Anyone willing to answer some questions about MDSSP through the National Guard and/or any other branches?

[Dhooy7]

I'll be attending medical school in a few weeks. I have some questions I'd like to get answered. I'd prefer to PM some quesitons. Are you glad you did the Army National Guard? What are the pros/cons of the Air Force, Guard, and Navy? I just have no family in the military and not sure if it is the right fit for me. Thanks!

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[DeadCactus]

I joined the Guard. I did not use MDSSP and I'm not a fan of the program especially not at the medical student level but even at the resident level. The commitment is too long for an initial military obligation. Joining the Reserve/Guard as a medical student or resident without an incentive and simply taking the standard pay and benefits for a 6 year obligation to the Reserve/Guard obligation (+2 years IRR) is the best option for most people. Once you finish residency, decide if you want to stay in and then take of the attending incentives to re-up.

 

[Dhooy7]

I joined the Guard. I did not use MDSSP and I'm not a fan of the program especially not at the medical student level but even at the resident level. The commitment is too long for an initial military obligation. Joining the Reserve/Guard as a medical student or resident without an incentive and simply taking the standard pay and benefits for a 6 year obligation to the Reserve/Guard obligation (+2 years IRR) is the best option for most people. Once you finish residency, decide if you want to stay in and then take of the attending incentives to re-up.

Thanks didn't think you could join Reserve/Guard without being in MDSSP program as a medical student.

 

[DeadCactus]

There may be some variability in which states/units are willing to, but as far as I know it's possible. It's the route I would explore.

 

[notdeadyet]

It’s definitely possible and there are no Army regs against it. If states want to not sign folks up, it’s up to them.

If it were me, and I was getting an MDSSP-only answer from my recruiter, I’d ask to speak to the State Surgeon and sanity check that policy. I have a hunch it’s more an issue with recruiters than it is with the actual ARNG.

 

[PressPforPi]

I don’t wanna hijack OP’s thread, but is it possible to join the ANG as a medical student? If so, are you non-deployable? I’m on terminal from AD right now, and I’ve tried contacting health professions recruiters but to no avail.

 

[notdeadyet]

Sorry, PressPforPi. The policies for ARNG and ANG are very different. I don’t know any ANG medical students.

 

[USCguy]

we had a couple of med students join and not do MDSSP, unless you are enlisting and not commissioning, they always get slotted in that useless med student AOC for the duration. All of our med students start in the medical command (not much to do), then you get farmed out as a resident or attending to line unit or ASMC

We had one guy that was an E4 medic get into med school and for some reason didn’t commission for the first two years...so he continued to get treated like an E4 medic until he finally went through DC

 

[DeadCactus]

I don’t wanna hijack OP’s thread, but is it possible to join the ANG as a medical student? If so, are you non-deployable? I’m on terminal from AD right now, and I’ve tried contacting health professions recruiters but to no avail.

The one or two medical students I know who looked were told no by the ANG, they wanted at least residents. I don't know if this is a state level or ANG level response. In general, the ANG is less desperate for physicians though this varies by unit. The ANG seems even more unit dependent than the Army Guard. I would find the ANG units near your medical school or the states medical group and reach out to them directly.

 

[PressPforPi]

Thanks to all those that responded. I was finally able to contact an ANG and AF Reserves recruiter that were knowledgeable about the health professions side of things. Indeed, they were really only interested in those that have been matched into residencies - mainly FM, EM, and CC.

 

[maddeh87]

I’m in the Air National guard under the Early appointment for physicians program (bit of a misnomer, it’s for medical students.) I start M2 in a month, and so far I’ve found it okay as far as time commitment goes, but it’s early days still. I’m prior enlisted, so perhaps that’s a big part of why they accepted me, but the program is completely at the discretion of your medical group commander, and unfortunately the program is so infrequently used very few people know how it works, especially recruiters. There is no incentive to join like HPSP or the Army
Guard program, but some states have tuition waivers for state schools. There’s an army guard person in my class who is using the waiver (not the medical student program) and it completely covers his tuition. The biggest hurdle for me was trying to figure out when to go to COT/TFOT/RCOT with school as there are limited classes available, but my school has been great about working with me. For residency, we have a captain who just finished her FM residency, and her program worked with her drill schedule, but used her golden weekends for drill which is draining. She caught up on charts and studied during drill, and I get left alone if I need to study on drill too. If you’re already in, I’d say it’s worth it, though I don’t know if you would be accepted into the program as non prior service.

 

[Dhooy7]

I was told I could get IS tuition from the Guard which would be very appealing to me as it's like $20,000 to $30,000 a year cheaper.

 

[PressPforPi]

I’m in the Air National guard under the Early appointment for physicians program (bit of a misnomer, it’s for medical students.) I start M2 in a month, and so far I’ve found it okay as far as time commitment goes, but it’s early days still. I’m prior enlisted, so perhaps that’s a big part of why they accepted me, but the program is completely at the discretion of your medical group commander, and unfortunately the program is so infrequently used very few people know how it works, especially recruiters. There is no incentive to join like HPSP or the Army
Guard program, but some states have tuition waivers for state schools. There’s an army guard person in my class who is using the waiver (not the medical student program) and it completely covers his tuition. The biggest hurdle for me was trying to figure out when to go to COT/TFOT/RCOT with school as there are limited classes available, but my school has been great about working with me. For residency, we have a captain who just finished her FM residency, and her program worked with her drill schedule, but used her golden weekends for drill which is draining. She caught up on charts and studied during drill, and I get left alone if I need to study on drill too. If you’re already in, I’d say it’s worth it, though I don’t know if you would be accepted into the program as non prior service.

How did you even get in contact with the med group commander? Were they aware of the program? I believe I saw an ANGI referencing the program that you’re referring to. What was your commitment? Did you transition from AD, actively drilling, or IRR? Sorry. I could probably PM you for these details, but I feel it may be more beneficial if this information is open to the public.

 

[vom-]

Also have a question myself. Sorry OP, I hope you don’t mind. So, I know with some schools they count HPSP scholarship money as part of financial aid. So that stipend you get counts against money you can borrow, sometimes completing stopping you from being able to take out living expense loans. Is this the same case with MDSSP? I assume no, because the school wouldn’t know you are utilizing MDSSP, because the military isn’t paying the school right? There shouldn’t be anything stopping me from taking living expense loans? In theory the stipend + drill pay should be enough for my wife and kid depending where I go to school, but I would just like to have that extra cushion if needed.

 

[GBR0321]

I'll be attending medical school in a few weeks. I have some questions I'd like to get answered. I'd prefer to PM some quesitons. Are you glad you did the Army National Guard? What are the pros/cons of the Air Force, Guard, and Navy? I just have no family in the military and not sure if it is the right fit for me. Thanks!

I'm a PGY2 who has been in MDSSP/STRAP since MS1. I'd be happy to try to answer some of your questions if you prefer to PM me. I'm prior service and currently in the Army NG. I'm still glad I did it. Having a family, the Tricare and the extra income has been super helpful. The stipend, plus drill pay and any AT pay you might get generally adds up to around 35K a year while in med school. The pay back is one of the harder pills to swallow. If you take MDSSP only, you will owe 8 years starting at graduation. If you take MDSSP and STRAP, the payback works out to be 8 years starting at residency graduation (if you do a 3 year residency). There's some convoluted way your payback is calculated depending on whether you just take MDSSP vs MDSSP + STRAP. Also, I think only the Army has MDSSP/STRAP. Here are some pros and cons I can think of.

Pros:
-Extra money during training (helpful if you're an older trainee with a family)
-Tricare. This has been great for me.
-You start building retirement years during school. This was great for me since I have prior service and plan on finishing my 20 years.
-The guard generally restricts deployments to 90 days for physicians (+30 days for mobilization)--you're non deployable until after residency.
-Easy to transfer states if needed.
-Plenty of opportunities if you want them, or you if you're happy doing PHAs in the clinic you can just do that too.
-Good amount of flexibility when you can't make drill due to school or residency requirements. May be unit dependent.
-Serve your country and work with some great people.

Cons:
-Longer payback than active duty. Not an issue for me since I planned on finishing my 20.
-Loan payback is additional time commitment and generally not worth it.
-My free weekends are precious and it sucks to spend them doing PHAs instead of with my family.
-Being prior service, sometimes I feel like I'm not really in the military anymore since we mostly do PHAs at drill.
-Deployments seem less appealing to me later in life since I've been through that when I was younger and have a family now.

I hope this helps.

 

[GBR0321]

Also have a question myself. Sorry OP, I hope you don’t mind. So, I know with some schools they count HPSP scholarship money as part of financial aid. So that stipend you get counts against money you can borrow, sometimes completing stopping you from being able to take out living expense loans. Is this the same case with MDSSP? I assume no, because the school wouldn’t know you are utilizing MDSSP, because the military isn’t paying the school right? There shouldn’t be anything stopping me from taking living expense loans? In theory the stipend + drill pay should be enough for my wife and kid depending where I go to school, but I would just like to have that extra cushion if needed.

It doesn't affect your ability to get financial aid since it's not a scholarship. I took student loans for tuition, but the stipend allowed me to not have to take extra loans for living expenses.

 

[Oldmen06]

Also have a question myself. Sorry OP, I hope you don’t mind. So, I know with some schools they count HPSP scholarship money as part of financial aid. So that stipend you get counts against money you can borrow, sometimes completing stopping you from being able to take out living expense loans. Is this the same case with MDSSP? I assume no, because the school wouldn’t know you are utilizing MDSSP, because the military isn’t paying the school right? There shouldn’t be anything stopping me from taking living expense loans? In theory the stipend + drill pay should be enough for my wife and kid depending where I go to school, but I would just like to have that extra cushion if needed.

I have the same question. Did you find an answer?

 

[deleted480308]

I have the same question. Did you find an answer?

Mdssp students can still take full loans

 

[deleted966906]

I joined the Guard. I did not use MDSSP and I'm not a fan of the program especially not at the medical student level but even at the resident level. The commitment is too long for an initial military obligation. Joining the Reserve/Guard as a medical student or resident without an incentive and simply taking the standard pay and benefits for a 6 year obligation to the Reserve/Guard obligation (+2 years IRR) is the best option for most people. Once you finish residency, decide if you want to stay in and then take of the attending incentives to re-up.

Thanks for this tip. So if I were to join the army reserves as a medical student not on MDSSP, then would I still have the $2200/month paycheck and drill duties? But no payback after residency?

What is IRR?

 

[DeadCactus]

Thanks for this tip. So if I were to join the army reserves as a medical student not on MDSSP, then would I still have the $2200/month paycheck and drill duties? But no payback after residency?

What is IRR?

No, you would get drill pay which is several hundred dollars per month that you attend drill and whatever additional pay you would get for attending annual training or various schools. If you want the $2200/month stipend, you are going to have to accept a longer obligation through MDSSP +/- STRAP.

IRR is Individual Ready Reserve. It's an inactive status where you are technically in the military but don't drill or attend training. Essentially they are keeping your name handy incase they need to pull some people back into the military for a major conflict. All initial military contracts are for 8 years. How much time is active duty vs reserve service vs IRR varies but the total is 8 years.

 

[deleted966906]

No, you would get drill pay which is several hundred dollars per month that you attend drill and whatever additional pay you would get for attending annual training or various schools. If you want the $2200/month stipend, you are going to have to accept a longer obligation through MDSSP +/- STRAP.

IRR is Individual Ready Reserve. It's an inactive status where you are technically in the military but don't drill or attend training. Essentially they are keeping your name handy incase they need to pull some people back into the military for a major conflict. All initial military contracts are for 8 years. How much time is active duty vs reserve service vs IRR varies but the total is 8 y

Thanks for your reply. Another question I have is that I am looking to get a PhD post residency. How would that affect the MDSSP repayment obligations, which I know start after residency is finished. Would I stay on the army reserves after residency and do the drills and 2 weeks over the summer except when I am called up to serve, which would technically allow me to maintain a civilian job/pursue a PhD?

 

[DeadCactus]

Yes.

* With all the caveats about the impact of drill, annual training, and deployments on civilian life that have been discussed here.

 

[deleted966906]

Yes.

* With all the caveats about the impact of drill, annual training, and deployments on civilian life that have been discussed here.

I sincerely thank you for your help.