Navy Before Med School?

[Speedmeister]

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Hello everyone!

I come here today because I wish to know if it would be a good idea for me to join the Navy prior to enrolling in Medical School.

At the moment I am a Sophomore in college with a 3.2 GPA with an upward trend from performing terribly my freshman year. I already have hundreds of hours shadowing physicians and plan to get a job as a phlebotomist soon. My absolute goal is to be a Doctor and I am certain that this is for me. But, I have recently began to entertain the idea of joining the Navy in order to get in shape both mentally and physically as well as gain more life experience and have my medical school paid for.

I was brought up by very permissive parents and am an only child. Therefore, I haven't been filled with too many responsibilities in my lifetime and feel as though I have become detached from how hard life really can be. I feel that the Navy can toughen me up and fill me with life experiences which will help me generally in my life and ultimately allow me to take better care of my patients.

I also believe that joining the Navy in a medically related field will make me into a sort of odd candidate which adcoms will be more interested in than the rest who had done the traditional route and will desire me more. Is this true?

The reason I am skeptical to join the Navy is that I do not wish to make it my career (I do entertain the idea of being a navy physician but nothing else) and that I do not like the idea of waiting another 3-4 years additionally (so 7 years more) till I can take the MCAT and apply for medical school. This means that I won't be a doctor till I am 35! But I am willing to make this sacrifice if it will help me over all in the long run. What do you think SDN?

Thank you for your time.

 

[787593]

Hello everyone!

I come here today because I wish to know if it would be a good idea for me to join the Navy prior to enrolling in Medical School.

At the moment I am a Sophomore in college with a 3.2 GPA with an upward trend from performing terribly my freshman year. I already have hundreds of hours shadowing physicians and plan to get a job as a phlebotomist soon. My absolute goal is to be a Doctor and I am certain that this is for me. But, I have recently began to entertain the idea of joining the Navy in order to get in shape both mentally and physically as well as gain more life experience and have my medical school paid for.

I was brought up by very permissive parents and am an only child. Therefore, I haven't been filled with too many responsibilities in my lifetime and feel as though I have become detached from how hard life really can be. I feel that the Navy can toughen me up and fill me with life experiences which will help me generally in my life and ultimately allow me to take better care of my patients.

I also believe that joining the Navy in a medically related field will make me into a sort of odd candidate which adcoms will be more interested in than the rest who had done the traditional route and will desire me more. Is this true?

The reason I am skeptical to join the Navy is that I do not wish to make it my career (I do entertain the idea of being a navy physician but nothing else) and that I do not like the idea of waiting another 3-4 years additionally (so 7 years more) till I can take the MCAT and apply for medical school. This means that I won't be a doctor till I am 35! But I am willing to make this sacrifice if it will help me over all in the long run. What do you think San?

Thank you for your time.

You could consider the HPSP if you're interested in serving in the navy. That'll pay your tuition without pushing you to age 35.

But Uncle Sam always has a catch...

 

[Mclovin0351]

I believe @Matthew9Thirtyfive might have something to say.

 

[Miami Thrice]

I was in the service for eight years between college and my post-bacc (and soon medical school!). I certainly believe my military experience got my foot in the door for most of my interviews, my UG was less than vanilla but I did some cool stuff in the service and killed my post-bacc as well as the MCAT (both these results a factor of the self-discipline the service taught me).

While I think service will make any application stand out, I must provide a grave warning: if you join for any reason outside of love of the uniform, it will likely be a very unpleasant experience. You will deal with an incredible amount of BS, work for people you don't like and have to do exactly what they say because they hold legal authority over you, and work hours that make little sense. This is from an officer's experience, and I know it was exponentially more frustrating for the junior enlisted. The people who successfully navigate this generally have a key commonality, to paraphrase Jamie Foxx in Jarhead, "I love. My. Job. Hoo. Rah.".

If you're all about the service this is a great idea and I commend you for it. If you're looking for an extremely strong EC, be wary. I think this is why you hear people having such bi-polar experiences as military physicians.

 

[Lost In Transcription]

@Matthew9Thirtyfive

 

[brownman23]

If your primary goal is to gain life experience, you could also take a gap year and serve with AmeriCorps. You could serve in rural areas or in low-income urban areas, as well. The commitment is only 1 year (some projects are 2+), and you will get exposed to a broad range of people.

 

[Conflagration]

If you have 60 hours done as a sophomore (15 hour semesters, 4 semesters), you could have a 3.46 by the time you applied without a gap year, assuming you aced your classes.

You're not in as awful a position as you think. Depending on your MCAT, you could certainly get some love from schools. You could consider HPSP if you're passionate about the Navy (consider USUHS also if you actually want to be in the service, but please note that you're making a ~7 year commitment if you do it through them).

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

I apologize in advance if this is incoherent. I just got off watch and have had duty or watch four days in a row now, so I'm a little tired.

I am currently in the Navy and am applying to go to med school through a new commissioning program for enlisted folks with bachelors degrees. Listen to the advice @Miami Thrice gave you, but I'll add in my two cents anyway.

So I was in a similar position. I was not the kind of person I saw myself as. I was a little emotionally immature, a little entitled, and really skinny and not in good shape. Additionally, I had done a few years of college and was racking up a lot of debt. The military seemed like a good way to grow as a human being and get school done for free, plus the GI bill for med school. I also thought it would be great to serve and give something back to my country.

Well, personally I am extremely happy I took the oath. The military did wonders for me. It matured me, got rid of my entitlement, and got me in the best shape of my life. I gained 35 pounds in boot camp because I ate a ridiculous amount of food and worked out a lot. By the time I went to dive school, I was running marathons and hitting pretty good numbers for DL, C&J, and BS. I was doing Murph in 35 mins and getting 28-30 pull-ups on my PSTs. Having kids hurt that about, but they're worth it lol.

I also finished my degree for free and still have my GI bill. I've been around the world, done crazy **** civilians can't even imagine, made friends for life, and had amazing opportunities for leadership, volunteerism, clinical experience, etc.

But I've also seen people join the military and hate every minute of it. If you are in it just for the benefits, you will be miserable by the time your term is up. I've seen it happen too often, and there really does seem to be a correlation between dedication to service and fulfillment/enjoyment of your time in. I don't love every minute of it, but the good outweighs the bad because I love wearing the uniform.

HPSP is a great way to get med school paid for, and if you decide you don't like mil med, you can internship and GMO/GTFO. USUHS pays you officer pay and gives you four years of training in mil med, but you have a 7 year commitment. That's a lot.

If you have any questions about the Navy, you can PM me or ask me here. I'll tell you as much as I can without completely destroying my anonymity.

 

[Speedmeister]

Thank you everyone! I will definitely look into an HPSP. I would love to serve in the military, I just hate the idea of having to push back finishing medical school. But this HPSP seems like the perfect plan for me.