Med School Life in HPSP

[oclax03]

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I am new to the forum, but I have read a good amount of the threads here and haven't found much information pertaining to this topic. I will be entering (hopefully) medical school in 2015 and I am still trying to decide if HPSP is a good idea for me. Long story short, I have no prior military experience, but I do have some friends in ROTC so I am somewhat familiar with their lifestyle. I am curious, do med students have a lifestyle similar to ROTC students in undergrad (ie PT during the week, general weekly time commitment, etc.)? I know you are required to do four active duty tours (during the summer as I understand it), but I am more curious about the day-to-day life during the academic year.

Feel free to PM if you would like, I welcome any and all help.

Thanks

 

[BeLikeBueller]

I apologize in advance, I posted almost the exact same question three minutes after you did. It was completely unintentional, but like you, I couldn't find a lot of information about the HPSP on here either.

 

[IlDestriero]

When you're not on your annual AD time, you're just like every other student with no commitments. You do have to meet standards and be able to pass the PRT. In theory.
It's not hard to stay in shape.

 

[BigNavyPedsGuy]

During regular classes there isn't really much at all that makes you different from your classmates.

You can't truly understand the negative impact of your decision until you're on AD.

 

[Aegis]

Basically for all practical purposes you really aren't in the military during med school! You get a monthly stipend and once are year are supposed to do and ADT. I did the SAM (school of aerospace medicine) before third year, which was a paid vacation to San Antonio. And then I did one rotation in Fam Med during third year. You can also do a "paper tour" which I did fourth year. Which means they put you on orders....to stay at your med school for a month...and do what you do as a med student...so yeah.. It's pretty hands off. PM if you want more info

 

[sonofva]

It's not hard to stay in shape.

you would think. i was amazed at how many people on ADTs failed the PT test. as an aside, most schools have an armed forces type club that will run PT a few times a week as an optional thing. if that's your bag, then go for it.

 

[c44]

I did HPSP and ROTC. They are nothing alike. As an HPSP student you are no in the military from any practical 3rd party perspective aside from paperwork for books/tuition then the 4 week AD portion which is really only impactful during the 1st/2nd year of med school as you will likely be "on orders" to attend your clinical rotations during the 3rd/4th years.

 

[Stagg737]

I've been getting the brochures in the mail for months but am just now really starting to look at this as a serious option for me. My biggest question is about residency. If you accept the scholarship, can you still apply to and attend any residency and then complete your active duty commitments after finishing or are you required to go where the AF/Navy/Army chooses for your residency? Can you still go into any specialty? I'm not sure what field I want to enter yet, but if I couldn't choose my specialty/field I don't think I would want to pursue this route. Any info about that? Feel free to PM me. I'm really leaning towards taking this route and I would love to get as much info as possible about this. Thanks everyone!

 

[colbgw02]

I've been getting the brochures in the mail for months but am just now really starting to look at this as a serious option for me. My biggest question is about residency. If you accept the scholarship, can you still apply to and attend any residency and then complete your active duty commitments after finishing or are you required to go where the AF/Navy/Army chooses for your residency? Can you still go into any specialty? I'm not sure what field I want to enter yet, but if I couldn't choose my specialty/field I don't think I would want to pursue this route. Any info about that? Feel free to PM me. I'm really leaning towards taking this route and I would love to get as much info as possible about this. Thanks everyone!

Read the stickies.

I don't know if you meant it this way, but your post kinda makes it sound like were otherwise not considering HPSP, but have been persuaded by the constant barrage of unsolicited mailings. If you don't already have a sense of what military life involves, educate yourself. A profound desire to serve military beneficiaries should be your number one reason for joining. You'll need it when dealing with the ten thousand other things that make you want to pull your hair out.

 

[Stagg737]

Read the stickies.

I don't know if you meant it this way, but your post kinda makes it sound like were otherwise not considering HPSP, but have been persuaded by the constant barrage of unsolicited mailings. If you don't already have a sense of what military life involves, educate yourself. A profound desire to serve military beneficiaries should be your number one reason for joining. You'll need it when dealing with the ten thousand other things that make you want to pull your hair out.

Sorry if it came across that way, I didn't mean it to. I just never took significant time to think about how I would pay for medical school until I got in, which I just recently did. I did consider the military after high school, but chose to attend college and take a different route. I think it would be an honor to work with individuals who have committed their lives to protecting our country, I just want to know as much as possible about the program before making a decision. Especially one like this which would potentially affect my career for the rest of my life. Also, I'm not sure what you mean by the stickies...

Edit: One of my career goals is to work with poverty stricken individuals in third world countries. My medical mission trips abroad have been the most rewarding experiences of my life and I really want to get involved with an international healthcare organization so I can continue this kind of service. I think working with one of the armed forces could give me an opportunity to do this kind of work. I just want to make sure I make the right decision so I can take the right path as a physician.

 

[colbgw02]

The stickies are the 'tacked' threads at the top of the forum. Lots of good information in them.

It's not impossible to do international humanitarian work in the military, but it's also not easy. If that's a priority for you, then you'll be able to do more of it as a civilian. Also, there's nothing particularly special or unique about training in military medicine that would make you better suited for humanitarian work.

 

[absolutdokta]

eat, sleep, study, eat, sleep, study, eat, sleep, study, adt, eat, sleep, study, eat, sleep, study, eat, sleep, study, adt, eat, sleep, study....

 

[Stagg737]

The stickies are the 'tacked' threads at the top of the forum. Lots of good information in them.

It's not impossible to do international humanitarian work in the military, but it's also not easy. If that's a priority for you, then you'll be able to do more of it as a civilian. Also, there's nothing particularly special or unique about training in military medicine that would make you better suited for humanitarian work.

Thank you! You have no idea how helpful those stickies already are. And thank you for the input for the humanitarian aspect. Even if I can't do it while in the military I can always do it afterwards. Thanks to all for the help!