Contradiction in HPSP FAQ?

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mrd5003

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Ok, I'm a bit confused...I believe what follows is a contradiction. This is from the HPSP FAQ sticky.


Begin quote
"

What is the payback?

One year of service per year of scholarship received. Military residencies do count as payback

...

All current military contracts are 8 years in length. In the case of a 4 years scholarship, ones contract would be for 4 years active duty and 4 years inactive ready reserve (IRR). While HPSP students are IRR, their time does NOT count. If a student did a military residency in FP (3 years) and then paid back his/her commitment (4 years), they would still have one year of IRR.

"
End quote


Wouldn't the student be paying back the active-duty committment by doing a military FP residency? Following residency, he would owe one year of active duty followed by four years of IRR. Is that right?


Just to straighten things out, tell me if I am correct: A general surgeon resident in a military residency was on the 4 year HPSP. He finishes the five year residency. Now the new attending owes four years of active duty. Following those four years, he will be allowed to leave the military. Is this correct?



Thanks for your help,

A concerned Army HPSP applicant

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The time in an in-service GME program does not count toward one's active duty service commitment. It would count against the IRR. In-service GME also leads to an active duty service commitment but this commitment can be served concurrently with one's scholarship commitment. In your example an individual who was a four year HPSP recipient and completed an in-service surgery residency would have a five year active duty service commitment- four from HPSP and five from the surgery residency. The first four years of the surgery commitment would be served concurrently with the HPSP obligation, leaving the individual with one more year of ADSC.
 
Ok, I'm a bit confused...I believe what follows is a contradiction. This is from the HPSP FAQ sticky.


Begin quote
"

What is the payback?

One year of service per year of scholarship received. Military residencies do count as payback

...

All current military contracts are 8 years in length. In the case of a 4 years scholarship, ones contract would be for 4 years active duty and 4 years inactive ready reserve (IRR). While HPSP students are IRR, their time does NOT count. If a student did a military residency in FP (3 years) and then paid back his/her commitment (4 years), they would still have one year of IRR.

"
End quote


Wouldn't the student be paying back the active-duty committment by doing a military FP residency? Following residency, he would owe one year of active duty followed by four years of IRR. Is that right?


Just to straighten things out, tell me if I am correct: A general surgeon resident in a military residency was on the 4 year HPSP. He finishes the five year residency. Now the new attending owes four years of active duty. Following those four years, he will be allowed to leave the military. Is this correct?



Thanks for your help,

A concerned Army HPSP applicant

So let me get this straight... you think that the army would pay for your med school, pay to train you as a physician, then only ask that you repay them with one year as a fully-paid attending? LOL that would be a sweet deal.
 
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The time in an in-service GME program does not count toward one's active duty service commitment. It would count against the IRR. In-service GME also leads to an active duty service commitment but this commitment can be served concurrently with one's scholarship commitment. In your example an individual who was a four year HPSP recipient and completed an in-service surgery residency would have a five year active duty service commitment- four from HPSP and five from the surgery residency. The first four years of the surgery commitment would be served concurrently with the HPSP obligation, leaving the individual with one more year of ADSC.

This is mostly correct, but there's one error: Internship is obligation neutral, so straight-through residencies actually incur an obligation that is 1 year less than their term. Unless you are doing a 6-year GS residency, it wouldn't extend the obligation for a 4-year scholarship recipient.

Ed
 
Wouldn't the student be paying back the active-duty committment by doing a military FP residency? Following residency, he would owe one year of active duty followed by four years of IRR. Is that right?

Hehe, what the HPSP manual apparently fails to mention is that doing a military residency adds additional time to your committment. So no, that is not correct. You'd finish the FP residency still owing 4 years.
 
So let me get this straight... you think that the army would pay for your med school, pay to train you as a physician, then only ask that you repay them with one year as a fully-paid attending? LOL that would be a sweet deal.

it'd be totally sweet.

--your friendly neighborhood thinks he found the HPSP recruitment solution caveman
 
This is mostly correct, but there's one error: Internship is obligation neutral, so straight-through residencies actually incur an obligation that is 1 year less than their term. Unless you are doing a 6-year GS residency, it wouldn't extend the obligation for a 4-year scholarship recipient.

Ed

Thanks for pointing that out. I overlooked the fact that the internship doesn't incur an obligation.
 
So let me get this straight... you think that the army would pay for your med school, pay to train you as a physician, then only ask that you repay them with one year as a fully-paid attending? LOL that would be a sweet deal.

Seemed too good to be true....


Thanks to everyone who has replied
 
Out of curiosity, which service FAQ sheet did this come from?
 
The obligation is 8 years total.
An example:

You have a 4 year scholarship. You do a 3 year residency, which serves as "payback" for 3 years of your scholarship, BUT, you have now incurred 3 years of AD requirement for your residency. So, you now owe 1 year for the 4th year of your scholarship, plus 3 for your residency. You can do your 4 years on AD and get out, at which time you will enter the IRR for an additional 4 years. If you do 6 years AD, you will owe 2 IRR, etc. Once you've reached 8, and decide to get out, there's no IRR added on.

Hope that helps.
 
Yeah it certainly has helped.

Thanks.
 
Yeah it certainly has helped.

Thanks.

prepare yourself for contradictions.

you will find many contradictions in the military, and if your like almost everyone else I know, you will spend the first year on active duty trying to understand them, and maybe even explain them away. If your incredibly hardheaded, you may even spend part of your second year trying to understand.

Then by your third year, you will feel mostly helpless. Eventually about mid 3rd year, or 4th year, you will begin to adjust to the culture somewhat, meaning that you will learn to manipulate the contradictions to benefit yourself, and your people.


I want out (of IRR)
 
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