Looking for some guidance...

[shoenberg3]

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Hello all,
I am a senior in university planning to apply to medical schools next year. I am debating whether I should consider applying to USUHS (or consider HSPS). I have a set of questions that I already did a thorough search in this forum but could not find answers for as they are rather specific.

I would also greatly appreciate it if you can advise me on what party to contact to get more information on these topics; I have a feeling that your average army recruiter won't be able to tell me too much about these things.

1) As I was born in Korea and all my family reside there, I would love to go back to work in the US military bases there. This really would be best of two worlds: serving the US troops as a medical doctor while being geographically close to family and relatives. It also makes a lot of sense for me financially. My main concern is that being in Korea after medical school is very important to me -- and from what I've reading, it seems that you don't always get deployed to the places you want. Although I do get the sense that it is one of the less popular locations...

My question is if I am interested in almost permanently serving in US army bases in Korea, should look elsewhere (ie not in military medicine)? I don't mind the occasional few months long deployment to other nations but I would like my long term stay to be in somewhere in Korea.

2) Is there an option of even starting residency in a medical center in Korea, if I am set on staying there for long term?

3) If i wanted to maximize my chances of being deployed in korea, should I be seeking to join the army, navy or the airforce? Likewise, what would be the specialty to go into that would be most conducive for this plan? (Location is more important for me than medical specialty, as extreme as that may sound..)

Thank you so much for the help and, again, I would appreciate it if anyone could direct me to a resource or point of contact to get these questions answered.

 

[pgg]

(Location is more important for me than medical specialty, as extreme as that may sound..)

With respect, this is absolutely insane.

I know you're a pre-med, when the current goal/dream is to just be a doctor. But you're not going to keep that specialty indifference more than about 5 minutes into med school.


To answer your other questions.

Army is going to be your best bet if you want to get assigned to Korea. As an HPSP'er just paying back 4 years you'd probably be able to swing part or most of it in Korea.

There are no military residency programs in Korea. There are no ACGME accredited residencies in Korea either, so even if you got a civilian deferral OK'd, you wouldn't be doing residency in Korea.


Don't join the military for the primary purpose of spending some time in Korea.

 

[deuist]

Or you could stay as a civilian and then see if a contractor job is available in Korea.

 

[notdeadyet]

Or you could stay as a civilian and then see if a contractor job is available in Korea.

Ditto this.

By the way, OP, are you now a U.S. Citizen? If not, this thread will get much shorter.

 

[Mirror Form]

With respect, this is absolutely insane.

That actually isn't that insane. Many people would be happy doing a variety of fields. I was interested in numerous fields as a med student, choosing a specialty was hard. It's important to consider if you'll be able to get a job in the location you want to live when you select a specialty.

 

[shoenberg3]

I really appreciate everyone's advice here. Yes, I am US citizen; I lived in California for more than half of my life.

Staying a civilian and finding a contractor job was one of the things I had in mind; but my logic was that if I'm going to want to work in an army base anyway, I would like to go through the entire process so I also get the benefits of free tuition.
It is going to be pretty tough to pay back US medical school loans with wages in Korea, even as a physician.

 

[pgg]

That actually isn't that insane. Many people would be happy doing a variety of fields. I was interested in numerous fields as a med student, choosing a specialty was hard. It's important to consider if you'll be able to get a job in the location you want to live when you select a specialty.

I still think the mindset bodes very ill for a pre-med.

Most med students (myself included) had interest in multiple fields, and choosing a specialty WAS hard. When a pre-med says specialty doesn't matter, I don't think "healthy flexibility" ... I think "naive and headed for a rudely painful awakening".

It gives me the same kind of willies I get when people talk about taking HPSP primarily for the $.

 

[IlDestriero]

If all you want is to practice medicine in Korea, and remain there forever, why study medicine here at all. Surely there are quality schools in Korea or the Pacific rim that you could attend.
The military is a very strange choice for someone that wants to spend their entire career in Korea.

 

[Perrotfish]

If all you want is to practice medicine in Korea, and remain there forever, why study medicine here at all. Surely there are quality schools in Korea or the Pacific rim that you could attend.
The military is a very strange choice for someone that wants to spend their entire career in Korea.

I would imagine that an American Physician contracting at an American facility in Korea probably makes an order of magnitude more than a Korean physician working at the Korean hospital down the road. Just a guess, I don't know the numbers.

 

[shoenberg3]

It's due to a few factors: although I am fluent in conversational Korean, I did all my studies starting from elementary school in English, so it will be challenge to relearn the scientific/medical terms in korean. The entrance exams for Korean medical schools are also written in Korean and also have sections for humanities, which would naturally be a very weak point for me.
Finally, although I am a US citizen, it would mean that I would likely to need to serve 2 years for mandatory military service, since I was born in Korea -- sounds ridiculous but purportedly true.
And I am also fairly sure, as perrotfish points out, that more money could be made as an American physician. Furthermore, if I changed my mind in the future, I could finds gigs in US or elsewhere, which would be much more difficult as a korea-educated physician.

 

[Kingfisher]

If all you want is to practice medicine in Korea, and remain there forever, why study medicine here at all. Surely there are quality schools in Korea or the Pacific rim that you could attend.
The military is a very strange choice for someone that wants to spend their entire career in Korea.

I think the quality of medical schools outside the "western" countries can be a bit sketchy. Thats why most residency programs in big cities are filled with FMGs. Well, at least the programs I have experience with. If I had a nickle for every FMG that I have run into over here to get "American trained" even though they have practiced as an actual physician in their own country for a number of years. The fellowship training is even more sketchy.