All Branch Topic (ABT) Considering Medical corps

[Anilord000]

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Hi Ive been considering joining the navy medical corps before going to med school to help with med school tuition and all that good jazz. I'm still only pre-med so still have time to think about it. Planning on become a Psychiatrist. I was wondering if anyone has or knew someone who joined the medical corps in any branch and did their term and everything then left the military, how hard was it to get a job as a doctor again in civilian world(Very biased question but Which did you prefer aswell)? Did your military medical experience help with this at all? Also i read that with the navy your pretty much guaranteed to do GMO(which I slightly still dont understand what that is ) before you do your residency? Doesn't that put off you becoming a doctor? Are the GMO's considered active duty? So many questions . Thanks for the help.

 

[MusicDOc124]

Well, to join the medical corps, you have to have already completed medical school. If you're looking to join for help with tuition, the Navy, Army, and Air Force each have an HPSP program for that. The Navy additionally has HSCP, but it's not commonly used for medical school when compared to HPSP.

GMO stands for General Medical Officer. Pretty much, if you use HPSP and graduate, you will complete you first year of residency (PGY-1/intern year) to obtain a medical license. Before moving on to PGY-2, you then serve in a general medical role, being the primary care provider in various potential settings, then reapply to residency after the GMO tour to start PGY-2 (and in some cases PGY-1 again if procedure heavy/some surgical areas). For competitive specialties, GMOs are often done. GMOs are not limited to HPSP students or non-residency trained physicians to my current knowledge.

Are you maybe thinking of an enlistment? You state you're a pre-med which means you are working on pre-reqs most likely in undergrad, and I'm assuming you don't already have a degree, which means you're ineligible to become an officer (need at least a bachelors degree). That said.. enlisting will give you life experience for sure and earn you the Post-9/11 GI Bill assuming you serve 3 years on active duty, which can then pay for school (or most of it) without any additional obligation. But if your goal is to be in the medical corps, again, that will have to wait until after medical school.

However, I don't recommend joining in any capacity if your intention is solely, or mostly, based on having help with tuition/financial relief. Most people who do it for those reasons regret it. Those who serve because they want to serve often have a better experience.

You also have a large hurdle - that is getting into medical school. Worry about that before you worry about joining the medical corps for the obvious reasoning above, and/or speak to a recruiter about enlisting if that is what you meant.

 

[Anilord000]

Well, to join the medical corps, you have to have already completed medical school. If you're looking to join for help with tuition, the Navy, Army, and Air Force each have an HPSP program for that. The Navy additionally has HSCP, but it's not commonly used for medical school when compared to HPSP.

GMO stands for General Medical Officer. Pretty much, if you use HPSP and graduate, you will complete you first year of residency (PGY-1/intern year) to obtain a medical license. Before moving on to PGY-2, you then serve in a general medical role, being the primary care provider in various potential settings, then reapply to residency after the GMO tour to start PGY-2 (and in some cases PGY-1 again if procedure heavy/some surgical areas). For competitive specialties, GMOs are often done. GMOs are not limited to HPSP students or non-residency trained physicians to my current knowledge.

Are you maybe thinking of an enlistment? You state you're a pre-med which means you are working on pre-reqs most likely in undergrad, and I'm assuming you don't already have a degree, which means you're ineligible to become an officer (need at least a bachelors degree). That said.. enlisting will give you life experience for sure and earn you the Post-9/11 GI Bill assuming you serve 3 years on active duty, which can then pay for school (or most of it) without any additional obligation. But if your goal is to be in the medical corps, again, that will have to wait until after medical school.

However, I don't recommend joining in any capacity if your intention is solely, or mostly, based on having help with tuition/financial relief. Most people who do it for those reasons regret it. Those who serve because they want to serve often have a better experience.

You also have a large hurdle - that is getting into medical school. Worry about that before you worry about joining the medical corps for the obvious reasoning above, and/or speak to a recruiter about enlisting if that is what you meant.

Okay First i'm not worried about the military I'm focusing on my pre med for med school thats more important to me than anything. I'm entertaining ideas to see if its something I want to do. Having a plan is a good idea riiight. You are most definitely right about joining the military because you want to serve will make the experience better, joining isn't just some means to an end tho. I'm an army brat so I've been around the military all my life, I'm just not gonna let my whole life/career be the military. Nonetheless thank you for the advice. I did mean HSPS. Thank you for clearing up the GMO part. So its PGY1 then GMO(which is about 2 years)then PGY2 correct?

 

[WernickeDO]

OP reading the stickies as well as searching the forums will answer all your questions. Good luck.

 

[Red Lobster Actual]

So its PGY1 then GMO(which is about 2 years)then PGY2 correct?

If the current trends continue, Navy physicians have ~50% chance to go onto a GMO. Much more likely to train straight through if you are going into one of the primary care fields.

3 types of Navy GMOs: General, Flight, Undersea. The first deals mostly with Marines, the second with pilots, the third with submarines and diving. Specific experiences are written by others on this forum.

GMO can be 2-3 years. One option you can consider is to payback the years you owe to the military with just GMO time and then separate from the military. Afterwards you will apply to a civilian residency and go on with your life. Maximum time in the military is ~5 years.

I was lucky enough to pursue my pre-med stuff while I was in San Diego so there were quite a few veteran physicians I talked and worked with. Try to seek them out and ask them about there experiences. Make sure you get a few opinions so you can weigh everyone's point of views.

Like Dr. Wernicke said, good luck!

 

[Anilord000]

If the current trends continue, Navy physicians have ~50% chance to go onto a GMO. Much more likely to train straight through if you are going into one of the primary care fields.

3 types of Navy GMOs: General, Flight, Undersea. The first deals mostly with Marines, the second with pilots, the third with submarines and diving. Specific experiences are written by others on this forum.

GMO can be 2-3 years. One option you can consider is to payback the years you owe to the military with just GMO time and then separate from the military. Afterwards you will apply to a civilian residency and go on with your life. Maximum time in the military is ~5 years.

I was lucky enough to pursue my pre-med stuff while I was in San Diego so there were quite a few veteran physicians I talked and worked with. Try to seek them out and ask them about there experiences. Make sure you get a few opinions so you can weigh everyone's point of views.

Like Dr. Wernicke said, good luck!

Thank you very much for the info I was really looking for.