Applying right now and considering doing an Air Force or Navy program

[SurgeonOrBust]

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Like the title says, I am currently applying and waiting to hear back from my schools (my app is still in the approval process).
I am heavily considering doing either an Air Force or Navy program through medical schools.

My parents offered to help me pay for medical school as much as they can, so money is not the driving force. I want to know more about the program to determine if this is really worth enrolling in.

Can anyone who is currently in the program, or who was formerly in the program tell me the pros and cons? (If you do not want to post publicly, PM me, I understand)

How has it benefited or inhibited your experience in medicine?

Currently, I would like to go into pediatric trauma surgery (but I know that my opinions will change as I get deeper into medical school).

TLDR: Benefits and Costs of being in one of the Armed Forces programs, specifically Air Force or Navy.

 

[mehc012]

Check out the Military Medicine boards...there are some great discussions there.
I thought the same as you until I read through and saw a lot of the difficulties people were having getting into the specialty they wanted, etc...

Bottom line seems to be:
-If you want to go into the military already, outside of med school, loan repayment, or what have you, go for it. Don't do it for the scholarship.
-If you do choose to pursue military funding for med school loans, do FAP instead of HPSP, as you can go into the mil having already matched your specialty. This mitigates the risk of a GMO tour and allows you to change your mind during med school and forgo military aid. You also can potentially get paid more, as I believe your promotion consideration comes sooner.

 

[AdrianVeidt]

Like the title says, I am currently applying and waiting to hear back from my schools (my app is still in the approval process).
I am heavily considering doing either an Air Force or Navy program through medical schools.

My parents offered to help me pay for medical school as much as they can, so money is not the driving force. I want to know more about the program to determine if this is really worth enrolling in.

Can anyone who is currently in the program, or who was formerly in the program tell me the pros and cons? (If you do not want to post publicly, PM me, I understand)

How has it benefited or inhibited your experience in medicine?

Currently, I would like to go into pediatric trauma surgery (but I know that my opinions will change as I get deeper into medical school).

TLDR: Benefits and Costs of being in one of the Armed Forces programs, specifically Air Force or Navy.

Pros - you get to travel the world for free, you get really large amounts of loan forgiveness, you get to wear cool uniforms (Navy uniforms are awesome), you get to say you served your country.

Cons - Giving up at least 4 years of your life after graduation, having to take orders, probably won't be able to do PEDIATRIC trauma if you're working for the military.

I haven't joined but I have many family members who have served in the Air Force.

 

[Kunu]

The military docs i know, current and former, both the HPSP and USUHS trained doctors are generally very good and overall happy and dont regret their service commitment. One overriding theme was that the army was a far better situation than Navy or AF FWIW.

 

[Barcu]

Check out the Military Medicine boards...there are some great discussions there.
I thought the same as you until I read through and saw a lot of the difficulties people were having getting into the specialty they wanted, etc...

Bottom line seems to be:
-If you want to go into the military already, outside of med school, loan repayment, or what have you, go for it. Don't do it for the scholarship.
-If you do choose to pursue military funding for med school loans, do FAP instead of HPSP, as you can go into the mil having already matched your specialty. This mitigates the risk of a GMO tour and allows you to change your mind during med school and forgo military aid. You also can potentially get paid more, as I believe your promotion consideration comes sooner.

I agree with these posts. Check out the mil med forum, though it tends to be pretty negative. It's good to hear about the potential negatives but that board is toxic compared to many actual mil med docs I have talked to. Experiences definitely vary.

Big points:

-DON'T DO IT FOR MONEY (you said you weren't going to, so that's good. Just in case anyone else was reading this)

-It is very likely you will have to delay training. It's true that the military cannot force you into a specialty. If someone says that, they are lying. Now, if you don't understand how the match works (and the military will take advantage of you if you don't) then you might get into a specialty you don't want. But that's your fault more than the military.

Having said that, they don't have to give you a residency spot, and they won't let you do a civilian residency. Instead, you do an internship year (the least amount of time required to get a license) and you work as a General Medical Officer (GMO). There are many types of GMOs doing different things, flight surgery, dive medicine, etc. Basically you work as a general practitioner for two years. Now, you may get to do some cool things (spend a year on a boat, fly in some planes), but most of the work is pretty unglamourous. If you have a good attitude about this delay in training, you will survive and you may get some good experiences out of it. If you are concerned about it or want to avoid it, you will probably be miserable.

Oh, and you WILL get deployed. Count on it, so if that is an issue at all, stay away.

Again, most mil med docs seem to be pretty happy with their decisions. Most end up getting out at first chance, but there are many reasons for that not related to it being a crappy job (no deployments, less moving, and more money on the outside-that's hard to turn down). If you want the experience, look into applying. Contact and shadow military docs and decide.

Most important lesson: don't believe recruiters.

 

[mehc012]

I agree with these posts. Check out the mil med forum, though it tends to be pretty negative. It's good to hear about the potential negatives but that board is toxic compared to many actual mil med docs I have talked to. Experiences definitely vary.

Big points:

-DON'T DO IT FOR MONEY (you said you weren't going to, so that's good. Just in case anyone else was reading this)

-It is very likely you will have to delay training. It's true that the military cannot force you into a specialty. If someone says that, they are lying. Now, if you don't understand how the match works (and the military will take advantage of you if you don't) then you might get into a specialty you don't want. But that's your fault more than the military.

Having said that, they don't have to give you a residency spot, and they won't let you do a civilian residency. Instead, you do an internship year (the least amount of time required to get a license) and you work as a General Medical Officer (GMO). There are many types of GMOs doing different things, flight surgery, dive medicine, etc. Basically you work as a general practitioner for two years. Now, you may get to do some cool things (spend a year on a boat, fly in some planes), but most of the work is pretty unglamourous. If you have a good attitude about this delay in training, you will survive and you may get some good experiences out of it. If you are concerned about it or want to avoid it, you will probably be miserable.

Oh, and you WILL get deployed. Count on it, so if that is an issue at all, stay away.

Again, most mil med docs seem to be pretty happy with their decisions. Most end up getting out at first chance, but there are many reasons for that not related to it being a crappy job (no deployments, less moving, and more money on the outside-that's hard to turn down). If you want the experience, look into applying. Contact and shadow military docs and decide.

Most important lesson: don't believe recruiters.

Agreed...I didn't decide against HPSP because of the negativity on the MilMed board, because, like online reviews, the most extreme reactions are the ones who motivate themselves to post.

However, there is a lot to learn on there. For me, being limited in my specialty choice and/or having to do a GMO was a huge red flag. Furthermore, it made me consider the relative advantages of FAP vs HPSP - the big one being that FAP doesn't require a commitment prior to med school.

If you're on the fence or uncertain that you're willing to go into the military, I would urge you to forgo HPSP and do FAP, which would allow you to make essentially the same decision, but rather than committing yourself prior to med school, you'd commit yourself once you already knew your desired specialty and the civilian options you face. A lot can change throughout 4 years of intense education; I feel that your opinions and future prospects pre-medschool and post-medschool would be more likely to differ than your opinions PGY1 and PGY4.

 

[SurgeonOrBust]

Thanks for all the comments guys, they were all amazing and all helpful. I will consider all these points over the next year when I'm making my decision (and possibly longer with FAP)