If you're in the Guard and activated while in medical school...

[arkgal]

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is the school required to hold your seat until you come back and let you finish, much in the same way an employer is required to? I did a lot of searching on here and I couldn't find the information specific to my question. Thanks in advance,

Ryan

 

[notdeadyet]

is the school required to hold your seat until you come back and let you finish, much in the same way an employer is required to?

I know of someone who was activated and deployed and the medical school held the seat for him.

It wasn't pleasant though. He was pulled out in the middle of spring semester, so he couldn't finish. He got back a little more than a year later, so he had to sit out fall semester and restart spring semester. A two year graduation delay.

Out of curiosity, are you in the Guard, in med school, or both? Have you considered the ASR program (there's another thread on the first page about this program)? You're non-deployable during med school.

 

[arkgal]

I know of someone who was activated and deployed and the medical school held the seat for him.

It wasn't pleasant though. He was pulled out in the middle of spring semester, so he couldn't finish. He got back a little more than a year later, so he had to sit out fall semester and restart spring semester. A two year graduation delay.

Out of curiosity, are you in the Guard, in med school, or both? Have you considered the ASR program (there's another thread on the first page about this program)? You're non-deployable during med school.

No, I'm not in the guard nor medical school. Medical school for me is at least 2 years away. I'll have my BS in May, however, and am considering joining the guard or one of the services' reserves. I have a strong desire to serve my country in the military. I'm not in it for the money. What I don't like about going the medical route is that you don't go to "real" boot camp/OCS and it seems like it's half-assed, if that makes sense. I've considered joining the Marine reserves. We'll see.

 

[notdeadyet]

I have a strong desire to serve my country in the military. I'm not in it for the money. What I don't like about going the medical route is that you don't go to "real" boot camp/OCS and it seems like it's half-assed, if that makes sense. I've considered joining the Marine reserves. We'll see.

Getting pulled out of medical school to be deployed would be nasty on your education and extremely expensive.

If you research the issue of whether medical schools are obligated to hold open a seat in a later medical school class if you're deployed, please post what you find out. It'd be interesting to see...

 

[arkgal]

Getting pulled out of medical school to be deployed would be nasty on your education and extremely expensive.

If you research the issue of whether medical schools are obligated to hold open a seat in a later medical school class if you're deployed, please post what you find out. It'd be interesting to see...

I emailed my state school (UAMS in Little Rock) not expecting a reply until Monday, but the admissions person replied within a few minutes. She stated that a person in such a circumstance would have to apply for "a leave of absence which must go through Academic Affairs" but goes on to say that the school has a 7 year clock that begins when you first start medical school and you have to finish it within that time frame. I do plan on applying to other medical schools and I wonder if others have similar policies.

I also am wondering if you are responsible for loan paymens while you are activated and out of school.

 

[notdeadyet]

I emailed my state school (UAMS in Little Rock) not expecting a reply until Monday, but the admissions person replied within a few minutes. She stated that a person in such a circumstance would have to apply for "a leave of absence which must go through Academic Affairs" but goes on to say that the school has a 7 year clock that begins when you first start medical school and you have to finish it within that time frame.

That clock is pretty common, and includes for things like time off to have children, health reasons, etc. I'd expect most schools to have similar policies on leave of absences.

What will differ from school to school is how they handle your time away. If you leave mid-semester, when you return, do you repeat the whole semester, or just what you've missed (I'd expect the former)? What sort of curriculum does your school have (make sure if you miss part of the year that you don't have to repeat the whole year)? Unfortunately, a lot of this will vary from school to school.

 

[darkosbunny]

is the school required to hold your seat until you come back and let you finish, much in the same way an employer is required to? I did a lot of searching on here and I couldn't find the information specific to my question. Thanks in advance,

Ryan

I strongly urge you to participate in a medical program if you want to join the military.

If you join the reserves as a "regular" applicant, I can just about guarantee that you WILL be called up at some point, and it WILL affect your schooling, and it won't be in a positive matter.

Let's say you're a Air Force medic reservist. You go through your M1 year with no hiccups, you think "hey this is cake." Then in April you hear that your unit is going to Iraq for 4 months in December. Well your M2 year is now shot to pieces and you have to somehow get the school to defer that year. What a PITA, and that's with a measely 4 month deployment. Army reservists go for a year at a time. It's not worth it. If you want to serve your country AND go to medical school, either do the HSPS or the ANG program.

 

[darkosbunny]

No, I'm not in the guard nor medical school. Medical school for me is at least 2 years away. I'll have my BS in May, however, and am considering joining the guard or one of the services' reserves. I have a strong desire to serve my country in the military. I'm not in it for the money. What I don't like about going the medical route is that you don't go to "real" boot camp/OCS and it seems like it's half-assed, if that makes sense. I've considered joining the Marine reserves. We'll see.

While I'm sure training for medical officers is most likely "half-assed," you can always go to a line unit once you hit the Fleet. This means infantry battalion, arty battalion, etc. You will be able to do all the military training you could ever want to do there, even as a medical officer.

When I was at 3/6 last year, our physicians were doing all the crazy military crap that us enlisted guys were doing. If you go to a infantry battalion, you'll practice medicine at the actual battalion building - NOT at a hospital, you'll be living a spartan life on deployment, etc. You can even live at Forward Operating Bases, or FOBs, on a deployment. A lot of these posts are located in actual cities in Iraq and Afghanistan or whatever theater you happen to be in. If this is what turns you on about military life, trust me, you can definitely do all of it as a Naval medical officer. I don't know how the Army rolls, but I'm sure it's organized the same way.

 

[DeadCactus]

No, I'm not in the guard nor medical school. Medical school for me is at least 2 years away. I'll have my BS in May, however, and am considering joining the guard or one of the services' reserves. I have a strong desire to serve my country in the military. I'm not in it for the money. What I don't like about going the medical route is that you don't go to "real" boot camp/OCS and it seems like it's half-assed, if that makes sense. I've considered joining the Marine reserves. We'll see.

I'll preface this by saying I understand where you're coming from and had similar concerns. Now then, OCS and basic training are a minute part of your time in the military. An extra month or two in entry training is not going to make you a better leader or officer. Hell, even the SEALs constantly comment on how BUD/S is only the beginning and nothing compared to life afterwards. The point being, it's entry level training, not something career defining.

If you want to do all the high-speed, out in the field type stuff; there are plenty of opportunities to pursue them later on. Opening yourself to the risks of educational interruption and all the hassles of having both military and educational commitments (without the level of cooperation inherent in the medical school specific programs) to spend a few extra weeks in entry level training is like choosing a medical school based on their orientation schedule.

If you're main priority is serving your country, I would argue that getting another fully trained physician within their ranks as quickly as possible is the route to go...

 

[arkgal]

You guys have definately given me some good advice and a lot to think about. You're right in that getting into medical school should be my top priority, and doing a medical program would be the best thing for me. Decisions decisions....