HPSP life, could really use some input..

[Karp316]

Hey all, I'm in my first year of medical school and am heavily debating joining the Air Force for HPSP. It would cover the costs of the last 3 years of medical school (tuition ~$50,000 per year) plus the stipend, and I would then serve in return for 3 years (residency aside). I feel truly driven to join, I would find it very rewarding and don't really care one way or the other about financial reasons (very gun-ho about practicing anesthesiology), but at the same time I am incredibly nervous about how it would impact my potential family/marital life (whether meeting someone, staying in one place long enough for marriage, or being absent near the start of family life).

What are the summers like during medical school with HPSP and what is life like while serving? (Likelihood of deployments/length of deploy./chances of being stationed in USA with Air Force). Any feedback would be incredibly appreciated

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[USArmyHPSP]

@Karp,

Send me a PM, or spend some time on the Military Forum. By that before posting your question poke around, read the sticky threads and us the search engine. Then if you still want to post go right on. Just remember, the forum is generally used as a bully pulpit for a very few, very loud, unhappy docs – probably 15 20 of them. So, take some of what they say with a grain of salt.

 

[MightBeACylon439]

Hey all, I'm in my first year of medical school and am heavily debating joining the Air Force for HPSP. It would cover the costs of the last 3 years of medical school (tuition ~$50,000 per year) plus the stipend, and I would then serve in return for 3 years (residency aside). I feel truly driven to join, I would find it very rewarding and don't really care one way or the other about financial reasons (very gun-ho about practicing anesthesiology), but at the same time I am incredibly nervous about how it would impact my potential family/marital life (whether meeting someone, staying in one place long enough for marriage, or being absent near the start of family life).

What are the summers like during medical school with HPSP and what is life like while serving? (Likelihood of deployments/length of deploy./chances of being stationed in USA with Air Force). Any feedback would be incredibly appreciated

Karp, I would encourage you to talk to the current HPSP students at your school (second years and third years, for info on summers and such). I can tell you what its like to serve as I am prior service. But also, try to talk to the local SAMOPS chapter (which will most likely be those same HPSP students) and see if they can arrange docs who are HPSP serving or who have already served their time to come and talk about what it means to be HPSP.

 

[Oo Cipher oO]

If you take the 3 year HPSP with the stipend you will owe 4 years payback as that is the minimum required to receive stipend. If you take the 3 year HPSP scholarship without the scholarship then you will owe 3 years of payback.