Navy Reserves while in med school?

[tibwolf]

Hey all, I've wanted to become a doctor for most of my adult life, but I don't think I've ever been in a particularly good position to start planning the process again until now. I've had a run in with cancer and my urology and hem/onc teams were fantastic. I want to give back.

Background: Partied my way out of college round 1. Enlisted in the Navy in the nuclear power field. Earned an appointment to the Naval Academy during my enlistment for college round 2. Earned a degree in chemistry with a biochemistry concentration. Commissioned as an 1810. Numerous medical-ish internships while at USNA (Portsmouth Naval Hospital shadowing, Drug Screening Labs, USNS Comfort hospital ship in South America), but nothing since I've commissioned. Will be low 30's at the time of admission, married with kids. No shortage of strange and unusual life experiences to share on applications and in interviews.

I took the MCAT in 2014 and got a score of a 28. I didn't think that was high enough at the time to have the Navy send me directly to medical school. I'm back to studying and planning on entering the class of 2021 or 2022 after my next ship. While my work is interesting and exciting, it's not very satisfying.

Question: Is anybody on the site currently in med school while also serving concurrently in the reserves in an unrelated field? I'll have a year or two time in the active or inactive reserves, and I wanted to make sure that I wasn't setting myself up for failure if I have to drill for a little while. My current community will not release me into the medical corps and I do not anticipate any deployments as a reservist for the few years. No desire to be involved in military medicine as I want some family stability.

Thanks for all of your input!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[deleted480308]

Get out unless you can go inactive.....you don’t want to risk a deployment or a poorly scheduled drill that wrecks your med school schedule

 

[tibwolf]

I would be granted involuntary mobilization deferment for two years, which would be the extent of my commitment. Inactive is an option, though the somewhat cheap family insurance costs are what I'm really after.

Does anybody know of any success stories?

 

[deleted480308]

I would be granted involuntary mobilization deferment for two years, which would be the extent of my commitment. Inactive is an option, though the somewhat cheap family insurance costs are what I'm really after.

Does anybody know of any success stories?

In writing commitment that you cannot be deployed?

 

[tibwolf]

In writing commitment that you cannot be deployed?

As per Navy.mil and Navy Personnel Command (referencing NAVADMIN 007/07), this is current policy. There are of course horror stories for everything

 

[deleted480308]

As per Navy.mil and Navy Personnel Command (referencing NAVADMIN 007/07), this is current policy. There are of course horror stories for everything

That’s a sweet gig, not the norm on green side. Congrats

 

[tibwolf]

Could certainly be worse. Looks like most schools should be able to accommodate the commitment through at least the first year schedule.

I wonder if some schools would view serving in the reserves while being in school as a red flag. Any idea?

 

[futuredoc331]

Nope. Highly doubt that you would have success with this. Med school is a tough! And it's even harder with a family. Even if your obligations only required one weekend a month that's a whole lot of study time that you're most likely going to need.

Everyone's situation is obviously different and I had a few extra stressors to deal with during the last two years but I can say with certainty that medical school has been one of the hardest things I've done in my life so far. Puts basic training and everything else I experienced in the military to shame.

 

[maddeh87]

Are you AD currently or a reservist? Both the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard have special programs for medical students where you’re nonndeployable, and the Army Guard has a program where you receive about a ~$2k per month stipend in return for a service commitment as a transitional guardsmen. You’d still do the civilian match and be a civilian doc, you’d just do the one weekend a month/two weeks a year thing. I know in the New Jersey Guard, the tuition waiver applies to the state medical schools too, so you can go for free. Look into the GI bill too; I’m not 100% sure but I think that after you finish your service commitment from the academy, you may be eligible if you have a cumulative 3 years of active service, and I think (though I’m not sure) your enlisted time counts towards that. You probably will need to retake the MCAT because it’s old, though medical schools really value veteran applicants so the equivalent of a 28 (505 I think) is not at all a deal breaker. I had a failure, withdrawal, smattering of Cs and a D from my youth, and a 506 and I got two acceptances. Quillen medical school is also very supportive of veterans, so they would be worth applying to. It’s likely too late to apply this cycle (class of 2023) but you should be able to apply for class of 2024. Don’t worry about the age going in. There will be people of all ages going to school, some older than you. You’re gonna be 40 no matter what you do, so wouldn’t you rather be 40 and a doctor than 40 wishing you were a doctor?

 

[tibwolf]

Allen18328, I built a spreadsheet of potential school costs and living expenses, and it looks like ~10k or so in yearly reserve income wouldn't make a significant difference in reducing debt a few years down the line. I guess I'm placing too much emotional weight in debt = bad to see the light beyond the tunnel. I appreciate your insight

@maddeh87, Currently AD. I'm planning on a class of 2021 or 2022 entrance, which gives me about two years to fill my knowledge gaps and retake the MCAT for the application season.

I remember fondly my times shadowing doctors and I truly believe that I'd be more satisfied with my work.

 

[Tali1954]

Hey all, I've wanted to become a doctor for most of my adult life, but I don't think I've ever been in a particularly good position to start planning the process again until now. I've had a run in with cancer and my urology and hem/onc teams were fantastic. I want to give back.

Background: Partied my way out of college round 1. Enlisted in the Navy in the nuclear power field. Earned an appointment to the Naval Academy during my enlistment for college round 2. Earned a degree in chemistry with a biochemistry concentration. Commissioned as an 1810. Numerous medical-ish internships while at USNA (Portsmouth Naval Hospital shadowing, Drug Screening Labs, USNS Comfort hospital ship in South America), but nothing since I've commissioned. Will be low 30's at the time of admission, married with kids. No shortage of strange and unusual life experiences to share on applications and in interviews.

I took the MCAT in 2014 and got a score of a 28. I didn't think that was high enough at the time to have the Navy send me directly to medical school. I'm back to studying and planning on entering the class of 2021 or 2022 after my next ship. While my work is interesting and exciting, it's not very satisfying.

Question: Is anybody on the site currently in med school while also serving concurrently in the reserves in an unrelated field? I'll have a year or two time in the active or inactive reserves, and I wanted to make sure that I wasn't setting myself up for failure if I have to drill for a little while. My current community will not release me into the medical corps and I do not anticipate any deployments as a reservist for the few years. No desire to be involved in military medicine as I want some family stability.

Thanks for all of your input!

Hi! There I’m also (almost on the same boat) I will be applying to medical school this cycle, but I would like to start the national guard before starting medical school. Is this at all possible? Be in the guard and medical school?