Disclaimer: I am not in a HPSP program.
I'm currently active duty with the Marine Corps (Captain, 5+years in service). I'll give you my
opinions:
1. Anyone who puts on the uniform should be prepared to die for their country. Not in a Saving Private Ryan, meaningful kind of way either. Servicemembers are killed, sometimes in unceremonious and meaningless ways, and it is hardly a thing of consequence to 99% of Americans.
2. The
likelihood of a dentist being deployed in a 4 year period is reasonably high. If we are not engaged in a protracted war somewhere, you'll still be screened for dental clinics all across the world, including some not so desirable places.
not so much in the army. many of the dentists i've spoken to are on waitlists to deploy. drawdowns are making it difficult
3. The likelihood of a dentist being deployed,
and finding themselves in harm's way, is low. You represent a significant investment for the military. You also don't provide any tactical advantage in combat. You support the dental readiness of the fighting forces. There is always danger associated with serving in the military, but as a dentist, it would be fairly low. I do not know the last time a dental officer died in combat, but I suspect it is a very rare occurrance.
So to answer your question: it's reasonably safe.
4. Is it worth it? You have to weigh the value of the HPSP program against the deployment(s), work environment, quality of life, etc. As a servicemember, you'll have to do a lot of things that seem like a waste of time. There is an oppressive amount of bureaucracy in the government and military that makes simple objectives into painful endeavors. You will have very little influence on where you end up living. Many decisions affecting your life will be beholden to "timing" and luck of the draw, regardless of your performance or dedication to duty. Many dentists leave the military because their quality of life is lower in the service than in the private sector.
5. I see people argue that four years is a small price to pay for free schooling. However, consider that as a military dentist, you may be underutilized and experience an atrophy of skills, setting you up for decreased performance as you transition to the private sector. You'll also be 4 years behind your peers in setting up your practice(s) (if that is your ultimate goal). Some military dentists say they got much more than they put into the military in their 4 years. You could very well be one of them. However, you don't control whether the service will help you, or hurt you, in your ultimate goals. You only choose whether you want to "sign on the dotted line".
disagree with this to some extent. you get provided with CE courses. while that may not be the 'end all be all', yes your skills will prob be lacking in certain areas--i.e. esthetics. 4 years behind? try taking out a half a million dollar loan to pay for school. what if you want to open a practice? have a family? the idea is, you want to pay your loans off aggressively. numerically, you can't beat the hpsp for 4 years. a big thing that people don't consider: you have to go into dental school with the mindset that you're going to be a general dentist. a large majority of dental schools train you to be a general dentist. with that said, factor in the income +lifestyle associated with that and then ask yourself...is the scholarship worth it financially? the answer is, yes it is. crunch the numbers for yourself if you don't believe me.
if you find yourself having to go to an expensive private school, the initial 4 year commitment is absolutely worth it. now, arguing the whole 'opportunity cost' angle might work if you know for a fact you can specialize (i.e. have an ''in'' somewhere).
6. I am getting out and transitioning into dental school because I am tired of the issues listed above. Dentistry provides a great deal of autonomy (as a practice owner), which is a huge benefit in my eyes. Military dentistry does not provide this opportunity.
7. One last thing: there's a military dentistry sub-forum located here
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/forums/military-dentistry.178/. There are plenty of people there willing to give you their impressions of the HPSP program. That said, I have been over there, and certain individuals paint a unrealistically cheery picture of what military life is like. I find the general attitude over there fails to capture the frustrations and hardships of military life. Just take this to heart, and you'll be all right: "
military service is just that, service".