Being a Air Force Pararescue Reserves and Med School?

[jay09]

I'm prior USAF veteran. I'm currently attending college at 27 and will be graduating by the time I'm 30. I've been really going back and forth with this thought for the longest time.

I want to become a Pararescueman in the Air Force when I graduate college. However, I also want to go to medical school.

Now one of my options is to become a Pararescueman in the reserves/guard and attend medical school. Has anyone done this before?

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[Tenk]

I take it that you know becoming a PJ is actually incredibly hard since you were in the AF. Trying to do both would probably be too much. I would focus on one or the other. Figure out which one you want more in life and go for it with everything you got. You will need it for either.

 

[deleted480308]

You are NOT protected from deployments and drill as a pj during med school....

 

[Raney Schauer]

You are protected from deployments and drill as a pj during med school....

That's gonna require some documentation, sport.

 

[maddeh87]

I think the tech school for that is something like 2 years, and I don’t think you’re protected from deploying or being activated while you’re in medical school. There’s a program in the Air National Guard where they direct commission you as a medical admin officer, send you to COT between M1 and M2, and you’re considered a pipe liner so you really can’t be activated. You can do the aerospace medical primary course as an elective during fourth year, and you can be a flight doc. Not quite the same thing as a PJ to say the least, but it’s still fun. Also, depending on the state you’re in, the guard can help cover that last semester of tuition your GI bill wont cover. The Army guard also has a program where they will pay you a stipend while you’re in medical school, but there’s quite a service commitment for that. What I did when I got out of active duty was palace front into the guard, used the guard educational benefits to get my undergrad paid for, and now I’m using my GI bill for medical school.

 

[Raney Schauer]

If you want to take 4+ years off and be a CRO (you wouldn't be a PJ unless you enlisted, which, why would you if you have a bachelor's degree), that's a hell of a resume booster at a minimum. If you're gonna do it, do it before you get all wrapped up in a medical career, family, etc. You know what that deployment life is and peace isn't exactly breaking out all over. There is no age limit on med school but there is a (waiverable up to the amount of time you already served) age limit for going back in...

...as well as a limit to how much your body can take physically before you start to get crusty around the gears, cables, pulleys and bell cranks.

Do everything you want to do in life. You can't do all of them simultaneously.

 

[NickNaylor]

If you're interested in the military, why not think about the HSPS program? You almost certainly wouldn't be able to do the type of work you're wanting to do, but you'd get medical school paid for while also getting military exposure. And you have annual commitments during the year since I believe you're in the reserves during your medical school years.

 

[jay09]

Yes I'm aware of the costs of being a PJ. The thing with CRO is that you have to be commissioned first and be recommended by your unit commander which means you need to develop the time to have relationships with leaders. I won't have time to do that.

 

[Raney Schauer]

Yes I'm aware of the costs of being a PJ. The thing with CRO is that you have to be commissioned first and be recommended by your unit commander which means you need to develop the time to have relationships with leaders. I won't have time to do that.

I think you already know what you gotta do then. Might be best to leave the high speed low drag sexy stuff to the youngns and concentrate on getting into med school and graduating. Sucks coming to grips with the idea that your running and gunning glory days might be done.

The HPSP route is a great deal especially if you still have the zeal for service after you’ve gotten into med school.

Another option is USUSHS, but again, you have to get in. The time commitment is longer, however.

 

[deleted480308]

That's gonna require some documentation, sport.

Lazy typing on my part.....definitely meant to add a “not”, sport. 😉

 

[Raney Schauer]

Lazy typing on my part.....definitely meant to add a “not”, sport. 😉

Very well recover carry on o7

 

[deleted480308]

Very well recover carry on o7

All joking aside I was 100% wrong in what I typed and you were right to call me on it. I’d rather get ribbed a bit than left ignorant when I screw up

 

[Raney Schauer]

All joking aside I was 100% wrong in what I typed and you were right to call me on it. I’d rather get ribbed a bit than left ignorant when I screw up

No worries m8. I was more concerned about bad gouge getting some fellow dirt eater hoodwinked, bamboozled, run amok, led astray... if I came off the top rope too hard I apologize.

 

[deleted480308]

No worries m8. I was more concerned about bad gouge getting some fellow dirt eater hoodwinked, bamboozled, run amok, led astray... if I came off the top rope too hard I apologize.

Keep on the look out, there’s no oops button once they enlist

We’re cool

 

[thephysicist16]

I'm prior USAF veteran. I'm currently attending college at 27 and will be graduating by the time I'm 30. I've been really going back and forth with this thought for the longest time.

I want to become a Pararescueman in the Air Force when I graduate college. However, I also want to go to medical school.

Now one of my options is to become a Pararescueman in the reserves/guard and attend medical school. Has anyone done this before?

What did you decide to do? I am in the same exact situation. I spoke with a PJ from the reserve squadron at Davis Monthan years ago and he told me some guys in his unit were in med school.

It's tough and you might have to take some time off of med school occasionally, but you can definitely make it work. I know a lot of people who took time off of med school for MBAs, consulting fellowships, to start companies, etc. Taking time off of med school to go rescue people in combat zones or natural disasters sounds like a lot more fun.

Let me know if you want to chat more. I am going through the same exact decision-making process. Also, FYI, you can go CRO as a prior-enlisted civilian - they look at civilian candidates on a case by case basis. Additionally, another option is the special operations surgical teams (SOST), which would be a great option if you went the HPSP route. The only problem is that I have no idea how you end up on a SOST. Like most other Air Force assignments, it is probably a combination of hard work, good timing, and luck.

 

[BombsAway]

Pararescue-person*

 

[Red Dragon]

I'm prior USAF veteran. I'm currently attending college at 27 and will be graduating by the time I'm 30. I've been really going back and forth with this thought for the longest time.

I want to become a Pararescueman in the Air Force when I graduate college. However, I also want to go to medical school.

Now one of my options is to become a Pararescueman in the reserves/guard and attend medical school. Has anyone done this before?

Yeah, there are actually quite a few guys who have done this. I joined at 27 after going to college and getting a bachelors degree. I joined a reserve unit, and am now in the Guard which is essentially the same as far a PJ goes. You could go CRO or PJ with a degree. There actually are quite a few guys that go PJ even with a degree due to the fact that they want to "DO" the mission rather than just be overall in charge of the mission from the back. Plus, many of the guys that went PJ instead of CRO, did it due to getting your Paramedic certification as part of the training. The whole pipeline takes about 2 years, plus you will be on active duty orders for another year or so full time once you finish the pipeline and go back to whatever Guard/Reserve unit you signed up with. At that point (roughly 3 years after starting pipeline), You go back to reserve or part time status and you can then go to school, work a job, or do whatever, however you are committed to the drills and possible deployments. The units are usually willing to work with you though. I ended up going to PA school while at the unit and so did like 3 other guys. We had one guy go to med school while he was in the unit as well, and then he got into an ER residency down in Arizona, so he switched to the Davis-Monthan team while in residency, then switched back to the Portland team once he became a doc and moved back to Oregon area. I know of several others that did the same while in the Guard/Reserve at other units. Anyways, all just depends on what you want to do. Ultimately I chose PA school so that I could be a PA in civilian life and still do PJ stuff for my military job which is exactly what I am doing now. Anyways, it is doable to go to PA and even med school while in Guard/Reserves.