Active Duty Med Student Seeking Information

[PFCCoker]

I am re-posting this from the Pre-Med Forum as instructed in an effort to find as much information as I can.

First let me say that I am a 36 year old Male (YES I understand my age is a large factor) that has just recently joined the Army to help fulfill my current goal to pursue a career as a Doctor in the Army, I WILL become a Doctor (current goal pediatric Oncology which I realize needs to remain fluid as I learn more) I am just looking for the most optimum route to take advantage of all of my current resources.

I am currently a 68W in the US Army doing what I can to start the process to my Pre-Med degree while being deployed. I have done what I can to find a straight answer on whether my old education (Bachelors degree in Electronic Engineering from ITT Tech in 2000) is able to be utilized to pursue my current or not to be met with yes/no whether related to how long ago or "accreditation" starus of that school from about every front I can manage to talk with. I am constantly searching (when I can) on ways to go about this path within the army through a program or by taking any class I can manage in my off time yet I find myself staring at the wall of "starting over completely" which I am very happy to do yet only if it is a necessary step.

I have talked to every PA, Doctor, and medical professional that I have interacted with yet still I have yet to form a clear picture of how I can go about this. I think about this every day when I wake up and am still thinking on how I can go about this every night as I fall asleep and I now find myself needing to seek out other expert help not within my circle of peers. I know of USHS and of the Medical Scholarship program my question is HOW I go about reaching the point where I can take advantage of those resources.

My current path looks like this, do the first two years at a Community college taking the CLEP for all classes I can, then proceeding to a Main Stream College to finish my Pre-Med classes with the ultimate Goal of USHS. I have done all I can through my Army Education center that is required signed up at the local Commuity college only to be meet with another possible bump in the road in that I might as well not bother with the CLEP tests as now I am being told that many colleges do not accept them.

I am looking for a solid path that I can set myself upon to reach my goal yet all I seem to do is meet obstacles, at this point I am seeking any advice I can find on what exactly I can or should be doing.

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[Cooperd0g]

If by USHS you mean the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) you will be out of luck. the current max age is 32 waiverable up to 37 for prior commissioned officers only. So you are SOL for USUHS.

http://www.usuhs.mil/medschool/admissions/admissionrequirements.html

I haven't looked at HPSP or FAP age requirements. At worst you could go as a civilian and join as a board certified doc with an age waiver. I have seen two guys get a waivers in their 60s, though that is probably far from common.

 

[numberwunn]

Not exactly sure what your question is?

First step is to get a 4-year degree from accredited university. I don't think that there would be anything wrong with doing two years at a community college - I'm sure others have done it. Not sure about how you'd get credits transferred. Good info is probably hard to get while deployed. You may have to wait until you get back - your home base probably has an academics center which is well funded and knows what they are talking about. Maybe you could reach out to them from where you are.

As far as doing USUHS/HPSP -this is not going to be a good option for you. Since you will be 40 by the time that you finish your degree, 44 by the time you get your MD/DO (or older?) - I'm guessing that you'll be too old for an age waiver - particularly now, as military scholarships are becoming more popular.

FAP/direct accession is more possible. If you use tuition assistance for undergrad, then GI bill for med school, you could still come out largely debt-free.

Not going to lie, you have an uphill battle. Becoming an MD/DO is certainly within reach. Doing so within the Army may be a bridge too far.

 

[colbgw02]

FWIW, I know of two HPSP recipients that completed medical school well into their forties. One of them won't finish residency until appreciably over 50. Not sure how common that is nowadays, but it's at least possible.

 

[Gastrapathy]

in your future "discourse" I would "recommend" using fewer quotation marks as this can "distract from your message." The terminology is somewhat important, you are an AD premed, not an AD medical student.

Your prior education will be viewed with skepticism. I'm not sure why you joined as a medic if you want to be a physician but that's done. Finish your obligation, use your GI bill to go to a real 4 year university and apply to medical school. Don't worry about whether the Army is part of the equation.

For further motivation, the vast majority of premeds do not become physicians and you've chosen a path that makes it harder. If I had to bet, I'd bet against you. But, the sooner you extricate yourself from the world of community college, CLEP, Army "credits" and get back on a more traditional path, the more likely you are to get into medical school. Also, before you invest a decade in this plan, take a hard look at your test scores and grades to this point. Becoming a medic only gets you marginally closer to an MD than working at Starbucks. It will give you something to write about on secondaries but won't get you through the GPA/MCAT hurdles that eliminate the majority of applicants. If you were a weak student before, you'll need figure out why it will be different now. If you did some college coursework in the past, know that those grades will still follow you.

Getting into med school is difficult. Take the Army out of the equation until you've figured out the getting in part. If you want to investigate getting back in the service after you've got an acceptance letter, go for it.

All that said, I wish you good luck. If an MD is not in your future, there are other heath care careers that are good options.

 

[NavyFP]

Going strictly on your age, the probability of a military scholarship is low. Between 2005-2008, when applications were at their low, that would not have been as true, on the Navy side, we did give age waivers for several HPSP applicants. With the current application level, we have more than enough qualified applicants who do not require any sort of waiver. This is where the scholarships will go.

As to your ulitimate objective of becoming a physician, it is possible. I agree with Gastrapathy that you will need to establish a credible academic record to be considered for an allopathic school. CLEP is not going to have any real pull with the admissions committees. You will likely find a spot in one of the newer for profit Osteopathic schools which is OK if you work your butt off, get good grades and do above average on the COMLEX. Pediatrics is not overly competitive, and if you perform well in residency, fellowship is possible too.

I know responses have not been Rah-Rah, but they do reflect reality.

 

[orbitsurgMD]

I don't know what to tell you. The oldest graduate in my medical school class was 43. He had prior enlisted USMC experience and had an Army HPSP scholarship. But he started med school at 39. Very possibly, you may start as early as age 40, but you could require longer if your credits are not accepted. Many four-year schools will not accept earned credits toward a degree that are more than 7 years out. Some are even more strict. I am not familiar with your undergraduate school, but I recommend you have every bit of information you can assemble on its accreditation for any admissions officer who might be considering your request for credits toward a four-year degree, because if you cannot convince them of comparable quality and relevance to something in their current curriculum, then you probably will not get transferable credit, and only possibly the privilege of placing out to take higher level courses.

As for having to start over, that may be necessary. I am not sure what a medical school would make of your bachelor's degree. You will certainly need to have the science prerequisites again and a competitive MCAT score. Your age is going to be an issue. People going into medicine as a second career are not rare, but anyone trying to sell themselves as committed to medicine as a second career has to have a believable story and is going to have to convince the admissions officers that they will be successful. You have been a medic for a while; be prepared to address the question why it has taken you this long to get started on your premedical requirements. Even if they do not ask you, they will be thinking and wondering why you have not done more sooner. If you want to do something like a pediatric subspecialty, you will be 50 or older at the start of your attending career. That will not be easy. And then you may possibly have significant educational debt and a much shorter working career to repay, while needing to save for retirement and pay for everything else you need and want. Rejoining the military both for retirement and any payoff benefits might be the only sensible option for you. If you cannot do that, for whatever reason, you should seriously reconsider your plans.

Have you considered PA school or an accelerated BSN and then maybe nurse-anesthetist's program? You could be finished training much sooner, have valuable and salable skills and enough time for a career.

I have come to the opinion that starting out in medicine after age 35, especially if you do not have the premedical requirements done is not a particularly good idea.