National Guard
Started by Catdaddy33
You won't be able to join the NG while a dental student. Getting called up to deploy while you're in the middle of school will not be in your best interest 🙂 Your other option is to get a Heatlh Profession Bonus or Health Loap Repayment Program after you graduate and are licensed, then you could join the Guard. HPSP would be the best option while a dental student, and go active duty after school.
Not entirely true. I've been in the Wisc ANG for the entire time I have been in dental school (I am not prior service). A recruiter can give you more specifics, however dental school students (and med school students) are not eligable to deploy.
I know a student who graduated 2 yrs ago and went into the reserves or guard during his 3rd year, you can do it but i'm not sure the details of how.
Unless they did away with the program recently, dental students can join the National Guard and participate in the Medical and Dental Student Stipend Program (MDSSP). No deployments while in school, the monthly stipend is $2,088, and the part-time commitment to the Guard is 1 year for every 6 months receiving the stipend.
http://www.nationalguard.com/careers/amedd/healthcare-bonuses-and-loans
Start by contacting your neartest recruiter. I commissioned during D3. A few points:
- Even if you're contemplating it, start now! It took me almost 1 year to commission from when I started the process.
- You absolutely can commission during school, as long as there is a spot in your state guard (there likely will be)
- If you commission before finishing school, you'll be expected to (military) drill each month unless your unit commander is really laid back and you can demonstrate that it hinders your education. I personally enjoy drilling so it doesn't bother me. You get to other med pros, spend time with your unit, and get paid.
- AFAIK you can't be deployed while in school.
Those are the main points, I can elaborate much more.
- Even if you're contemplating it, start now! It took me almost 1 year to commission from when I started the process.
- You absolutely can commission during school, as long as there is a spot in your state guard (there likely will be)
- If you commission before finishing school, you'll be expected to (military) drill each month unless your unit commander is really laid back and you can demonstrate that it hinders your education. I personally enjoy drilling so it doesn't bother me. You get to other med pros, spend time with your unit, and get paid.
- AFAIK you can't be deployed while in school.
Those are the main points, I can elaborate much more.
I'll be completely honest with you, the primary monetary reason to commission in the Guard is for the $40k/year loan repayment.
The recruiters aren't very clear when it comes to dental school and the fliers they put out are actually very misleading but here's the breakdown:
DON'T take the MDSSP if you go Guard. MDSSP incurs a 2 for 1 commitment (2 years basic pay after school for every year you get paid in school) which is honestly only fair. The kicker is that you don't qualify for HPLRP OR bonuses during that time. Very bad trade indeed.
That said, I make about $300 a month after taxes. The other important thing to remember (and the recruiters don't know to promote) is that you get reimbursed for all board exams and study materials (up to ~$400). So NBDE part 1 $400, Part 2 $400 and depending on your region, I took NERB for $2k. So about $3k reimbursed there.
As far as actual monthly drills go, that would all be dependent on your unit. I know of units that are all work and some that are very relaxed. Either way they should be very flexible if you need to study. Basically if you have anything Guard related that conflicts with school, inform you commander and they should be very accommodating.
In summary:
- ~$300/month (standard drills)
- ~$3,000 exam reimbursement
- $40,000 HPLRP per year years 1-6 AFTER school
- $75,000 bonus for every 3 year contract after HPLRP is exhausted (so years 7-10, 11-13, etc)
There will definitely be small expenses such as you initial gear purchase (you don't get an equipment stipend until you attend officer training, likely after you graduate) and transportation to and from drills but nothing to really be concerned about. Also AFAIK you shouldn't be required to attend AT (annual training).
The recruiters aren't very clear when it comes to dental school and the fliers they put out are actually very misleading but here's the breakdown:
DON'T take the MDSSP if you go Guard. MDSSP incurs a 2 for 1 commitment (2 years basic pay after school for every year you get paid in school) which is honestly only fair. The kicker is that you don't qualify for HPLRP OR bonuses during that time. Very bad trade indeed.
That said, I make about $300 a month after taxes. The other important thing to remember (and the recruiters don't know to promote) is that you get reimbursed for all board exams and study materials (up to ~$400). So NBDE part 1 $400, Part 2 $400 and depending on your region, I took NERB for $2k. So about $3k reimbursed there.
As far as actual monthly drills go, that would all be dependent on your unit. I know of units that are all work and some that are very relaxed. Either way they should be very flexible if you need to study. Basically if you have anything Guard related that conflicts with school, inform you commander and they should be very accommodating.
In summary:
- ~$300/month (standard drills)
- ~$3,000 exam reimbursement
- $40,000 HPLRP per year years 1-6 AFTER school
- $75,000 bonus for every 3 year contract after HPLRP is exhausted (so years 7-10, 11-13, etc)
There will definitely be small expenses such as you initial gear purchase (you don't get an equipment stipend until you attend officer training, likely after you graduate) and transportation to and from drills but nothing to really be concerned about. Also AFAIK you shouldn't be required to attend AT (annual training).
Expect to commit a minimum of 8 years. While an officer does not sign an official contract, your Oath of Office is essentially your oath to fulfill the minimum expected of anyone who joins the armed forces (8 years). From what I've been able to tell (and don't quote me, I have only heresay to back this), you could leave at any time during that period but it would be a black mark on your record. Basically you need to be in a 2+ provider practice in order to make this work, otherwise expect to shut down your solo practice for two weeks every summer and give people a long holiday. In the latter scenario, you would basically negate the majority of financial benefit the scholarships afford.
That said, I do know of Docs negotiating certain terms regarding AT (annual training, the 2 weeks in the summer) such as every other year or longer weekend drills. This is mostly due to the fact that we as dentists don't specifically need AT in order to learn our duties, we do them every day.
Hope that helps.
That said, I do know of Docs negotiating certain terms regarding AT (annual training, the 2 weeks in the summer) such as every other year or longer weekend drills. This is mostly due to the fact that we as dentists don't specifically need AT in order to learn our duties, we do them every day.
Hope that helps.
If you take mdssp and strap can you still qualify for the loan repayment (hplrp) and bonuses (special pay program)? Thanks.
AFAIK you can (I opted out of mdssp), however all of these programs must be used in succession. So if you take MDSSP during school and you go Reserve/NG you would owe EIGHT YEARS (2 for 1) before being eligible for HPLRP, then after 6 years of exhausting that, you're eligible for bonus contracts. That said, who knows what the military budget will be at that time and whether these programs will even still be in place.
Moral: None of the bonuses etc that they promote can be earned concurrently. Only in succession.
So to clarify. Say I take mdssp and then strap making mdssp a 1:1 payback and then I do a 4 year residency at 2:1 payback with the strap incentive and thus owe the guard 12 years can I still get the hplrp during strap. There s a powerpoint online that says you can get both strap and hplrp at the same time, but says nothing if you do both mdssp and strap back to back. Also are you saying to get the extra 25k each year as a doctor I would have to finish my obligation completely and then resign with that as a bonus. Thanks. I really appreciate the help.
I was unfamiliar with strap so looked it up. I'm sorry but I believe strap is specific to Medical and Nursing corps. I don't know how it plays into everything. You might want to try and find a medical student or recent grad in the medical corp to get some more concrete information. Also, consider calling your state NG HQ and asking for the AMEDD recruiter to give you concrete info.
General rule of thumb is to NOT anticipate receiving any incentives/bonuses concurrently. The advertisments and fliers that recruiters like to use are very ambiguous and make it seem like you can draw upon them all at once, which is not the case.
General rule of thumb is to NOT anticipate receiving any incentives/bonuses concurrently. The advertisments and fliers that recruiters like to use are very ambiguous and make it seem like you can draw upon them all at once, which is not the case.
Awesome I will keep his n mind.
you don't want strap and MDSSP is worse, the big pay off is when your a dentist and serving for that sweet loan forgiveness
