Military before med school

[Achiles]

Hey all

I was wondering if there's anyone out there who enlisted or went through an officer program between undergrad and med school. My long term goal is to become a physician, however I want to do something different before I go on to more schooling. I'm currently in the application process for Marine Corps PLC-combined; I've been doing some thinking and I've come up with some questions that I would really appreciate answers for before I contract:

1. Did you get back on studying for the MCAT/relearning the prerequisite course material while still serving or did you wait until you got out? How difficult was it getting academically prepared again, especially while still on active duty?

2. Do you feel that having served in the military proved advantageous in med school application and beyond?

3. Was being older than most your class ever a problem? How much did the the rigors of med school/residency interfere with family life?

Thank you for your time. If this belongs in another sub-forum, please let me know.

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[DrMetal]

I did, and so too have many others, it's a common pathway . . .

Hey all

I was wondering if there's anyone out there who enlisted or went through an officer program between undergrad and med school. My long term goal is to become a physician, however I want to do something different before I go on to more schooling. I'm currently in the application process for Marine Corps PLC-combined; I've been doing some thinking and I've come up with some questions that I would really appreciate answers for before I contract:

1. Did you get back on studying for the MCAT/relearning the prerequisite course material while still serving or did you wait until you got out? How difficult was it getting academically prepared again, especially while still on active duty?

Studying for the MCAT isn't too hard to do, provided that you budget your time accordingly. The ideal time would during a low-optempo period (say the 12 months in between deployment cycles), when you know you'll be home on most nights and have most weekends free.

The harder task is getting your pre-req courses done (because that requires enrollment at a school, a strict schedule, etc etc). So if you can get your pre-reqs done during undergrad, that would be ideal.

2. Do you feel that having served in the military proved advantageous in med school application and beyond?

Not really. Med schools (including USUHS) want to see good numbers (good GPA, good MCAT). Having served in the military--or having done anything else interesting in life--is icing on the cake. If you don't have good numbers, you'll have a hard time getting in. That's just a sad fact of the admissions process.

As far as beyond goes: those of us with prior service who actually care about medicine and work hard in it, we tend to do well.
Those who try to elevate their prior service mojo while not retaining medical knowledge and competency, tend to do not so well. The moral of the story is: that your were a great pilot/swo/infantry officer does not necessarily make you a great physician (you still have to work at the latter).

3. Was being older than most your class ever a problem? How much did the the rigors of med school/residency interfere with family life?

Significantly. If you're taking the plunge into medicine with a family (or a serious significant other), make sure you and they understand what you're getting yourself into. There'll be many nights when you don't sleep next to your significant other, you won't be able to hang with your kids, you spend a lot of time in the library/hospital. It can all work out and be fine if you have a supportive family.

 

[Achiles]

Thanks for the thorough reply!

Did you (or anyone else reading this) ever regret not going straight into med school? Or was time away from school a good move in hindsight?

 

[ArmyTiger]

Thanks for the thorough reply!

Did you (or anyone else reading this) ever regret not going straight into med school? Or was time away from school a good move in hindsight?

Time away from school was nice, especially since it gave me a chance to make money before becoming a poor student again. However, almost all of your time and energy in the military is spent doing military stuff. It doesn't really afford you any time to learn how to be a better physician. Plus, you're gonna be stuck doing it for at least 4-6 years (trying to get out before your contract is up is harder than getting into med school, even if you're taking HPSP), and your desire to stay in will likely be shot by then. There are better ways to spend time before med school.

 

[DrMetal]

Thanks for the thorough reply!

Did you (or anyone else reading this) ever regret not going straight into med school? Or was time away from school a good move in hindsight?

Regret is a relative term. I'm sure you can find many people in life that have many regrets about prior decisions.

Bottom line is this: if you really want to be an infantry officer in the Marine Corps, then go for it. It could be a very rewarding experience. But if you're just looking for something to do in between college medical school, and you don't really care about being an infantry officer, then find something else to do.

 

[numberwunn]

Hey all

I was wondering if there's anyone out there who enlisted or went through an officer program between undergrad and med school. My long term goal is to become a physician, however I want to do something different before I go on to more schooling. I'm currently in the application process for Marine Corps PLC-combined; I've been doing some thinking and I've come up with some questions that I would really appreciate answers for before I contract:

1. Did you get back on studying for the MCAT/relearning the prerequisite course material while still serving or did you wait until you got out? How difficult was it getting academically prepared again, especially while still on active duty?

2. Do you feel that having served in the military proved advantageous in med school application and beyond?

3. Was being older than most your class ever a problem? How much did the the rigors of med school/residency interfere with family life?

Thank you for your time. If this belongs in another sub-forum, please let me know.

1) I took MCATs while in. First time, my battalion CO decided to send me across the globe for a training exercise the month before my test (during what was supposed to be a "low op tempo" period). I still remember trying to study on a saturday morning while my peers were all hung over and an RPG range was going not 200m from my hooch. That test was mediocre. Second try, with no training interruptions, went better. Doing pre-reqs would have been impossible - luckily did them in undergrad.

2) Yes/no. In the application proper - I was accepted to my school bc the dean of admissions was a vet. I did not do well in translating my military skills into civilian language - so didn't do well at other schools. After applications - Life skills wise, my service is absolutely an advantage - if you master the 5 paragraph order, presenting a patient at rounds will be a cinch. A lot of the admin/management/leadership skills transfer over. Discipline and perspective help. I think I'm stronger on the wards because of what the Corps taught me.

3) I am married and have (now) 2 kids. Hard at times - I almost fell apart spring of 1st year when the first baby came. But it's also really great to come home to the family - helps keep perspective. Your family has to be rock-solid going in bc its a bumpy ride - if your marriage (or you) are already unstable, your'e toast. But it's absolutely feasible. And, at some schools "non-traditional" is more common than "traditional", so do your research before applying.

I wanted to be a Marine Officer since being a kid, so I have no regrets about that detour. It's a hard detour to make - you may have to make peace with getting out and having a couple years between active duty and starting med school. DrMetal gives sage wisdom - only do it if you have a burning desire to be a Marine Officer.

 

[Achiles]

Thanks for your input guys. I really appreciate it.

 

[pgg]

If you want to be in the military and do military stuff for a while before med school, go for it. Lots of people have taken that route.

But make that choice on the merits of being in the line military and your desire to spend some time doing line military stuff - not because you think it will either help you get into medical school or make you a better doctor. Every so often we'll get people asking about some convoluted enlisted or officer pathway that ends up in medical school, and the answer is almost always the same: if you want to be a doctor, get a degree from some reputable full-time university, go to medical school, and be a doctor.

Here are a couple of those recent threads -

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/enlist-or-med-school.996063/
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/hospital-corpsman-to-doctor.961912/

Your situation is different, but there are some parallels (mainly the 'should I join the line military before medical school' question) and I think they're worth a quick read as you're thinking about things.

 

[Achiles]

Thanks for the info.

I want the particular challenge that the Marine Corps offers that differs from the challenges of med school; I want to push myself to the limit and see what I'm capable of then. I'm just afraid I don't know yet whether sacrificing the time will be worth it.

Though in the end, if I were absolutely forced to choose only one, becoming a physician and serving through the Navy HPSP would be my choice.

 

[Animalorhuman]

Thanks for the info.

I want the particular challenge that the Marine Corps offers that differs from the challenges of med school; I want to push myself to the limit and see what I'm capable of then. I'm just afraid I don't know yet whether sacrificing the time will be worth it.

Though in the end, if I were absolutely forced to choose only one, becoming a physician and serving through the Navy HPSP would be my choice.

Hey did you make a decision. I’m five years late but I’m in the same place as you are right now!!!

 

[militaryPHYS]

We can bump this thread as needed. Happy to provide insight. I was USMC(R) enlisted while doing undergrad then accepted USUHS after getting formal conditional release from my enlisted contract.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Also happy to provide some insight from a different branch. I have been enlisted Navy in a non-medical rate for 6 years now and just completed an active duty postbacc through USUHS. In the med school application cycle now.

 

[Sunna12]

Hey all

I was wondering if there's anyone out there who enlisted or went through an officer program between undergrad and med school. My long term goal is to become a physician, however I want to do something different before I go on to more schooling. I'm currently in the application process for Marine Corps PLC-combined; I've been doing some thinking and I've come up with some questions that I would really appreciate answers for before I contract:

1. Did you get back on studying for the MCAT/relearning the prerequisite course material while still serving or did you wait until you got out? How difficult was it getting academically prepared again, especially while still on active duty?

2. Do you feel that having served in the military proved advantageous in med school application and beyond?

3. Was being older than most your class ever a problem? How much did the the rigors of med school/residency interfere with family life?

Thank you for your time. If this belongs in another sub-forum, please let me know.

1. I completed an undergrad while I was serving and did 2 years post-bacc after separation to have all my pre-reqs to apply. It wasn't too hard as I was constantly taking classes while I was serving and easily transitioned into a post-bacc when I was done

2. Yes. And I sat on our school's admissions committee and saw first-hand it was advantageous.

3. Not at all- I wasn't the oldest by far and it seems like a lot of places are incorporating more non-traditional students now so you'd be surprised

Feel free to ask any Q's you may have- GI Bill for med school is GREAT!