National Guard/med school?

[idkoop]

Hey all,

I have a q on serving in the National Guard and attending medical school simultaneously. I'm in college right now.

My ROTC commitment will let me choose between serving 8 years in the Guard or doing 4 years of service after med school + anohter 4 years if I have the military pay for med school. I don't know which one I'll do yet.

For various reasons, I'm leaning towards the former option. I'm not interested in becoming a "military" doctor - I only decided while doing ROTC that I wanted to be a doctor!

If I do the Guard option, then I'll have to defer med school a year after graduation while I go to the Officer Basic course for a branch (probably medical service corps or Military Intelligence). After that, I'd have an 8 year commitment in the Guard, which entails basically one weekend of drills every month. I'd fulfill this simultaneously alongside my 8-10 years of med school education and residency. I figure this isn't bad since I'm not going to be moving around much or traveling during that time anyway.

My only q is, would there be enough "free time" in med school and residency that allows me to fulfill this obligation? Also, another point in favor of the latter option is that as a Guard officer, I can choose a unit that's rarely or never deployed/activated, so i won't have my medical education interrupted. I'm not quite sure what the deferral policy is for med schools though...do most just let you take a year off?

What are your thoughts on this? National Guard+med school, or just take an education delay during med school/residency and do my four year obligation in the active military afterwards? Much thanks!

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[v j]

i dunno man, i was in the marines so i know very little about the guard. but if you go intel in the guard then i would imagine your chances of being activated are pretty high (compared to a grunt in the national guard). but again, i know very little about the guard.

most med schools will let you defer, so i don't think you need to sweat that. and i don't think the drills would be a big problem (though they'll be a pain in the ass).

i think your best bet is to go for being the "military doctor." b/c you'll get great experience. but since you don't want to do that than i guess the guard will be alright too.

 

[EvoDevo]

I'm going to move this to the Military Med forum. You should get lots of good info there.

Speaking as a former intel Marine (capitlized, vj. You're killing me. ) and having zero Guard experience, I'd say that vj is right: Intel guys are ALWAYS on the top of the deployable list. Just my two cents. Good luck on your decision.

 

[DrYo12]

Speaking as a former intel Marine (capitlized, vj. You're killing me. )

not THIS again...

 

[EvoDevo]

not THIS again...

Don't threadjack. It's not nice.

 

[qqq]

Right, I am assuming you're Air Force and it is indeed the Force Shaping II initiative that is allowing you to serve your ROTC commitment via the Air Reserve Component (ARC). If you are not Air Force, then you can disregard some (most) of my advice. Except for my last point, which I will make shortly.

Realize that nothing you say or do can predict or get you out of being mobilized/activated. The order will originate from far above your CC and there will be nothing you can do about. Students do take breaks (the non-volunteer type) to serve in the ARC when activation orders come down.

Are you willing to take the risk? In the ARC you will not be coded as "student," you will be coded by your AFSC (Air Force Specialty Code - basically, 'what you do.') There is no AFSC that designates 'medical student' unless . . .

You take the Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP). Basically, you need to spend the rest of your time in undergrad researching. I pray to God you will not be making this decision anytime soon. Are you prepared to be a military doctor? Scratch that, are you prepared to be a military officer? You will deploy and you will get paid much less than your peers. The needs of the Air Force may also dictate whether you train in the specialty you want. Note: the military will not force you into a specialty, but they can keep you from doing a residency in a specialty that they have no need for. If you do not want to do the residency they give you, they can make you serve your time as a general medical officer [GMO] (i.e. you may have to serve in this capacity a few years before you do a residency; after this GMO tour, many separate). Now, many will argue that being a civilian doesn't guarantee you'll get the residency you want anyway. True. But being in the military adds an extra measure of uncertainty. It is no longer up to how well you perform in med school. Also note, some competitive residencies are easier to get in the military. Of course, nothing is guaranteed. Further, military medicine is in a huge tranistion state right now due to Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC). Do your research.

I am in a very similar situation as you are, albiet a few years out of college. I am not doing HPSP but going into the ARC. Remember, the ARC includes the Air National Guard, Traditional Reservists (Category A), and Individual Mobilization Augmentees (Category B). There are enormous differences between the three in terms of being a student concurrently. In the ANG and Cat A, whether you are mobilized depends on the unit. In Cat B, whether you are mobilized depends on your AFSC. The ANG is also very 'family-like.' If you get into a ANG unit (All are different!!!) that needs doctors they will be willing to work with you. This will require a lot of networking up to high levels of command. This does not mean you will not be mobilized! It means they may work with you when scheduling your inactive duty tour (IDT) days and your Annual Training (AT). Of course, do you really think AT only occurs during the summer? BTW, both the ANG and the Cat A Reserves require 1 weekend (=IDTs) a month PLUS 14 days (=AT) a year. When you do this extra 14 days is to be worked out with your employer.

Whether you choose to join the ARC (Guard, Cat A, or Cat B) will depend on your AFSC. If you are Security Forces you will be activated. There is NO question. You may be activated twice. Med school could take you 6 years if you get through it at all. Plus you could be activated in residency. If you are contracting, logistics, civil engineer . . . well, again, I would give it some serious thought. Look into Cat B Reserves (IMA). Do your research and get into an AFSC that has the least chance of being activated . . . IMAs are coming into my office all the time. This week a LTC and Maj are sitting next to me in my cubicle doing their AT and both have been IMAs for 13 years and have never been mobilized or deployed despite volunteering for deployment 5 times between the two of them. Also remember, if you are an IMA you do not need to be near your med school. There are IMAs at my base (East Coast) that live in Hawaii. Consider this flexibility when you are on 5 waitlists with no acceptances (not saying this is going to happen to you).

All in all, you are in a bad situation if you truly do not want to be in military medicine. Now, the last point I was talking about is to post this in the military forum on this website. You will get everyone and their mom telling you to stay away from the reserves. There is a lot of wisdom that the forum offers. Also remember, most are in the Navy or Army, and when most hear "Reserves," they are strictly thinking Cat A, i.e. weekend warrior. Air Force information is hard to come by. If you can convince yourself you want to take the chance on residency and also can put up with deployments once you've graduated, going the HPSP route is a no-brainer. Remember though that especially in the Air Force, making it into medical school does not mean they are going to send you (to med school); that is, you can have 5 acceptances and you still may not get the HPSP scholarship.

Oh one more thing, I think the 1 weekend a month thing is doable. It's going to really suck and you may not be able to perform as well as if you were not a Cat A/ANG member. The drill weekends will ALWAYS fall on weekends immediately preceeding an exam. This is a law nature. Also, remember what I said about the annual training. This is in addition to the 1 weekend a month thing. If you are a Cat B there is no monthly requirement, your requirement is based on the fiscal year (you have to do 24 days a year -- and the good thing is that if you do back to back weeks, then the weekends count too even though you won't be working!) If you are in SF I guess this does not apply since they work 7 days a week -- many other AFSCs do too, so research. Mine, 63A, does not. Don't hesitate to PM me. Good luck and see you in the desert! (i keed, i keed, sort of)

 

[qqq]

Now that this has been moved to the mil forum and I am going to be flamed, I guess I should add that I love my country (which I do).

 

[Tiger26]

Talk to the guard medical recruiter. They have a program called "med student to med corps" or something. You are non-deployable (I've got the police directive in writing") during med school and residency.

 

[spc213]

I actually suspect the OP is Army ROTC, based on his/her potential branch choices.

Regardless, qqq has lots of great advice. idkoop, You first need to figure out if military service is something you want to commit to for the long term. If so, have your service pay for everything. If you are unsure, you have some tough decisions ahead of you. When I was your age, and in your position, I doubt I would have committed any additional time to the military above my ROTC scholarship commitment.

As a current Army Reserve (and mobilized) officer, I have debated the option of staying in the reserves for collecting weekend drill pay while in school and fitting-in 14 days annual training (AT) during breaks. This would leave the option to join the Med Corps (or in my case, Dental Corps) after graduation. The other option being to take the HPSP.

Ultimately, I've decided on HPSP. The risk and hassle of both trying to find a compatible Guard/Reserve unit somewhere near where I would study, along with the constant risk of deployment were too much to overcome. Additionally, taking one weekend a month out of your studies could be too much to handle, but only you can decide that. BTW, you are kidding yourself if you think you have found a "safe" guard unit, especially with your potential branch choices. My unit hadn't deployed since WWII...until now!

 

[idkoop]

Thanks for all the great advice. I forgot to mention, I am Army ROTC, and I'm a sophomore right now so I have a few years to go before I make the decision. I'm going to talk to the Guard medical recruiter about delaying the reserve obligation until med school is finished, and think about my options then.