Navy HPSP Questions

[VisionaryTics]

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[EMDoc0411]

I'm sure that I am just rehashing threads that have been repeated a thousand times before, but there's an awful lot of flak out there.

I'm considering Navy HPSP and would like some comments on it, considering the following points and questions:

1. I am not joining for just the money (although debt free coming out of a private med school would be nice).
2. I consider it a privilege and duty to serve one's country, and come from a long line of Navy/Marine veterans (15 members of my family have served since my grandfather, including my father who was in Navy HPSP).
3. I generally don't have a problem in delaying residency with a year or two being a GMO (my father was a GMO for 3 years [this was late 70s] and said it made him a much better physician, is winding down a very successful career in anesthesiology specializing in critical care).
4. While I'm still early in the medical school process, I would think that I would like to have some control over my residency options, i.e. I don't want to get jammed into pediatrics if I'm interested in internal medicine or surgery.

So my concerns chiefly lie in what kind of control over my residency choices I would have, considering that I would not be distraught over not getting a deferment (I understnad these are rare and should definitely NOT count on one) or serving as a GMO, and whether HPSP is a good option for me considering what I've posted above.

Thanks.

Keep your options open. Make the decision to join after med school or even after residency. This is coming from a current AD Navy physician who did HPSP. PM me if you have further questions.

 

[NavyFP]

I'm sure that I am just rehashing threads that have been repeated a thousand times before, but there's an awful lot of flak out there.

I'm considering Navy HPSP and would like some comments on it, considering the following points and questions:

1. I am not joining for just the money (although debt free coming out of a private med school would be nice).
2. I consider it a privilege and duty to serve one's country, and come from a long line of Navy/Marine veterans (15 members of my family have served since my grandfather, including my father who was in Navy HPSP).
3. I generally don't have a problem in delaying residency with a year or two being a GMO (my father was a GMO for 3 years [this was late 70s] and said it made him a much better physician, is winding down a very successful career in anesthesiology specializing in critical care).
4. While I'm still early in the medical school process, I would think that I would like to have some control over my residency options, i.e. I don't want to get jammed into pediatrics if I'm interested in internal medicine or surgery.

So my concerns chiefly lie in what kind of control over my residency choices I would have, considering that I would not be distraught over not getting a deferment (I understnad these are rare and should definitely NOT count on one) or serving as a GMO, and whether HPSP is a good option for me considering what I've posted above.

Thanks.

First of all, you will not be stuck in a PGY-2 position if you don't want it. So, there is no chance you will end up a pediatrician if you want to be a geriatrician.

If the concept of doing a GMO does not phase you, you are in good shape. The delay in training is one of the primary complaints about the system.

As long as you are a good student, you will eventually be picked up for the residency of choice.