HPSP Question

[grishkam]

Hey Everyone,

I recently got an email from an HPSP recruiter regarding joining the army in order to alleviate the loans I would incur through medical school. I was just wondering if anyone could advise me about what I should do? Would you recommend going through the program? As a student hoping to go into a surgical specialty, will that hinder me somehow? I had talked about going into the surgical field with him, as well as doing my residency and possibly fellowship within the Army before serving my four years. He also mentioned a much higher percentage (almost 25% higher) residency match when compared to civilian residency programs. The recruiter made it sound good, but I also know they are just saying what they think I want to hear so that I will enlist. Let me know what you all think!

Thanks.

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[deleted480308]

Read the military subforum here

 

[HighPriest]

Bro. This whole forum is dedicated to answering these questions. Browse it a bit.

 

[AvoidMilitaryMedicine]

Hey Everyone,

I recently got an email from an HPSP recruiter regarding joining the army in order to alleviate the loans I would incur through medical school. I was just wondering if anyone could advise me about what I should do? Would you recommend going through the program? As a student hoping to go into a surgical specialty, will that hinder me somehow? I had talked about going into the surgical field with him, as well as doing my residency and possibly fellowship within the Army before serving my four years. He also mentioned a much higher percentage (almost 25% higher) residency match when compared to civilian residency programs. The recruiter made it sound good, but I also know they are just saying what they think I want to hear so that I will enlist. Let me know what you all think!

Thanks.

My name should say it all... but if there's any doubt.. please refer to:

Thinking about HPSP/USUHS? PLEASE DON'T. READ THIS.

 

[futureprovider2.0]

My name should say it all... but if there's any doubt.. please refer to:

Thinking about HPSP/USUHS? PLEASE DON'T. READ THIS.

I am just about to commit to HPSP for the Air Force and start medical school this July. As of right now I am interested in OBGYN. Questions I have for you

- will there still be OBGYN residencys and spots in the air force? isn't that a specialty that they would need to keep, as woman will still be having babies

- will all branches be loosing specialties, including Air Force?

- what if I were interested in Pediatrics or Family Medicine, then would you suggest doing HPSP?

 

[militaryPHYS]

Nobody has definitive answers to your questions. I wish we did.

--Currently OB/GYN seems to be on the chopping block but nothing definitive. Women will still have babies but they can also be seen by civilian doctors (so would say someone pro-consolidation)
--All branches will be subject to DHA rollout. This means streamlining everything in to critical wartime specialties. There is no 10 year plan laid out yet so all we are seeing is focus on consolidation and wartime specialties. Right now they are still accepting people in to GME for all specialties. If I had to guess we will get a real idea of where the cuts are going to come from in/around June/July when new BUMEDNOTE 1524 comes out (For Navy). Similar for all branches.
--Again, I wouldn't say any specialty goal is 100% safe right now. Nothing official released yet.

Standard answer holds true. There will always be some form of military medicine. Nobody can guarantee you your specialty of choice right now. Not even a civilian med school can since it is dependent on scores, performance, application year, etc. Unfortunately, when you add in the military you have another large factor: Needs of the Military (or lack of need in this case).

If your primary goal is to be a military physician (no matter the specialty and with possible delays in your education) then sign up and proceed with caution. If your primary goal is very specific and with intent to be in "x" specialty by "x" year then accept the student loan burden and stay civilian.

 

[militaryPHYS]

Hey Everyone,

I recently got an email from an HPSP recruiter regarding joining the army in order to alleviate the loans I would incur through medical school. I was just wondering if anyone could advise me about what I should do? Would you recommend going through the program? As a student hoping to go into a surgical specialty, will that hinder me somehow? I had talked about going into the surgical field with him, as well as doing my residency and possibly fellowship within the Army before serving my four years. He also mentioned a much higher percentage (almost 25% higher) residency match when compared to civilian residency programs. The recruiter made it sound good, but I also know they are just saying what they think I want to hear so that I will enlist. Let me know what you all think!

Thanks.

By the Way, to the OP...Never trust anything a recruiter says. All they see is a check box next to your name when they file paperwork at the end of the month. He or she usually has ZERO insight in to MilMed.

 

[HighPriest]

I agree with all of the above. The thing I want to stress is that you can't rely on your recruiter's information. That is generally pretty true, but it is really important right now. No one knows what is happening in milmed. I mean: no one. Not the recruiters, not the people on this thread, not the command, not OTSG. No one knows how this is going to shake out. So, if a recruiter gives you assurances he's either being very hopeful or worse.

If you sign up right now, you're throwing caution to the wind. The only way anyone can recommend it is if someone can honestly say "I don't really care what kind of medicine I practice, or where I practice it, I just want to be a military medical officer."

If you can't say that and feel good about it, you should find another way to finance your education.

 

[AvoidMilitaryMedicine]

I am just about to commit to HPSP for the Air Force and start medical school this July. As of right now I am interested in OBGYN. Questions I have for you

- will there still be OBGYN residencys and spots in the air force? isn't that a specialty that they would need to keep, as woman will still be having babies

- will all branches be loosing specialties, including Air Force?

- what if I were interested in Pediatrics or Family Medicine, then would you suggest doing HPSP?

If you read this forum, especially the 'Thinking about HPSP/USUHS,' thread and still want to join military medicine, there's not much more that anyone can really add as I believe it covers the bases.

It sounds like you care about what specialty you go into (as most would and should), and if you are willing to roll the dice, seriously, I hope it works out for you.

On a related note, I would argue that of the branches, the Air Force is probably the worst to practice medicine in (smaller, less funding, less locations, less need), and thats based on my experience and talking with friends who are AF docs. But the Army ain't all that great either.

 

[Trefoil]

What I have heard is that Ob/Gyn is toast. They provide crucial services to dependents and non deployed soldiers, but the services they provide to deployed soldiers can be completed by a battalion surgeon. Some higher ups have specifically used Ob/Gyn as an example of a specialty that is going. Word is that pediatrics will similarly be cut. Family medicine is safe. Nothing is official of course, but I wouldn’t dismiss them either. The question is would you be happy with your choice if you couldn’t apply to a residency in your desired specialty? Probably not. Most med students don’t make a decision until 3rd year anyway, which makes the situation that much less desirable.