Air National Guard during Medical School (NO special programs or benefits)

[Orthonaut96]

Hi all. I am not taking HPSP or considering FAP because my family has been gracious to support me during Medical School.

I DO however want to serve in the Air National Guard during Medical School. I don't want to take any benefits like MDSSP, but rather I want to be in the Reserves and drill during Medical School.

I have two Master's Degrees and a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering. Can I commission as an Officer in the Air National Guard during Medical School?

Also, just thinking ahead, I'm pretty sure the Air National Guard also follows the 6+2 rule, so would I technically be able to serve out my 8 years by the end of residency if I go this route? Ideally I'd probs want to still stay and be like a Flight Surgeon or something but this is all very foreign and confusing to me.

Sorry if this has been asked a billion times. If anyone has advice, I'd really appreciate it!

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[MediocreClimber]

Based on my research, it’s basically impossible to do this with the air guard. Only army guard really takes on medical students, but I could be wrong. It seems the air national guard has the elusive early appointment program, but I believe there is a commitment there. It seems they mostly want residents at least.

 

[Orthonaut96]

Wow this Early Appointment Program looks very promising for aspiring Flight Surgeons. I will reach out to my Medical Corps Recruiter and try to discuss this with them.

 

[DrMetal]

I DO however want to serve in the Air National Guard during Medical School. I don't want to take any benefits like MDSSP, but rather I want to be in the Reserves and drill during Medical School.

Bad idea. You're going to be busy during medical school, including most of your weekends.

You have a very generous family! Be thankful. Go to med school, complete, then join the military (during or after your residency).

 

[TheEarDoc]

Hi all. I am not taking HPSP or considering FAP because my family has been gracious to support me during Medical School.

I DO however want to serve in the Air National Guard during Medical School. I don't want to take any benefits like MDSSP, but rather I want to be in the Reserves and drill during Medical School.

I have two Master's Degrees and a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering. Can I commission as an Officer in the Air National Guard during Medical School?

Also, just thinking ahead, I'm pretty sure the Air National Guard also follows the 6+2 rule, so would I technically be able to serve out my 8 years by the end of residency if I go this route? Ideally I'd probs want to still stay and be like a Flight Surgeon or something but this is all very foreign and confusing to me.

Sorry if this has been asked a billion times. If anyone has advice, I'd really appreciate it!

You would be beholden to the unit for the officer classification you would be assigned to. Meaning they get mob'd/deployed, you go. You are going to find that drill weekends or sudden training often times conflicts with the one weekend of the month or one week of the month you had something big planned. It's happened to me many times already in the 2 years I've been in. In medical school you are going to be so busy that even 1 weekend away or a 3 day drill once a month is going to be a hardship. Most commanders are not going to let you out of training just because you are in medical school because you are slotted for a job and on their books for trainings and such.

Be lucky your family has the financial means to support you through medical school. The financial hardship coupled with my ignorance of military scholarships are why I chose audiology vs. going to osteopathic school. If my folks could have supported me in any way or I knew about the scholarship programs I would have been a DO now rather an AuD.

If you want to serve I think that is awesome and I wish more folks did, but I would recommend finish medical school, finish your residency, then sign up for the reserves/guard and give them a full functioning medical provider if you still have the itch to serve.

 

[lp430]

If you want to serve I think that is awesome and I wish more folks did, but I would recommend finish medical school, finish your residency, then sign up for the reserves/guard and give them a full functioning medical provider if you still have the itch to serve.

This is the best route, if you have the means. The only reason I did ARNG during med school/residency is because I couldn't afford to go to college without an ROTC scholarship. It worked out fine for me, but it was definitely the harder road to take.

If you have options to join later, then do it that way. The military will always want/need docs. Trying to be a PL or whatever while you're in med school is adding unnecessary complexity to your schedule. I remember spending countless nights sleeping on the armory floor during med school just so I could get extra studying in before an exam. I didn't live close to my unit and the commute was terrible. Also, if you decide you want to gun for a competitive specialty like ortho/ENT etc, then you're unnecessarily tying your shoe laces together.

 

[DeadCactus]

Your degrees don't matter, the medical school acceptance is what gets you a slot as a medical student. You don't want to have an actual job. Do not enlist or commission along the typical pathways into a slot that isn't specifically for medical students.

If you want to go this route: Talk to the unit you would be joining, get an impression of you commander's expectations. Ideally join a unit with a physician commander. Talk to the physicians in leadership positions in the unit and state. Get a sense of what their expectations are and if they are reasonable for you. You may have to look at the Army Guard, they have flight surgeons too though almost exclusively helicopter.

I've seen medical students in the Guard do everything from be Platoon Leaders to sit quietly in a corner and study every drill. You need to get a feel for what your unit and state will want for you and then understand you are accepting the risk that things can change. I think with the right unit, joining as a medical student can be a good way to test the waters, do a few fun things, make a little money, and complete some military training at a time when it doesn't mean missing out on attending pay for weeks.

 

[Saddleshoes]

I can only speak for my unit but...
We have had 3 medical students in my medical unit over the years.
---Two were commissioned and brought in as LT's to work in our Admin area. They kept track of medical records, training records, and general organizational tasks at first. They took part in training with the medics and in time started doing some of the "med tech" work in the clinic.
--One guy had Fire/EMT experience. When he got commissioned he went to the fire house where he did admin work and helped in the training for EMT stuff.
--In all cases when they graduated med school they got promoted to Capt. and got brought on as a doctor. Soon after that point we lost all of them as they went off to residency training often out of state.
--I do know that 2 of them stayed in the Air Guard after specialty training. One became dermatolagest and is now a ANG flight surgeon in another unit. One came back to our home unit. The 3rd joined the coast guard last I heard.

 

[Orthonaut96]

I can only speak for my unit but...
We have had 3 medical students in my medical unit over the years.
---Two were commissioned and brought in as LT's to work in our Admin area. They kept track of medical records, training records, and general organizational tasks at first. They took part in training with the medics and in time started doing some of the "med tech" work in the clinic.
--One guy had Fire/EMT experience. When he got commissioned he went to the fire house where he did admin work and helped in the training for EMT stuff.
--In all cases when they graduated med school they got promoted to Capt. and got brought on as a doctor. Soon after that point we lost all of them as they went off to residency training often out of state.
--I do know that 2 of them stayed in the Air Guard after specialty training. One became dermatolagest and is now a ANG flight surgeon in another unit. One came back to our home unit. The 3rd joined the coast guard last I heard.

How hard is it to be a flight surgeon in the Air Guard? Also just curious, what did those residents do in the Air Guard? If I got a residency in another state is it hard to transfer to another state's unit? Thanks!

 

[sylvester500]

Based on my research, it’s basically impossible to do this with the air guard. Only army guard really takes on medical students, but I could be wrong. It seems the air national guard has the elusive early appointment program, but I believe there is a commitment there. It seems they mostly want residents at least.

Sorry to dig this up a couple months late, but do you have any info about the early appointment program? A quick search on the googles didn't give me much info, and you seem to have found some skin...thanks!