadian MD grads who would give anything to complete any US residency, just so they could one day practice medicine in the USA.

All that being said though, I hope you find the best solution for you. Best of luck.
 
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Short answer to your question is no, the .mil is not looking for post internship MDs off the street to be GMOs.

Outside of urgent care jobs there isn't much demand for licensed, never intending to be BC physicians, although Im sure you could win the lottery to land some sort of CMOish role at some medium sized company.

Sucks to find out that 200K debt > 'second thoughts' this late in the game, no doubt.
 
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