Army scholarship questions

[Atlantagrl]

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Hey,
Are there any DO students that currently have the Army scholarship? I wanted to know how the program works once you finish ur residency in terms of where you are placed, how you are placed, and whether you get to pick where you are placed. I also wanted to know where do exactly work to "pay" them back? Are you working at a military base or hospitals? And do you get relocated a lot or are you in one place for the entire payment period? If anybody has any info please post a reply! Thank you!!

 

[Tadgie]

If you scroll down on the forums list you'll see a mil. med forum, they'd be better off answering your questions than people here. Most of the guys there didn't like their stint with the military, but they would be more than happy to answer any questions about their experiences.

 

[DrKeys]

If you scroll down on the forums list you'll see a mil. med forum, they'd be better off answering your questions than people here. Most of the guys there didn't like their stint with the military, but they would be more than happy to answer any questions about their experiences.

Yeah, not only that, you have to enter the match for the military (mandatory) and if you matched into a military residency (which is very likely, since they're not competitive at all) you're legally bind to go into the military. The word on the street is. They say you pay them back 4 years of service (that's assume you also entered military residency) if you did a civilian residency then it'll be 8 years total for you.

8 years in the military is definitely too much for anybody especially you just finished 4 years of college and 4 years of med-school.

In addition, military kept on mentioning "no malpractice insurance" no worries. In my honest opinion, why would anybody want to malpractice anyways, my gf loss hearing in one year because when she was born at a military hospital they forceped her wrong and damaged the hearing nerve, and they can't sue because it is the military. It is horrible, therefore I swear i would never want to work with people who are in that kind of working environment where people just don't care.

 

[delicatefade]

I don't know where you got your information but most of it is wrong.

It's true that Army HPSP students have to apply for military residencies, and that if you match military you must do the military residency. Due to the large number of residency slots in the Army it's not likely to get a civilian deferment. As far as competitiveness, some Army residencies are less competitive than their equivalent civilian counterparts, but I wouldn't say they are "not at all competitive." It all depends on what the Army's projected needs are, how many slots they offer for a specialty that year, and how many applicants there are. Sometimes weird things can happen. Last year, PM&R, a relatively non-competitive residency in the civilian world, had almost 5 applicants per slot which is unheard of. But that's just the way things went last year.

As far as your duty station when you finish residency, you do have some say and preference in the matter but you have to realize that the needs of the Army can and will always come first. If they need your specialty in a ****hole, guess what, you're going to a ****hole. But it can just as easily work out the other way, you never really know.

And DrKeys, I'm very sorry for what happened to your gf but please don't characterize everyone in the military medical system as someone who doesn't care. Also, I'm surprised they couldn't sue. From what I understand about military malpractice, the only people who truly cannot sue the government for malpractice at a military hospital are active duty service members. Their spouses and children however, can sue for malpractice, provided THEY were the ones who received the shoddy care (ie - if I got bad care at a military hospital while active duty, I can't sue the gov't and neither can my wife on my behalf - however, if my wife gets shoddy care at a military hospital, she can sue b/c she isn't active duty).

Oh, and payback doesn't change depending on whether you did a military residency or a civilian residency.

Anyhow, check out the MilMed forum. You'll get a lot of interesting advice there and most of it is worth listening to.

 

[Zerosixjt]

Thanks for finally posting a reply with actual info instead of just military medicine bashing. As a spouse of an active duty soldier, and future med student, I have seen the best and the worst. As in civilian medicine, training, location, and character are all important in your care. Just because it's military, doesn't always meen bad.

 

[delicatefade]

Agreed. Like most things in life, I'd say it's 50% your circumstances and 50% what you put into it.

 

[Atlantagrl]

Thank you to all of you who replied! You have been very helpful. I will definitely check out the other forum though for more opinions. Take care!