Army Enlisted to Medical School?
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There is! It’s called the enlisted to medical degree preparatory program, and I am in cohort 4! It’s an awesome program.
This is the website: Uniformed Services University
I am Navy but I can answer any questions you have about it. If they are Army specific I can get any answers I don’t have from the Army folks in my cohort.
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You commission before starting medical school. Residency and fellowship works the same way as it does for any other HPSP/USUHS grad. Fellowships are available, but most docs have to do a utilization tour between residency and fellowship. Some go straight through, but it’s a small number since there are not a ton of spots for each fellowship. But that’s military GME, not something unique to this program.
Essentially, this program is a postbacc and an SMP. The first year you take all the med school prereqs and the MCAT. Then while applying to med school, you take graduate courses in biochem, anatomy, physiology, etc. You are required to apply to USUHS, are guaranteed an interview, and are given priority for admission if you meet the requirements of the program (3.0/500). You are also allowed to apply to civilian schools, but you’re own your own there. If you decide to attend a civilian school (one or two people usually do), you must apply for HPSP.
The program covers the cost of your tuition, an in-person Kaplan course, your MCAT, and the initial amcas primary fee. Once you matriculate at a medical school, you become just like any other military med student.
Just like any other med student coming into the military, you commission as an O-1E prior to starting med school, then promote to O-3E upon graduation. It's a very cool program. If you want more details just ask or PM me. And most people go through USUHS, since the pay is significantly higher than going HPSP and most of us are planning on staying in until retirement anyway. But some people don't.
What's the service obligation for the program? I see people are required to apply to USUHS, which is already 7 post residency. Extra obligation makes me a little wary.
The FAQ just says "The Services (Army, Navy, Air Force) will determine the incurred commitment and will publish this information in their program announcements."
The FAQ just says "The Services (Army, Navy, Air Force) will determine the incurred commitment and will publish this information in their program announcements."
There is a 5 year obligation, but it is not on top of any obligation incurred by USUHS or HPSP (at least for the Navy). It is an adso while you are enlisted in the prep program that is replaced when you sign your officer contract. So if you go to USUHS, your obligation is only 7 years, and if you do HPSP it’s 4.
You only serve out the 5 years if you fail to get into med school (this has happened twice in the entire program, and they are given multiple cycles to reapply), and 2 of the 5 years are served concurrently with the 2 year prep program. It’s not a bad deal.
They were in the process of creating this when I was going through USUHS. I'm really glad it came to fruition and that it continues to be a value-add program. Congrats on getting accepted. I know the number of quality applicants continues to rise each year.
Thanks. It’s been a crazy year. I will say they did an excellent job of prepping us for the MCAT and application cycle. Everyone from the previous cohorts have said that the graduate year is amazing prep for M1, so I’m looking forward to starting that in a couple weeks.
68Whiskey
U.S. Army
Were you accepted into USUHS as well? What school did you decide on?
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I took the MCAT twice and turned my primary in around mid September and verified in October, so I was super late to the party. Still, I did interview at USUHS and received several interviews in Texas. I was placed on the alternate list at USUHS, which is their backup waitlist, so I applied to HPSP with a Texas med school acceptance in hand.
68Whiskey
U.S. Army
Does HPSP cover any medical school?
Any accredited medical school (MD or DO) in the US or Puerto Rico.
Like USArmyHPSP said above, HPSP will pay your tuition and fees at any real US MD or DO school, so the Caribbean is out. It also pays anything required by the school: basic tools, health insurance, sometimes a laptop, and also gives you $2,2XX/month. Since you are prior service you can also use your GI Bill simultaneously. I am going to use the Chapter 30, which is $1,8XX dollars/month and can be topped up before you ETS. I payed $600 and increased the amount by $150/month. Once the Ch 30 is up, I heard there is a way to receive an additional 12 months of the Post 9/11, so I will try to do that the last few months of year 4.
68Whiskey
U.S. Army
Do you do a fellowship before or after going into the military?
No. Doesnt't matter if you go to a Texas school where the tuition is under 20k or Duke where it's 55K.
Modt fellowships are done after joining or once you get out of the military completely
68Whiskey
U.S. Army
What are some notable difference between HPSP, and USUHS, other than the school location(s)
Commitment (4 vs 7 years)
Military duties—at USUHS you wear a uniform every day and complete your PRT and annual trainings, plus the occasional formation; with HPSP, other than the 45 days per year that you’re on active duty, you’re a civilian
Pay—you get paid a lot more at USUHS
Matching—USUHS grads are guaranteed a military internship while HPSP grads are not
Probably missing some stuff but it’s late and I’m tired
If you are almost done with your contract you could switch services. I looked into it a little bit and it's a pain. I had 2 years left before I could ETS and figured there was no way I would get it approved.
You can also apply HSCP and transfer to the Navy even if you’re not at the end of your contract. It’s competitive though.
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68Whiskey
U.S. Army
Do you know how that would be done?
I know a couple people trying to do it right now from the Army. I can ask them when classes start up again.
All HPSP grads get an internship. You're not eligible for a medical license without that. Otherwise correct.
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Right. I said military internship, meaning at a military program. HPSP grads may have to complete theirs at a civilian program.
Not in the Army. Can't speak to the other services.
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Might be just Navy then.
68Whiskey
U.S. Army
What rank will you have after you finish med school, and residency?
You promote to O-3 after medical school. Not entirely sure about residency, but I'm guessing O-4. The ship sup docs I worked for were O-4s.
Everyone promotes to O4 six years after O3, barring felony convictions, fitness test failures, or other drama.
68Whiskey
U.S. Army
Not a bad deal. Out of curiosity, how difficult was it to get the residency you wanted?I’ve even seen people fail their BCA and pick up O4
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Depends on your definition of hard and impossible to quantify because it varies widely by year, specialty, service. I was very fortunate that my year group needed a lot of ortho spots and thankfully I had set myself up for the opportunity to get one via doing well on all of my tests/STEP exams and rotations at med school.
All you can do is work your tail off to do the best you can and then you’ll be able to maximize the opportunity if it arises for you. If not then you may just have to wait a year or 3 and reapply
68Whiskey
U.S. Army
I was looking at either Cardiology, Oncology, or Infectious Disease. Assuming there will be limited slots for all.
Assume there will be limited spots for everything. If you can't handle the possibility of not getting one of them then the military route is not for you. If you primarily want to serve and can be happy in a specialty you may not have planned on when you signed up then go for it. For instance....all I knew was that I wanted to be a doctor in the military....hopefully something surgical. Ortho evolved as I went through the process. Don't set a very specific plan for yourself 9 years down the road. You have to be willing to adapt and change otherwise you are setting yourself up for bitterness and regret
