Navy HPSP question

[squad41]

Guys:

I have applied to Navy HPSP, will be starting at LMU-DCOM in the fall.


--I applied for HPSP
--Did my Navy physician interview
--Went to MEPS, had to get a waiver for migraines, still waiting on it to come through. Passed the physical.


I guess I'm starting to freak out because of the finances involved.

1) Are Navy HPSP medical scholarships still available? My recruiter seemed to believe they are but I wasn't convinced he knew 100%

2) How competitive is the scholarship these days? I know it used to be somewhat competitive but due to the doc shortage, my recruiter said that if you have a med school acceptance letter and make it through MEPS, you're golden. Is this fair to say?

3) Once your application is complete, how long does it take on average to get commissioned?

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[NavyFP]

Guys:

I have applied to Navy HPSP, will be starting at LMU-DCOM in the fall.


--I applied for HPSP
--Did my Navy physician interview
--Went to MEPS, had to get a waiver for migraines, still waiting on it to come through. Passed the physical.


I guess I'm starting to freak out because of the finances involved.

1) Are Navy HPSP medical scholarships still available? My recruiter seemed to believe they are but I wasn't convinced he knew 100%

2) How competitive is the scholarship these days? I know it used to be somewhat competitive but due to the doc shortage, my recruiter said that if you have a med school acceptance letter and make it through MEPS, you're golden. Is this fair to say?

3) Once your application is complete, how long does it take on average to get commissioned?

1) To the best of my knowledge, there are still scholarships available.

2) Not competitive, but there is a low bar. Everyone who applies does not get the scholarship. There have been applicants with letters of acceptance who have been turned down.

3) There are quite a few hoops to go through, but I would guess 4 weeks should be the outside.

 

[drcarter77]

Guys:

I have applied to Navy HPSP, will be starting at LMU-DCOM in the fall.


--I applied for HPSP
--Did my Navy physician interview
--Went to MEPS, had to get a waiver for migraines, still waiting on it to come through. Passed the physical.


I guess I'm starting to freak out because of the finances involved.

1) Are Navy HPSP medical scholarships still available? My recruiter seemed to believe they are but I wasn't convinced he knew 100%

2) How competitive is the scholarship these days? I know it used to be somewhat competitive but due to the doc shortage, my recruiter said that if you have a med school acceptance letter and make it through MEPS, you're golden. Is this fair to say?

3) Once your application is complete, how long does it take on average to get commissioned?

wow this sounds so much like what i'm going through, except my recruiter drags his feet on everythign. he has refused to schedule an interview for me until I get clearance from MEPS. I'm worried i'm going to end up not getting a scholarship just because my recruiter is so incompetant.

 

[squad41]

my recruiter is a super nice guy, but is super slow at returning phone calls and what not. Im scared to death Im not going to get the scholarship due to them filling up and because he takes forever to a damn thing. I had my interview and physical over two weeks ago and still have heard nothing. Its always something to the effect of "sorry it took me so long to get back to you, but _______insert some bull**** excuse. He claims he'll check into my MEPS waiver and call me back by the end of the day, and then I dont hear back from him for 4 days. I thought medical officers were supposed to be liquid gold?!?!? Aside from getting a special room at the MEPS physical, it sure doesnt seem like being a medical officer means a damn thing.

 

[Maverick10]

Why did ya'll choose to apply for the Navy's HPSP instead of HSCP? Are ya'll paying out of state tuition or something?

 

[NavyFP]

Why did ya'll choose to apply for the Navy's HPSP instead of HSCP? Are ya'll paying out of state tuition or something?

or private schools, or expensive state schools....

HSCP makes good financial sense for a few specific groups of people.

1) Students attending state schools with very low tuition. After tuition and fees start to exceed $18,000, HPSP begins to be a better deal overall.

2) Students with families that may need health coverage. If a member of a student's family has chronic health conditions or other special needs, this benefit can add up.

3) Prior service as long as the tuition is not exceedingly high. (over $35-40K)
Although save pay does not apply to HSCP, the additional time towards retirement and pay can make a big difference. For someone who has 10 year of prior service, they would be eligible for retirement about the same time as their commitment is up.

 

[lee88]

does anyone here have an idea of how long it will take to complete my HPSP application if I am in NROTC and I already have my security clearance and am medically qualified to be commissioned(I had my physical earlier this year). The website says it takes 3 months, but it seems like the security and medical stuff causes most of the hold ups. Are there still scholarships available?

 

[Kris1]

It's interesting to hear that so many of you are having bad experiences with your recruiter and the HPSP process. I began applying for Navy FAP last September and it took three months to get an acceptance AFTER my MEPS physical. After the acceptance I had to wait almost two months before I finally ended business with my recruiter and dropped the whole thing all together because I still wasn't commissioned.

Like some of you have said, my recruiter was a nice enough guy but I was tired of waiting.

If I'm bailing then I know others are too. Hopefully the Navy takes notice of this and fixes it. They're missing out on some good docs.

 

[Osteo4life]

Hello,

I want to do HPSP but only for 2 years, so I can do a GMO Flight Surgeon tour, but I want to do a civilian residency. Is there a 2 year HPSP Navy contract where they pay for only two years of medical school and I only owe two years of active service, (which I will do the GMO Flight Surgeon Tour) and then I will be done with my service to the Navy and go on to a civilian residency? Will I have to do a military internship and if so will that count as payback time for HPSP? Also, I have heard about Navy docs getting alternative assignments and being sent with the Army and Marines into combat, more frequently than before. Is there anyway to secure a flight surgeon slot in my HPSP contract or to ensure I will NOT have to do a military residency or even have to apply to one.

Thanks for any feedback.

 

[Hoya2009]

Sounds like you want in terms of life options is the FAP. I haven't read or heard about a 2-year option anywhere, but I am by no means an authority.
From what I've heard, the closest you could do would be a 3-year HPSP if there is room that FY.

 

[Osteo4life]

Thanks for the responses, I greatly appreciated them.

If I did a 3 year HPSP, I would have to conduct 1 year of Navy internship, then I would go on a 2 year Flight Surgeon tour? Or would the 1 year internship not count toward my payback for HPSP and be turned into a 3 year Flight Surgeon tour?

Does the Air Force also require a year of internship before becoming a flight surgeon? I have heard that Navy flight surgeons who are doing GMOs actually get stick time because they go to flight training for six months and fly 4 hours every month. Is the same true for the Air Force, because I have heard you have do to a flight medicine residency in order to be able to fly as a flight surgeon in the Air Force.

If I graduated medical school without doing a military contract, and decided to do a GMO tour (flight surgeon) would the navy allow me to sign on for only two years and then not be obligated for further duty after my 2 year tour is up? Would I still be able to do a GMO tour for flight surgery if I did FAP and did a residency in Internal Medicine, Neurology or Anesthesiology?

I appreciate any feedback and input, thank you!


Also, will I be trapped in military medicine if I do a 3 year HPSP and do a 3 year flight surgery tour? Is it likely to call me up from the reserves which I will be in the middle of my residency?

Thanks

 

[csnitchl]

Thanks for the responses, I greatly appreciated them.

If I did a 3 year HPSP, I would have to conduct 1 year of Navy internship, then I would go on a 2 year Flight Surgeon tour? Or would the 1 year internship not count toward my payback for HPSP and be turned into a 3 year Flight Surgeon tour?

Does the Air Force also require a year of internship before becoming a flight surgeon? I have heard that Navy flight surgeons who are doing GMOs actually get stick time because they go to flight training for six months and fly 4 hours every month. Is the same true for the Air Force, because I have heard you have do to a flight medicine residency in order to be able to fly as a flight surgeon in the Air Force.

If I graduated medical school without doing a military contract, and decided to do a GMO tour (flight surgeon) would the navy allow me to sign on for only two years and then not be obligated for further duty after my 2 year tour is up? Would I still be able to do a GMO tour for flight surgery if I did FAP and did a residency in Internal Medicine, Neurology or Anesthesiology?

I appreciate any feedback and input, thank you!


Also, will I be trapped in military medicine if I do a 3 year HPSP and do a 3 year flight surgery tour? Is it likely to call me up from the reserves which I will be in the middle of my residency?

Thanks

No matter which way you end up going, you need to have at least an internship under your belt before you can do a GMO or FS tour. This should be true irrespective of branch. Without internship, you won't be eligible for a license or a DEA number. If you did FAP, finished residency and still wanted to do a FS tour you would be able to, although many would argue that there would be significant skill atrophy and you might have a rough time transitioning back to practicing real internal medicine after 3 years of low acuity sick call and admin work. On the other hand, you would make more because you would be board certified/eligible. I can't speak to how much stick time you would get, but the navy training is significantly longer and more in depth.
Take what I say with a grain of salt as I'm just a lowly MS4, anyone can feel free to correct me if any of this info is incorrect.