Where to begin?
This is so subjective. It really depends on your unit, your OIC and where you are stationed. I will say though, after serving for 4 years it was worth it for tuition coverage and life experience.
Wanting the work/life balance is fine, but you may not get that in the military. Again it all really depends on where you are. If you don’t do a residency after school you will be behind your peers skills wise. If you’re in a clinic where you have good mentorship, you may be able to get to do more. There’s so much red tape and BS you have to go through that it really makes you question whether or not military dentistry is for you. There are a whole lot of egos you have to deal with. The worst part is, you can’t escape it so you have to tread softly to make your experience decent. There’s a whole lot of sucking up you have to do if you ever want to advance, career wise.
As you advance you’re encouraged to specialize—-excellent logic. However as you advance in rank and specialize you’ll be delegated to do more administrative tasks and less dentistry. Make sense? Not in the slightest. Why they would invest so much in your education only to have you push paper a majority of the time is something that will never make sense to me.
Keep in mind that you are a soldier first and a provider second. If youre ok with , for instance, having drive to another side of post just for height and weight (or do something training related for instance) thereby eliminating half a day of clinic—then more power to you. It wasn’t okay for me. A lot of wasted time.
It’s interesting—after being out and interviewing for associateships, having military experience matters helps quite a bit. You’re viewed as someone who is ethical, organized, and regimented. With that said, there is also the conception that you do nothing but drill and fill. Take that for what it’s worth.
Overall, I am so grateful for my experience. I was out of my comfort zone and got to do things that I never would have (like shooting guns). Clinically I felt deficient. Military dentistry does not necessarily translate to real life dentistry. Once you get sucked into the system, being complacent with your dentistry skills kicks in. My desire to stay in partly was due to my clinical handicap—would I be able to hack it in the real world? Do I give up a relatively easy job (clinically speaking) or do I venture out into the real world and push myself without having to deal with higher ups dictating what I could/could not do based off of my job title?
Getting out was the best decision for ME. It may not be for you. You have to take a real hard look at yourself and your abilities and decide. Moonlighting while in the military will give you the best basis of comparison. Good luck
