Multiple Acceptances: Thoughts Appreciated!

[Asclepius293]

Hey all,

I was fortunate enough to receive multiple acceptances this cycle and would be grateful for feedback as I deliberate them. I am a Michigan resident and will be doing the HPSP scholarship through the Navy (unless I decide on USUHS). The schools I'm deciding on are USUHS, Thomas Jefferson, Wayne State, Oakland, MSUCHM, and MSUDO. I'm not too sure which specialty I would like to go into at this point.

Schools with some Pros/Cons

Thomas Jefferson University (Sidney Kimmel)
Pros:
-Felt the most "at home" during interview day. Students seemed genuinely happy and the curriculum/faculty appeared to be very student centered. Lots of things built-in to prevent burnout and reinforce an interest in medicine. They're moving towards less lectures and more clinical exposure. There was a large focus on humanism and training great clinicians.
-Great location in Center City, Philadelphia.
-Away from home, but not too far to visit. (I've lived in Detroit my whole life and moving away would be a pro personally)
-Note taking service and packs to reduce stress and help with information to study.

USUHS (F Edward Hebert)
Pros:
-Lots of travel and unique experiences during rotations at military sites throughout the country.
-Better military specific training for payback time as a military physician.
-Officer pay during med school ($65k/year) would be helpful in paying off undergrad loans ($80k :/)
Cons:
-Longer military commitment vs HPSP. (7 years after residency) While I am sure I want to get involved in military medicine, I recognize I have no prior military service so the 4 year commitment through HPSP might be more reasonable. In case I decide I don't want military medicine as a long term career pathway, HPSP would allow me to serve my 4 years then separate and pursue the civilian side of things.

Wayne State
Pros:
-Good clinical exposure in Detroit. Easy to get a lot of exposure to different fields and cases.
-Supportive students and faculty.
Cons:
-I went here for undergrad and highschool in Detroit. I don't really like the idea of going here another 4 years for medical school. I'd much rather move.

Oakland
Pros:
-Good connection with Beaumont Hospital for clinical exposure.
-Smaller class fosters camaraderie
Cons:
-Brand new school. Hasn't graduated a class yet. Heard and seen mixed things which make me unsure about it. While I think they'll be great in a few years, they are still working out a lot of things in the curriculum etc.
-Learning style is lots of small groups everyday which I don't really like.

MSUCHM
Pros:
-Focus on humanism and training clinicians.

MSUDO
Pros:
-Again, really felt a strong focus on training humanistic and well rounded physicians which I think is important.
-Understanding faculty/school that works against burnout.
Cons:
-DO School. Might make things more difficult down the line. (Especially with the recent merger)

Not an all inclusive list but just some things I'm considering in my decision. I didn't list tuition as a big factor because I'll be pursuing the military which will cover that. I appreciate any feedback or thoughts, especially from current or former students, as I decide! Thank you all.

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[knicksfan3131]

If you don't want the extra years of military commitment, don't want to risk a brand new med school, and don't want to stay at home, I'd choose Jeff. It's a good school in a good part of Philly and will have more to offer than DO schools.

 

[watermelon master]

If you don't want the extra years of military commitment, don't want to risk a brand new med school, and don't want to stay at home, I'd choose Jeff. It's a good school in a good part of Philly and will have more to offer than DO schools.

/thread

 

[Asclepius293]

@pgg any thoughts as a navy physician?

 

[docE15]

Just so you know, OUWB has graduated two classes already (2015 and 2016).


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[YouEverHadOurSausages?]

Just so you're aware, the 4 year commitment for HPSP is not so straightforward. It could end up being 6-7 years if you end up with a GMO tour. Of course a longer residency also means longer payback time. I'm still hoping to do it though if/when I get an acceptance.

 

[ChrisMack390]

Jefferson!

 

[pgg]

@pgg any thoughts as a navy physician?

USUHS is an excellent school. Payback estimates are tricky and really depend on what specialty you choose, and whether or not you do GMO time. At present the majority of Navy HPSP/USUHS grads do a GMO tour, but we are gradually shifting to straight-through training in some specialties.

If you do HPSP then 2 years as a GMO then a short 2-year inservice residency like FM or IM, your HPSP payback will be 4 years.

If you do HPSP then 3 years as a GMO (flight surgery or dive med) then a longer 4-year inservice residency, your HPSP payback will be 7 years. I.e., the same as USUHS but with less pay and fewer benefits during med school.

HPSP always has the option of 4 years as a GMO then out for civilian residency training. Hard to do that as a USUHS grad for 7 years ...

If you go to USUHS you are essentially committing yourself to an inservice residency program 5-10 years from now. The quality of military hospital GME varies by location and specialty. Most are solidly mid tier, some are very good, but none are really top tier in the league of big name institutions.

If you think you may wish to pursue an academic or research oriented career, the military makes it rather hard. If that's something you really want, you might be better off not doing either HPSP or USUHS.

You'd likely be pretty happy at USUHS. I was, and I'm glad I went there. The weak link is the long commitment - you're looking at a MINIMUM of 14 years in uniform ( 4 @USUHS, 1 intern, 2+ residency, 7 payback), the uncertainty of what specialty you'll choose, and the overall uncertainty of what changes the military may choose for the military healthcare system and VA in the next 10-20 years you'd be in uniform.

Far more to read on this subject in the milmed forum.

 

[Asclepius293]

Just so you know, OUWB has graduated two classes already (2015 and 2016).


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

Apologies! I was thinking about CMU/WMU.

Just so you're aware, the 4 year commitment for HPSP is not so straightforward. It could end up being 6-7 years if you end up with a GMO tour. Of course a longer residency also means longer payback time. I'm still hoping to do it though if/when I get an acceptance.

Very true. I was thinking about it in terms of if I ended up doing a shorter residency program or GMO and out if I wanted something which wasn't lining up with the needs of the Navy.

USUHS is an excellent school. Payback estimates are tricky and really depend on what specialty you choose, and whether or not you do GMO time. At present the majority of Navy HPSP/USUHS grads do a GMO tour, but we are gradually shifting to straight-through training in some specialties.

If you do HPSP then 2 years as a GMO then a short 2-year inservice residency like FM or IM, your HPSP payback will be 4 years.

If you do HPSP then 3 years as a GMO (flight surgery or dive med) then a longer 4-year inservice residency, your HPSP payback will be 7 years. I.e., the same as USUHS but with less pay and fewer benefits during med school.

HPSP always has the option of 4 years as a GMO then out for civilian residency training. Hard to do that as a USUHS grad for 7 years ...

If you go to USUHS you are essentially committing yourself to an inservice residency program 5-10 years from now. The quality of military hospital GME varies by location and specialty. Most are solidly mid tier, some are very good, but none are really top tier in the league of big name institutions.

If you think you may wish to pursue an academic or research oriented career, the military makes it rather hard. If that's something you really want, you might be better off not doing either HPSP or USUHS.

You'd likely be pretty happy at USUHS. I was, and I'm glad I went there. The weak link is the long commitment - you're looking at a MINIMUM of 14 years in uniform ( 4 @USUHS, 1 intern, 2+ residency, 7 payback), the uncertainty of what specialty you'll choose, and the overall uncertainty of what changes the military may choose for the military healthcare system and VA in the next 10-20 years you'd be in uniform.

Far more to read on this subject in the milmed forum.

Thanks for the insight pgg! I am not really interested in an academic or research oriented career. I see myself more as a clinician in the future. After researching milmed and speaking to lots of current and former military physicians (both unhappy and happy), I still think I would choose to do HPSP or USUHS.

Like you said, I might end up doing more payback time with a longer residency through HPSP anyways without the benefits I would've gotten at USUHS. However, I like HPSP for the possible flexibility if I needed to do GMO and out for a residency which just wasn't happening in the Navy (talked to at least a few physicians that this happened to). I still think I would be relatively happy with the decision if I had to GMOandout, but if I went to USUHS, it would start to get more difficult trying to serve out 7 years as a GMO. Also I'm single with no kids or intention having kids so I could live reasonably well with the HPSP stipend. USUHS would just be nice to repay those undergrad loans sooner.

Sorry for the thought vomit. Just trying to straighten everything out as I decide. Will continue to speak with physicians and explore the forums to get additional insight before making the final decision.

 

[Save a life]

Jefferson! It's one of the oldest, most established schools in the country. In fact I think my profile pic is a painting depicting an operating theater from Thomas Jefferson or the hospital affiliated with it.