Army HPSP is the way to go!

[ArmyDoc1999]

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Hey there future DOs! Good luck with your applications and interviews! It's not as bad as you may think. Trust me, I know. Let me know if anyone has any questions about the HPSP program. I am biased towards the Army, but I can answer for all of the services as the requirements are the same, as are the benefits.

 

[Prozach]

To start, what is the HPSP? 😳 I might be very very interested if it is what I think it might be...... 🙂

 

[ArmyDoc1999]

Prozach,

HPSP is the Health Professions Scholarship Program. It is a FULL RIDE to the accredited, US medical school of your choice; provided you've been accepted there, of course. If this is what you thought it was and want more info, let me know.

 

[Prozach]

I did some research and am *VERY* interested. I do have one question, however. The program that I'm doing right now is a 7-year, BS/DO program run with SUNY Geneseo and NYCOM. That means, I'll be entering NYCOM without a B.S. (get it after my first year there) or having finished 4 years of undergraduate education. Will that impact my eligibility? Also, what sort of work would I expect for my 4 years of active duty service? Would I be able to apply any of that to an Osteopathic Internship, or a residency program? Thanks a lot for your willingness to help us out!

 

[ArmyDoc1999]

I did some research and am *VERY* interested. I do have one question, however. The program that I'm doing right now is a 7-year, BS/DO program run with SUNY Geneseo and NYCOM. That means, I'll be entering NYCOM without a B.S. (get it after my first year there) or having finished 4 years of undergraduate education. Will that impact my eligibility? Also, what sort of work would I expect for my 4 years of active duty service? Would I be able to apply any of that to an Osteopathic Internship, or a residency program? Thanks a lot for your willingness to help us out!

This will impact your eligibility slightly. You won't be able to apply until you have that BS in hand. That means that the service you choose, whether it be Army, Air Force, or Navy, will only pay for 3 years, but you will only owe them 3 in return. As for your work in your first 4 years on active duty, things get a bit hazy there. For the Air Force and Army, I believe things are almost identical, but the Navy is a bit different. In the Army, you are required to apply for a military internship and residency. Believe me, the Army has some VERY good ones. Look at the treatment facilities in the Army. Brooke Army Medical Center is the WORLD'S foremost burn treatment center, and the list goes on from there. If you get a military residency, your "time on active duty clock" starts ticking right then. If you don't get a military residency, and do a civilian one instead, your clock is put on hold until you finish the residency. Then you come back into uniform and the clock starts from there.
The BIG advantage to doing a military residency is PAY. Military residents are paid in reflection to their military pay grade; usually 0-3 (Captain in the Army and Air Force, Lieutenant in the Navy). (By the way, when you take the Scholarship during medical school, you are commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army or Air Force, or an Ensign in the Navy, and you get all the benefits and respect of rank associated with those grades.) Civillian residents get paid whatever is the going rate in their program. Typically, the military residents are making over TWICE as much.
I hope this has answered some of your questions. If you have any more about the HPSP, or military life in general, just shoot them my way, and I'll do what I can to answer them!

 

[Prozach]

Thanks a lot Lt. Evans, I will absolutely send in an application after my first year at NYCOM! 👍

 

[ArmyDoc1999]

No prob. What service are you interested in, if you don't mind my asking?

 

[Prozach]

I'll probably go Army since my father was in the army and I am somewhat familiar with it....he was stationed in Anchorage, AK and did arctic survival training during the Vietnam War I'll avoid that particular series of programs 😛 🙂

 

[bobg504]

I think that you should think about a few things before deciding to take the "free money".

1. Most of the reps for the scholarship try to throw around that their giving you a great deal by paying for your tuition and fees; however, depending on where you go to school, you may end up getting financially raped. They try to tell you all this crap about how you will have to pay malpractice insurance and that it will be taken from your salary, ect. This is not true. After speaking with an EM Physician, he informed me that malpractice insurance is covered by the group you join. Considering that the average salary of an EM physician out of residency is 160-200k, you would be more that capable of paying 1500 dollars/month in loan payments

2. There is not enough residencies for all students that take the scholarship. For example, if a student with the AF HPSP award wanted to do EM, (15 slots total/yr) they are not just competing with other HPSP recipents for the residency, but also those that are in school at the Military medical school. Because the military wants you to do your residency in the military, they will be reluctant to allow you to defer to a civilian program, leaving a medical student that has worked all their lives to obtain a certain residency "out of the loop"

3. Military physicians get paid substantially LESS than their civilian counterparts. Some may say that they don't have to pay relocation cost, malpractice, ect. As I stated before most physicians that are employed be groups do not pay malpractice insurance. Making 200k and paying $1500/month in loans still leaves you with more money than having 0 loans and getting paid 80k for the same job

I would tell anyone to think long and hard before taking the scholarship. Definately dont do it for the money because in a lot of cases it is not worth it. Also remember that you no longer belong to YOURSELF anymore. YOU belong to the military and your NEEDS or WANTS come secondary to the military's needs.

 

[ArmyDoc1999]

1.)Military physicians don't pay malpractice at all, for the duration of their careers. And who do you think funds the group so it can make its malpractice payments? It's members do. That means YOU.

2.)If you fail to get a military residency you apply for, then you go to a civilian one. So, apply for a military EM residency and a civilian one. If the military one falls through, then go to the civilian one.

3.)The 150-200Kyr paycheck doesn't start till you are OUT of residency. If you do a military residency, by the time you are finished, your obligation to the service is over, and you can get out and join a civilian practice and STILL be ahead of your counterparts who didn't go HPSP and were making 17Kyr in residency instead of 80K/yr.

4.)The needs of the service do come first, but they are VERY accomodating toward physicians because they are so hard to recruit and retain.

 

[Prozach]

I gotta say, I think this program sounds great. I have a cousin who is a DO Cardiothoracic Surgeon in Trenton, and he was telling me that he applied for HPSP when he started at NYCOM, and didn't get in.....how competitive is it? One more thing, how hard would you think it would be for a DO to get an Internal Med military residency spot? I want to go into Immunology, so I'd just need to do an IM residency first. Is there significant discrimination against DOs in the military? 🙂 Thanks again for all your help!!

 

[ArmyDoc1999]

I gotta say, I think this program sounds great. I have a cousin who is a DO Cardiothoracic Surgeon in Trenton, and he was telling me that he applied for HPSP when he started at NYCOM, and didn't get in.....how competitive is it? One more thing, how hard would you think it would be for a DO to get an Internal Med military residency spot? I want to go into Immunology, so I'd just need to do an IM residency first. Is there significant discrimination against DOs in the military? 🙂 Thanks again for all your help!!

It can be very competitive, but having the right references helps. One of mine was a Brigadier General I worked for, which helped ALOT, but I also had over 5 years in uniform as a enlistedman and noncommissioned officer. Apply early, and try to network with military physicians in the area. How far is Fort Drum from Albany? It wouldn't hurt to try to shadow a military DO, and try to get a reccomendation from him/her.
As for your residency issue, Internal Medicie residencies are done at six different military treatment centers. I don't have exact numbers on slots, but between 6 different hospitals acroos the country, I'd say you will be in good shape. Just make sure to do a rotation through one of the IM departments during your summer active duty periods after 2nd year.
Discrimination? If any, it would only come from ignorant, young, medical personnel who just came into the military and have never worked with DO's before. Military medicine is the reason we DOs have the level of "legitimacy" we have today. The military doesn't give a flip what your degree is, DO or MD, so long as you are licensed to practice medicine. The military is where we were able to THRIVE when MD hospitals wouldn't even let us through their doors. In fact, the most recent former Surgeon General of the Army, LTG Ron Blanck (RETIRED), is a DO, and is now President of TCOM. There is no descrimination at all. Hope this helps!

 

[tarheel04]

3.)The 150-200Kyr paycheck doesn't start till you are OUT of residency. If you do a military residency, by the time you are finished, your obligation to the service is over, and you can get out and join a civilian practice and STILL be ahead of your counterparts who didn't go HPSP and were making 17Kyr in residency instead of 80K/yr.

I was thinking about applying for this scholarship this past year and it is my understanding that your service payback does not start until after you complete your residency. Also in the Army and Navy you can be pulled from your residency and be required to be a general medical officer, which adds even more years to when you will finish your residency. I would encourage anyone to think very hard when applying to determine if this is worth it to you.

 

[Akscal]

While it is true that the four years of payback starts AFTER resdiency, it is my understanding that the Army doesnt pull people from residency to become a GMO.

 

[delicatefade]

Residency does NOT count toward your payback to the military.

Also, the Navy has a GMO program and many new grads end up doing a GMO tour after school, before they start residency. The Army and Air Force "say" they don't have GMO's but I would get it in writing if that's not something you're interesting in spending a year or two doing before you start your actual residency.

 

[bgworm]

As far as I know the Army and the Air Force do not do the GMO thing, that little tradition is solely with the Navy. I am an Army HPSP student in Florida. Payback does not start until after your residency, but doing a military residency has advantages:
1. Your reserve commitment is completed then so after your four-year post-residency payback you are clear. (assuming that you do a four year res.)
2. You gain rank and pay as a service member, if you defer to a civilian residency you are basically "on hold" and you gain no rank or fulfill reserve time. So when you return you will still owe the four years active duty and the four years reserve time.

The Army or the Air Force will not pull you out of resindency to make you a GMO because they want trained certified doctors, basically to get their money's worth out of you. The Navy is a different story.
Do take the advice of not doing it soley for the money, you will be disappointed especially if you go to a school with relatively low tuition (under 20K/year). If you do like the military lifestyle and you're OK with being government property for a while then by all means go ahead.
As far as getting the scholarship, if you are competitive enough to get into medical school you should have no problems getting the scholarship. 29 on the MCAT and 3.5 gpa gives you guaranteed acceptance if you pass the physical. In addition, the Army is currently behind on its medical recruiting and had lots of open slots to fill so don't worry about that part.
Hope that helps a bit. Good luck 😀 👍

 

[kaikai128]

FYI: To anyone who is considering applying for the HPSP Scholarships...toward the bottom of the list in the graduate medical forums, there is an entire "Military Medicine" forum. I am very interested in the scholarship, and these forums have been wonderful in giving me just a little bit of insight about some of the cons of the scholarship and the possible hardships that military medicine will have to endure in the future. There are people in that forum from the beginning stages and research thru physicians who are currently paying back their time in the service. I hope this forum is as helpful to everyone else in making an educated decision as it has been to me. 🙂

 

[ArmyDoc1999]

As far as I know the Army and the Air Force do not do the GMO thing, that little tradition is solely with the Navy. I am an Army HPSP student in Florida. Payback does not start until after your residency, but doing a military residency has advantages:
1. Your reserve commitment is completed then so after your four-year post-residency payback you are clear. (assuming that you do a four year res.)
2. You gain rank and pay as a service member, if you defer to a civilian residency you are basically "on hold" and you gain no rank or fulfill reserve time. So when you return you will still owe the four years active duty and the four years reserve time.

The Army or the Air Force will not pull you out of resindency to make you a GMO because they want trained certified doctors, basically to get their money's worth out of you. The Navy is a different story.
Do take the advice of not doing it soley for the money, you will be disappointed especially if you go to a school with relatively low tuition (under 20K/year). If you do like the military lifestyle and you're OK with being government property for a while then by all means go ahead.
As far as getting the scholarship, if you are competitive enough to get into medical school you should have no problems getting the scholarship. 29 on the MCAT and 3.5 gpa gives you guaranteed acceptance if you pass the physical. In addition, the Army is currently behind on its medical recruiting and had lots of open slots to fill so don't worry about that part.
Hope that helps a bit. Good luck 😀 👍

I stand corrected. A military residency starts the clock on your reserve time, but not your active duty time. Thank you all for correcting me on that.
Now, in the Army, you will not be pulled out of school, internship, or residency to be a GMO. The Navy does it to EVERYONE for a year right after gaduation, as I understand it. They want their Docs to get some Fleet experience under their belts, I believe.
DEFINITELY DON'T do it for the money. You must have a desire to serve your country and the finest citizens in it: those who also chose to serve. Take it from someone who used to be one of those grunts.

 

[DaveinDallas]

For the chronologically enhanced, what's the upper age cutoff with no prior service (unless you count being a military brat for 18 years - which as we all know, doesn't). I think for USAF you have to be 49 when you finish residency, whether you go USAF residency or civilian. I've heard USN is a little more lenient (but who wants to be a swabbie?). I don't know the score on USA? I'm coming in late to the thread and haven't read all the previous posts.

BTW, if no one's told you this, Lt., Thank you for what you and your brothers do every day.

 

[Newdoc2002]

The facts are def. askew in this thread. Not one of you has brought up the "service" aspect of the committment. Not pull you for GMO?? You're smokin' crack if you think they won't pull you if needed, and by the way, you are needed.

You'll get to visit exciting places like Lithuania, Iraq and Korea while your spouse (family) waits for you at home in BFE New Mexico where you were stationed stateside.

Don't get me wrong, I highly respect medical officers serving our country and many of the benefits are great, but the recruiters will blow smoke up your arse all day long.

It certainly ain't free money. Think long and hard about joining.

 

[kaikai128]

The facts are def. askew in this thread. Not one of you has brought up the "service" aspect of the committment. Not pull you for GMO?? You're smokin' crack if you think they won't pull you if needed, and by the way, you are needed.

You'll get to visit exciting places like Lithuania, Iraq and Korea while your spouse (family) waits for you at home in BFE New Mexico where you were stationed stateside.

Don't get me wrong, I highly respect medical officers serving our country and many of the benefits are great, but the recruiters will blow smoke up your arse all day long.

It certainly ain't free money. Think long and hard about joining.

I would agree that the facts are somewhat askew here...everyone always seems to be gung-ho about the HPSP until they actually find out the details, consider the hardship, and if you calculate it out economically...you do not really come out any better with the HPSP than you would with a bunch of loans...one again...see the Military Med forum, those guys are very helpful.

 

[Echinoidea]

I spent 4 years as an Infantryman in the Army, and if I learned anything, it is this: No matter what sweetheart deal you think you are getting, the Army DOES NOT exist to help you fulfill your personal goals. The Army exists to defend (sometimes under questionable circumstances) the nation, and you will become a cog in that machine. The needs of the Army come first, and if you happen to benefit from that, fine. If not, tough sh#t.
If and when you sign that contract, make sure you read the fine print about the IRR. If you happen to decide to leave the Army after 4 yrs or so, you will be placed in the Individual Ready Reserve for the remainder of your 8 yr term. This is essentially an inactive reserve whose members lead 100% civilian lives, but are subject to recall to active duty at any time, INVOLUNTARILY. They are being called up now, and its a travesty. And once they are called up, they are placed on "stop-loss" which means they are not allowed to leave the military even though their contractual service term has expired. If you break the contract, its called AWOL. If they do, its called "needs of the Army". I call it slavery.
Just be aware that when you sign that contract, you are essentially forfeiting all of your individual rights for the next 8 years. And be very, very skeptical of anyone who seems to present you with a completely rosy view of the Army.

 

[ArmyDoc1999]

I spent 4 years as an Infantryman in the Army, and if I learned anything, it is this: No matter what sweetheart deal you think you are getting, the Army DOES NOT exist to help you fulfill your personal goals. The Army exists to defend (sometimes under questionable circumstances) the nation, and you will become a cog in that machine. The needs of the Army come first, and if you happen to benefit from that, fine. If not, tough sh#t.
If and when you sign that contract, make sure you read the fine print about the IRR. If you happen to decide to leave the Army after 4 yrs or so, you will be placed in the Individual Ready Reserve for the remainder of your 8 yr term.

To address a previous issue: The Army WILL NOT PULL YOU OUT TO BE A GMO! IT WILL NOT HAPPEN! I can't speak for the other services, but the Army HPSP regulations are quite clear.
1.) Medical students are NONDEPLOYABLE. That's why you are paid a stipend; because you can't drill with a Reserve or Guard unit to make some extra cash. Not being allowed to drill is to ensure that you aren't deployed anywhere.
2.) After graduation, YOU WILL NOT BE SENT ANYWHERE AS A GMO! All HPSP students are REQUIRED to apply for a First Year Graduate Medical Education tour in any specialty they choose. It will probably be in a military hospital, but there are places, like San Antonio, where the FYGME is done at civilian hospitals as well. After that is over, you apply for a residency and go on from there. There are enough people wanting to practice general medicine that they don't HAVE to force anyone to be a GMO.
Echinoidea, I'm sorry you had a bad experience with your time in the Army, but you are just one person. I spent five years as a Fire Support Specialist, Light Infantry Company Forward Observer, and COLT Team Chief, and I loved it. I made sergeant, and then got accepted to med school. Now I'm an LT, and an HPSP student, and I find it to be a very sweet deal. And as for your concerns about the IRR, we already addressed them in another post in this thread. I'll review for the sake of not having to search for it. Doing a military residency counts towards your IRR time. So, if you do a four year residency, after you practice for four years in the Army and probably make Major, you are free and clear to resign your commission and go into private practice.

 

[iatrosB]

army doc,

How probable is it that a HPSP participant will get the specialty of their choice? I know the needs of the service have an influence in the final call. Is anyone ever stuck in a specialty they really don't want? I am interested in ortho-surg, is that usually granted?

 

[chalklette]

I spent 4 years as an Infantryman in the Army, and if I learned anything, it is this: No matter what sweetheart deal you think you are getting, the Army DOES NOT exist to help you fulfill your personal goals. The Army exists to defend (sometimes under questionable circumstances) the nation, and you will become a cog in that machine. The needs of the Army come first, and if you happen to benefit from that, fine. If not, tough sh#t.
If and when you sign that contract, make sure you read the fine print about the IRR. If you happen to decide to leave the Army after 4 yrs or so, you will be placed in the Individual Ready Reserve for the remainder of your 8 yr term. This is essentially an inactive reserve whose members lead 100% civilian lives, but are subject to recall to active duty at any time, INVOLUNTARILY. They are being called up now, and its a travesty. And once they are called up, they are placed on "stop-loss" which means they are not allowed to leave the military even though their contractual service term has expired. If you break the contract, its called AWOL. If they do, its called "needs of the Army". I call it slavery.
Just be aware that when you sign that contract, you are essentially forfeiting all of your individual rights for the next 8 years. And be very, very skeptical of anyone who seems to present you with a completely rosy view of the Army.

Damn you beat me to it. You are exactly right. Don't do it. Every body on the outside wants to get in and all those on the inside want the hell out. I served in the Army for 6yrs and I hated it. Everyone is counting down on the clock til they get out. Also as an officer your contract is INDEFINITE. If they need you, you will stay a*k*a STOPLOSS. My husband is a reservist and his active contract was over 1 1/2 yrs ago and he is suppose to be Inactive Ready Reserves but he is on STOPLOSS and is still being forced to drill. The needs of the Army do come first and they will do with you what they please. Furthermore no contract is permanent I don't give a **** what they tell you. They can void that with the snap of a finger if it's for the good of the military. I had a fellow soldier who reenlisted for school and was promised a half day schedule for 2yrs to go to school. When war broke out they snatched his contract and made him come back to work regular hours. This is just one example. NOTHING THEY PROMISE YOU IS GUARANTEED!!!!! And like the poster said the military will tell you to your face that THE MILITARY COMES FIRST. So if you think you're gonna go in do your time and come out think again.

If its' your calling tho' do it but just be prepared. I would never go back. I would rather pay my loans off like the rest of the millions of people.

 

[Amy B]

We got this emailed to us today and thought I would pass it on to anyone thinking about using the HPSP. I can only assume this would be the same for all schools, but I really don't know.

"""""""From VCOM

NOTE TO HPSP STUDENTS:



Please be aware that the military scholarship and reimbursements will
reduce the amount of money you are allowed by the federal government to
borrow. This may sound like a disadvantage, but it's a big advantage
to have any scholarship because it reduces the amount you borrow and pay
back. You graduate with less debt.



Since your tuition is paid, the amount you can borrow is reduced by
$29,500. Also, the REQUIRED texts are reimbursable as well as the amount
in the budget allocated for health insurance. We estimated REQUIRED
textbook costs to be $1,800 and there is $1,000 allocated for insurance.
Therefore, when you complete the Response Form for your Award Letter,
please be aware that you will need to reduce the amount you intend to
borrow to reflect these amounts.



Also, you want to be sure the amount of money you take out in
unsubsidized loan money does not negate your eligibility to receive the
Subsidized (need-based) Stafford Loan money. Since the disbursements are given
to you as ? in the fall and ? in the spring, you need to be sure the
amount you take out in Unsubsidized Stafford Loan money will still leave
you eligible for the second half of the Subsidized, meaning you don't
borrow so much that your maximum amount of $23,584 is realized in the
first disbursement.



Example:

Living expenses for MS II are budgeted to be $26,384.

You are reimbursed thru military for up to $1,800 for books

You are reimbursed thru military for up to $1,000 for medical insurance



So, HPSP students are eligible to borrow $23,584 (NOTE: this amount
could be increased if you have medical expenses that your insurance does
not cover or dependent care.)



On the response form, you would indicate the following as the amounts
you want to borrow to equal $23,584:



$8,500 Subsidized

$15,084 Unsubsidized



Your first disbursement in the fall would be:

$4,250 (1/2 of the Subsidized)

$7,542 (1/2 of the Unsubsidized)

Your second disbursement in the spring would be for the same amounts.



Choosing the above amounts for your response letter would be in keeping
with your being eligible for the full amount of subsidized money.

 

[ArmyDoc1999]

army doc,

How probable is it that a HPSP participant will get the specialty of their choice? I know the needs of the service have an influence in the final call. Is anyone ever stuck in a specialty they really don't want? I am interested in ortho-surg, is that usually granted?

iatrosB,

I can't really address that question with any certainty. I don't have any statistical figures to support or disprove any answer I could give. But, I promise you that I will check what official resources I have to try and find you an answer. It is a question I want the answer to, myself.

 

[kingcer0x]

I would say that you should think long and hard about joining with HPSP if you are hardset on matching to a competitive residency. It seems like those spots get filled more by FAP since the GME numbers are quite low. Of course you could always bank on getting deferred... maybe a gamble.

Ideally, I would like to do military FYGME, maybe an FS tour afterwards to convince them to defer me, then do my payback.

 

[ArmyDoc1999]

We got this emailed to us today and thought I would pass it on to anyone thinking about using the HPSP. I can only assume this would be the same for all schools, but I really don't know.

"""""""From VCOM

NOTE TO HPSP STUDENTS:



Please be aware that the military scholarship and reimbursements will
reduce the amount of money you are allowed by the federal government to
borrow. This may sound like a disadvantage, but it's a big advantage
to have any scholarship because it reduces the amount you borrow and pay
back. You graduate with less debt.



Since your tuition is paid, the amount you can borrow is reduced by
$29,500. Also, the REQUIRED texts are reimbursable as well as the amount
in the budget allocated for health insurance. We estimated REQUIRED
textbook costs to be $1,800 and there is $1,000 allocated for insurance.
Therefore, when you complete the Response Form for your Award Letter,
please be aware that you will need to reduce the amount you intend to
borrow to reflect these amounts.



Also, you want to be sure the amount of money you take out in
unsubsidized loan money does not negate your eligibility to receive the
Subsidized (need-based) Stafford Loan money. Since the disbursements are given
to you as ? in the fall and ? in the spring, you need to be sure the
amount you take out in Unsubsidized Stafford Loan money will still leave
you eligible for the second half of the Subsidized, meaning you don't
borrow so much that your maximum amount of $23,584 is realized in the
first disbursement.



Example:

Living expenses for MS II are budgeted to be $26,384.

You are reimbursed thru military for up to $1,800 for books

You are reimbursed thru military for up to $1,000 for medical insurance



So, HPSP students are eligible to borrow $23,584 (NOTE: this amount
could be increased if you have medical expenses that your insurance does
not cover or dependent care.)



On the response form, you would indicate the following as the amounts
you want to borrow to equal $23,584:



$8,500 Subsidized

$15,084 Unsubsidized



Your first disbursement in the fall would be:

$4,250 (1/2 of the Subsidized)

$7,542 (1/2 of the Unsubsidized)

Your second disbursement in the spring would be for the same amounts.



Choosing the above amounts for your response letter would be in keeping
with your being eligible for the full amount of subsidized money.

This is GOOD info, especially if you are a student with a family to support, and not just yourself. The scholarship covers all of your school expenses, plus the approx. $1185.00 living expense stipend. Then, you can take out what loans you need to cover the expenses inherent with supporting a family. It is what I am having to do.

Chalkette, Officer contracts are not indefinite. Traditionally, an officer does not have a contract. HPSP students do, as do West Point cadets because they owe the military time in exchange for the huge amount of money being spent on them. Officers who go through ROTC or OCS are not contracted for any set amount of time. They can resign at any time, but can be called back in times of conflict when their services are needed, up to certain period of time. Officers are considered on an "idefinite" status because, normally, it is up to them when they get out, except under special circumstances as listed here.

 

[Prozach]

Lt. Evans,

I intend to use my Osteopathic degree to go into Immunology, and hopefully work with an organization like the CDC in infectious disease management one day. I didn't even think about it before, but would working at the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Disease count as active duty service? If I could get my foot in the door there after completing a three year residency in IM and a fellowship in Immunology w/ the military, I would probably just stay there until I retired. Think that's possible? Thanks!

 

[ArmyDoc1999]

Lt. Evans,

I intend to use my Osteopathic degree to go into Immunology, and hopefully work with an organization like the CDC in infectious disease management one day. I didn't even think about it before, but would working at the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Disease count as active duty service? If I could get my foot in the door there after completing a three year residency in IM and a fellowship in Immunology w/ the military, I would probably just stay there until I retired. Think that's possible? Thanks!

It would definitely count if you were doing it as a member of the Army. USAMRIID is at Fort Detrich (sp?) Maryland and is a military facility. It is more than possible. Just play your cards right and you should have a good lchance of succeeding in doing what you want to do. Good Luck!

 

[DaveinDallas]

Wow, some of the responses to this thread are a little 'interesting'. Since I'm the son of a professional NCO, thought I might throw in my $.02 even though they're slightly off topic in terms of medicine.

Yes, some of the posters are correct. The needs of the service come first. If you're promised anything, get it in writing, preferably reviewed by a lawyer. The needs of the service come first.

If you go into the service, remember this: You're going to come out one of three ways: 1) Standing up 2) Maimed 3) In a body bag. If you're not prepared to deal with that, don't go. If you're not prepared to suffer hardship to 'preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States against ALL enemies, foreign and domestic', don't go. If you're not prepared to have to leave with your 'fly away kit' and your family and that's it (i.e. leaving behind all other personal property), don't go. If you're not ready to operate on some horribly torn up infantryman wearing a sidearm yourself, don't go. This is the military, not some free lunch social club. It's not about social experimentation in some pointy headed politically correct fashion. It's about breaking things and killing people who threaten us and our way of life in a very, very efficient manner. If you're not ready to deal with that, don't go.

I get a little tired of people who want all the 'nice stuff' (uniforms, pay, respect) that comes with peacetime service and then gripe and try to get C.O. status or become REMFs when it's time to go to the dance. If you're not ready to fulfill the hard side of the commitment, then don't go. It's really that simple.

 

[ArmyDoc1999]

I get a little tired of people who want all the 'nice stuff' (uniforms, pay, respect) that comes with peacetime service and then gripe and try to get C.O. status or become REMFs when it's time to go to the dance. If you're not ready to fulfill the hard side of the commitment, then don't go. It's really that simple.

REMF's. Nice. I haven't heard that term used since I was on active duty as a Field Artillery NCO. You are right on about everything, though. Thank you for contributing your $.02.

 

[Fermata]

Discrimination? Only by ignorant, young, MDs who just came into the military. Military medicine is the reason we DOs have the level of "legitimacy" we have today.

An interesting opinion.