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The pros and the cons?
The airforce has a pretty sweet program where you graduate and do a civilian residency and then serve (instead of doing a military residency). They pay off your debt and give you extra $$ during your residency. I'd consider it but my husband is strongly opposed to me being shipped into a war torn country (thinks I'm safer in the inner city public hospital lol).
As far as I can tell, if you're going into anything other than primary care, the only incentive the military can offer is the opportunity to serve in the military. Consequently, just about everyone I've seen will advise you to join the military only if you would have joined anyway. The financial hit you'll take from serving is enormous, despite the fact that school will be "free."
This isn't exactly true. If you want to do some hyper-specialized thing that the military doesn't really need then you won't get that. Other than that the military doesn't force you into a residency you don't want. If you don't match into a residency program that you want you can still reapply later. (after doing a GMO tour)Out of all of the military branches I'd probably go with any of the other three first.
Pros: it's pretty great for fixing how bad your residency is, I hear you work a solid shift. They pay for your school, and you get a guaranteed job. Beats the hell out of doing research for a year waiting for the next match.
Cons: you're in the military, with all of the accouterments of that. Don't expect to get what you want, and don't expect it to be great. They call it service for a reason. I've heard you may not get a residency in what you want, either. Desirable residencies are few depending on the recruitment cycle.
That's as indepth as I'm going to go considering there is a military sub-forum here. There's even a military medical school, which I didn't know about and none of the recruiters bothered to inform me until I was already in medical school.
this the what I have realized too.
I am looking really hard at the Army Reserve. I like having a little more control. I still have to get alot more info. I would like to serve though but I want to be a citizen more than a soldier...in terms of time. I dont mind going out for 6 months every 2-3yrs, just not every yr.
You should think about that before you sign anything.
I have a classmate in the Ready Reserves who had their medical education interrupted for deployment.
If you are in the IRR, you can get involuntarily mobilized, and the Army (or more precisely, HRC-STL) won't give a damn if you are a graduate student, to include being a law or medical student. There is this misconception that you can get a "deferment" simply by being a student (a la the Viet Nam days). That is not the case. In an all volunteer Army, you have little to protest when it comes to being deployed.
When it comes to personnel issues, reservists tend to have less control than active duty (IMO).
As a student, you will only be protected from deployment via the HPSP (or possibly that new Guard program).
The Army is always going to get more out of you than you are going to get out of it.
In response to the OP, I was in the Army, I would not go back in the Army as a physician or in any other capacity if given the option.
If I had to go back into the Army, I would only want to do so as an infantryman.
That probably is not germane to the answers you are looking for, but since you asked for opinions......
A lot of this is dependent on your MOS. I've heard of trigger pullers, translators, and EOD types get called up a lot more often. They don't pull up folks out of a lottery, they pull up folks to fill in demand jobs. If you're infantry and IRR, you'd better have a program that guarantees you won't be deployed when you start med school.I have a classmate in the Ready Reserves who had their medical education interrupted for deployment.
When it comes to personnel issues, reservists tend to have less control than active duty (IMO). [/quote]There is this misconception that you can get a "deferment" simply by being a student (a la the Viet Nam days). That is not the case.
Not true. There are a lot more programs than HPSP that protect you from deployment. Most programs geared towards medical students will protect you from deployment (HPSP/FAP/HCSP/STRAP/MDSSP/ASR/etc).As a student, you will only be protected from deployment via the HPSP (or possibly that new Guard program).
What are you looking for? Which program?REALLY? I had been told that it is almost certain that you would not be pulled out. That is a def no deal for me....I wish I could get it in writing.
REALLY? I had been told that it is almost certain that you would not be pulled out. That is a def no deal for me....I wish I could get it in writing.
A lot of this is dependent on your MOS. I've heard of trigger pullers, translators, and EOD types get called up a lot more often. They don't pull up folks out of a lottery, they pull up folks to fill in demand jobs. If you're infantry and IRR, you'd better have a program that guarantees you won't be deployed when you start med school.
Correct. And worth noting that if you're pulled up out of IRR, you are essentially no longer a reservist. Worth bearing in mind.
Not true. There are a lot more programs than HPSP that protect you from deployment. Most programs geared towards medical students will protect you from deployment (HPSP/FAP/HCSP/STRAP/MDSSP/ASR/etc).
But just plain enlisting and thinking that saying "I'm a medical student" has some special powers is just silly.
I probably wasn't being clear.You are a reservist until you report, but yes, you are activated to active duty. Just as is the situation with any other reservist or guardsman.