Differences b/n Army and Navy HPSP?

[TrojanMan48]

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First: I'm not currently a medical student. I'm actually just starting undergrad this fall. I do have a great interest in both medicine and the military, so naturally I'm researching the HPSP and FAP.



I've been a bit confused reading through some of the posts on this board about Army and Navy commitments after HPSP. Am I correct in saying that the Navy has a longer commitment because of their GMO tour? I want to go to med. school, get into a residency, and then serve out my AD. Since the Navy has a required GMO tour, does that mean if I take a residency afterwards it will add to my time commitment?

 

[idq1i]

First: I'm not currently a medical student. I'm actually just starting undergrad this fall. I do have a great interest in both medicine and the military, so naturally I'm researching the HPSP and FAP.



I've been a bit confused reading through some of the posts on this board about Army and Navy commitments after HPSP. Am I correct in saying that the Navy has a longer commitment because of their GMO tour? I want to go to med. school, get into a residency, and then serve out my AD. Since the Navy has a required GMO tour, does that mean if I take a residency afterwards it will add to my time commitment?

In the Navy, you generally do a GMO tour before residency. Years as a GMO count towards your committment. You can serve out your time as a GMO, separate, and do a civ residency. If you choose to do a Navy residency after your tour (WHY?????), the time spent in residency adds years to your committment

The Army has no required GMO tours (well, they do, but it's rarely utilized)

 

[TrojanMan48]

Wouldn't it be harder to get a civ residency if you stayed a GMO during your commitment in the Navy?



Does doing a residency in the Army add years?

 

[idq1i]

Wouldn't it be harder to get a civ residency if you stayed a GMO during your commitment in the Navy?

Does doing a residency in the Army add years?

Could be. I'll leave this for the Navy folks. I'm Army.

Your committment = years of scholarship or = years of residency, whichever is longer. Remember, transitional year does not count - only residency years do.

Remember, none of this applies if you do a civ residency. In this case, your committment only = to years of scholarship

 

[ishii123]

Wouldn't it be harder to get a civ residency if you stayed a GMO during your commitment in the Navy?

I have personally met Navy GMO's and flight surgeons who finished off their Navy commitment and matched at excellent civilian residencies in radiology, dermatology, and anesthesiology. All these Navy GMO's and FS's had competitive grades in medical school. From talking to them, it depends on the specialty your interested in (some specialties are more military friendly than others). According to their experiences, most civilian programs like the idea of a mature military applicant whose unique experiences brings diversity to their residency program. In fact, most of their interviews centered around their military experiences, which set them apart from the rest of the applicants. Some of them were offered positions "outside the match". Therefore, in general, doing a Navy GMO or FS tour is an advantage.

However, the difficulty lies in doing an ERAs application and going to interviews. You can possibly be deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan and not be able to attend any interviews. This would totally screw up your chances of getting into any civilian residency.

 

[TrojanMan48]

Thanks for the help guys!

ishii123: ERAs app? Haven't heard of that one, so excuse me for my ignorance. Hopefully by the time I'm ready to apply for a residency this whole mess in Iraq will be over with....