I have a few questions!

[MrForce001]

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Hi everyone,
I am enlisted in the Air Force and am presently starting my undergrad degree. I am not just planning on it, I WILL become a Physiatrist. I am a very determined individual, and after taking a few years off school, I know exactly what I want and nothing is going to stand in my way. Right now, I am deployed and have no ways of doing any school work. I have 4 years left on my enlistment and will have my BS done by then, hopefully accepted into a Med School by then also! Being new I have a few questions. Would Sports Medicine be a useful major? One I get my BS, and start Med school, if I do get the HPSP Scholarship, how much time goes towards mil retirement (if any). I fully plan on coming back to the military for my residency, and retiring military. I know I haven't said alot, but any comments will be much appreciated!

 

[EMDoc0411]

Please tell me you already read the sticky's at the top of this forum.

 

[MrForce001]

I have, I was just looking for some more input, that's all. Possibly some people to correct me if I'm going in the wrong direction? As I said, any comments are appreciated.

 

[J-Rad]

Few questions: Are you in an AFSC that is getting deployed a lot? Is getting a BS from a reputable institution (i.e. not U. Phoenix, AMU, etc.) truly realistic by the time your enlistment is up? Even if it is, is it really worth it to try? That is, even if not deploying frequently, you may not be able to put the effort to get the grades and take the appropriate classes while AD (taking your pre-reqs, esp those with labs, will be the most difficult. It's hard to 1/2-a$@ organic and do well). Give very serious consideration to taking a few classes that would be college year 1 intro classes and CLEP some of the really basic stuff. Get out and use your post 9-11 GI bill to go to a solid state U at which you can get a degree of your choice (it doesn't really matter what the degree is. If sports science stuff is your passion, go for it [I also think exercise physiology might be interesting]). The most important part will be to maintain a very good overall GPA and a stellar GPA in your pre-reqs. If the opportunity is available, and of interest, get in on some research. The nice thing is you'll have knocked out some of the basic classes and can either take some more interesting classes or, possibly even more valuably, graduate early, and save some money and GI Bill months. For the interested party, the ability to get in on research is not an opportunity likely to present itself in AD AF (with some exceptions).

Other comments:
1. You won't be a physiatrist in the AF. They don't train them. Only Army does.
2. If (and that is an enormous if) HPSP is worth it, you'll get Four years toward an AD retirement from your prior enl. time. The four years in med school will not count toward anything. If you do an AD residency, that time will count as will your payback time.
3. Remember, if the time comes for the soul-searching necessary for determining if HPSP is the right choice for you that retirement is based only on base pay. All those allowances, and incentive pays that make a large part of a .mil doc's salary mean nothing.
4.(While I know you didn't ask, I'll mention) as for pay, having the "E" designator will boost your pay and BAH while you are an O-1 and an O-3. While you are in med school you will accrue additive TIS to your pay which you will receive on your ADTs. However, when you are re-appointed as an O-3, your paydate will be recalculated so you lose the four years while in med school for TIS-pay purposes.
5. Remember, it's not uncommon to find that prior service .mil docs, don't find their time in milmed as "satisfying" as their prior service time, though some do. Can be very location and specialty dependent.
6. Don't marry yourself to the idea that only one specialty will be right for you. When residency match time is 8+ years away, you really don't know (vs. think) what you want to do.

Good luck.

 

[Doctor Bob]

I am not just planning on it, I WILL become a Physiatrist. I am a very determined individual, and after taking a few years off school, I know exactly what I want and nothing is going to stand in my way.

... because I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me.

 

[pgg]

Read this thread first

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=751172


Get your undergrad degree done at a reputable institution. This may not be possible while enlisted. It absolutely won't be possible if you're deployed a lot.

Probably the best you can hope for is to get a few of the undergrad general education requirements out of the way at a community college while you're enlisted, then get out of the military and go to school full time.

Revisit the idea of HPSP vs USUHS when you're actually checking boxes on your AMCAS (which is the central medical school application service).

Keep your head down, don't volunteer for any helicopter rides, good luck.

 

[MrForce001]

Thanks for all the replies. I know I will probably bounce around with specialties, but my main focus is to be a Physiatrist. I am also interested in Ortho Surgery. Regardless, after my residency my main goal is to get into a Sports Med fellow. That is why I have been so amminent on Physiatry. I would love to be able to get my degree done while enlisted, my again, with my AFSC (CE) I'm 6 months on, 6 off. I am going to talk to an educational advisor when I get back, and make out a plan to get as much adequate college courses done before my enlistment is up, then go full time year round to get my degree taken care of. I've looking into commissiong programs, but I'm not sure those would be the best bet to get into medical school. Regardless of what the future holds I'm going to everything I can to get a great GPA, and focus on med school acceptance. Thanks again everyone.

 

[MrForce001]

I have also been reading up on USUHS. If I plan for a military med career, I believe that would be my best bet. Does anyone have any experience with USUHS? Would they look at one that has PS more than a civilian? Or is it just like any other med school app?

 

[glamqueen]

I have also been reading up on USUHS. If I plan for a military med career, I believe that would be my best bet. Does anyone have any experience with USUHS? Would they look at one that has PS more than a civilian? Or is it just like any other med school app?

Did you miss the part where physiatry is not an AF specialty?

Also, sports medicine is a fellowship under family medicine. I think you need to do a lot more research on your options and how medical specialties and fellowships work and what is under what.

Also on USUHS....I am now convinced you haven't read anything on the military board. Including the countless threads on USUHS. Please do some reading and research on here. If you do, then you will get way more responsive and receptive replies here.

Not trying to be snarky - just honest.

And I wish you well on your path, but you have a LOT more research and reading to do on your own on SDN.

 

[SPQR]

I have also been reading up on USUHS. If I plan for a military med career, I believe that would be my best bet. Does anyone have any experience with USUHS? Would they look at one that has PS more than a civilian? Or is it just like any other med school app?

In your situation, USUHS would work to your advantage. [If all goes as planned, your base pay will be O(1-3) +E.] Also, USUSH is known of its strict academic policies, I was told by USUHS grads that if a student fails USMLE Step-I, then he/she will not be allowed to progress to MS-3 clinical years. A few of my shipmates are USUHS grads w/ prior enlisted experience (Navy and USMC) And from their stories, they were all top tier enlisted (based how their advancement history, quals and "chest candies") and got their bachelor degrees from good schools (using GI Bill....major universities and private colleges). My impression is that successful enlisted USUHS candidates are ones that have solid academic background, are stellar performers and have well-rounded military experience(deployments). (e.g. Hiding out at a CONUS military hospital as an enlisted med tech probably doesn't look good.] Just my $0.02

 

[MrForce001]

Did you miss the part where physiatry is not an AF specialty?

Also, sports medicine is a fellowship under family medicine. I think you need to do a lot more research on your options and how medical specialties and fellowships work and what is under what.

Also on USUHS....I am now convinced you haven't read anything on the military board. Including the countless threads on USUHS. Please do some reading and research on here. If you do, then you will get way more responsive and receptive replies here.

Not trying to be snarky - just honest.

And I wish you well on your path, but you have a LOT more research and reading to do on your own on SDN.

No offense taken, I realize I do not know much about the profession. Also, I DO know now that the AF doesn't offer Physiatry. I am not set on coming back to the AF, I would like to come back to the military in general. I have read as much as I can of the USUHS threads while I'm here, limited computer usage. I'm just looking for advice while I learn more about this field. I talked to one of the docs here who did a PM&R residency and is planning on a sports med fellow when he gets back, have gotten alot of good info from him too.

 

[notdeadyet]

I know I will probably bounce around with specialties, but my main focus is to be a Physiatrist. I am also interested in Ortho Surgery. Regardless, after my residency my main goal is to get into a Sports Med fellow. That is why I have been so amminent on Physiatry.

I think you'll find that the best strategy is to focus on what's immediately downrange. Focus on completing your BA (in any field) with the highest GPA you can. Focus on killing the MCAT. Go to med school with an open mind and a specialty you're passionate about. Look at fellowships of interest then.

Focusing now on what fellowship you want to get is akin to me figuring out which policies I hope to implement first as state surgeon general.

A large majority of folks entering medical school end up in a different specialty than the one they entered with. And trust me, every one of us was as confident in our first choice as you are with PM&R.

And with PM&R, folks are very excited about it at first because they have a PT-on-steroids impression of it. Injury rehabilitation is a small segment of the field. The ones that seem to end up there are the ones that are also very interested in ward medicine and providing long term longitudinal care to folks with cerebral palsy and the like. Folks more interested in injury recuperation seem to end up FP plus sports fellowship.

Focus on doing great in your BA and good luck with the rest of it...

 

[MrForce001]

I think you'll find that the best strategy is to focus on what's immediately downrange. Focus on completing your BA (in any field) with the highest GPA you can. Focus on killing the MCAT. Go to med school with an open mind and a specialty you're passionate about. Look at fellowships of interest then.

Focusing now on what fellowship you want to get is akin to me figuring out which policies I hope to implement first as state surgeon general.

A large majority of folks entering medical school end up in a different specialty than the one they entered with. And trust me, every one of us was as confident in our first choice as you are with PM&R.

And with PM&R, folks are very excited about it at first because they have a PT-on-steroids impression of it. Injury rehabilitation is a small segment of the field. The ones that seem to end up there are the ones that are also very interested in ward medicine and providing long term longitudinal care to folks with cerebral palsy and the like. Folks more interested in injury recuperation seem to end up FP plus sports fellowship.

Focus on doing great in your BA and good luck with the rest of it...

Thanks for the comments! I was searching around today, and found a few interesting commissioning programs that might be a good idea. One was a nurse commissioning program, which would get me into the medical field, get me experience, and get my degree taken care of instead of waiting until I get out. All the programs I've looked at, have one separating, or staying active duty, going to school full time, and coming back as a 2LT. I've been looking at other medcorps jobs also (through the commissioning programs). Thinking about it, it's really not a bad idea. The pay back is 4 active years, after that I could do medical school if that is still what I want to do.