Prospective HPSP M.D./M.P.H. student

[lilbluesmurf313]

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I have recently been accepted early to a private medical school and am interested in pursuing an M.D./M.P.H. I do not have my heart set on a specialty as of yet, but I am interested in pediatrics, psychiatry, and OB/GYN, and would really love to work in a community health setting, be it an urban hospital or a rural clinic or anything in between. I absolutely DO NOT want to go into private practice. I have been considering applying for the HPSP for the following reasons:

1) I'm on my own in paying for my medical education. I have no trust funds, no bonds, and no other substantial forms of savings. My parents have also already said that as much as they'd love to help, they do not have the means to monetarily support my medical education. And coming out with $300,000 worth of debt ($275,000 for M.D., $25,000 for M.P.H.) is extremely scary.

2) I'm interested in public service! I genuinely want to provide medical care and effective health education to communities who most need quality care. Whether it's working for a non-profit clinic or for the USAF, I feel obligated as a physician to serve families who are traditionally underserved or families who have also dedicated their lives to public service (such as the men and women in our armed forces).

I was wondering if anyone could give me insight as to if applying for a USAF HPSP would be a good choice based on those reasons? I was also interested in any information people could give me as to public health and humanitarian opportunities available within the military (how might I use my M.P.H. as well as my M.D.)? Finally, does anyone know how my service requirement might be different if I was pursuing a joint M.D./M.P.H. (5-year program)? Would the HPSP only cover 4 years of my medical education or would the MPH year be included in the scholarship?

Thanks so much!

 

[BigNavyPedsGuy]

I have recently been accepted early to a private medical school and am interested in pursuing an M.D./M.P.H. I do not have my heart set on a specialty as of yet, but I am interested in pediatrics, psychiatry, and OB/GYN, and would really love to work in a community health setting, be it an urban hospital or a rural clinic or anything in between. I absolutely DO NOT want to go into private practice. I have been considering applying for the HPSP for the following reasons:

1) I'm on my own in paying for my medical education. I have no trust funds, no bonds, and no other substantial forms of savings. My parents have also already said that as much as they'd love to help, they do not have the means to monetarily support my medical education. And coming out with $300,000 worth of debt ($275,000 for M.D., $25,000 for M.P.H.) is extremely scary.

2) I'm interested in public service! I genuinely want to provide medical care and effective health education to communities who most need quality care. Whether it's working for a non-profit clinic or for the USAF, I feel obligated as a physician to serve families who are traditionally underserved or families who have also dedicated their lives to public service (such as the men and women in our armed forces).

I was wondering if anyone could give me insight as to if applying for a USAF HPSP would be a good choice based on those reasons? I was also interested in any information people could give me as to public health and humanitarian opportunities available within the military (how might I use my M.P.H. as well as my M.D.)? Finally, does anyone know how my service requirement might be different if I was pursuing a joint M.D./M.P.H. (5-year program)? Would the HPSP only cover 4 years of my medical education or would the MPH year be included in the scholarship?

Thanks so much!

I admire your desire to serve, but I don't think the HPSP program is right for you. The kind of practice you desire doesn't really exist in the military. It sounds like you'd be better off with a loans and possibly a loan reapyment program for working with underserved populations.

As far as I know, the HPSP program will not provide any funding for joint degree programs (i.e. MPH or PhD).

It just doesn't look like a good fit from where I'm sitting.

My two cents

 

[TheGoose]

As BNPG said, HPSP does not fund joint degree programs and it doesn't really sound like you're interested in the type of experience the military would offer

You may want to look into the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. I don't know the details of their student programs or if they would fund a joint degree but here is the student info page: http://www.usphs.gov/student/

 

[notdeadyet]

Two questions:

1) Whenever I hear of folks specifically interested in the Air Force flavor of HPSP, it gets my antennae wiggling...

I can see the appeal of Army (I want the hardcore military thing! Beat me, hurt me, make me a man!!!)

I can see the appeal of Navy (I want to sail the frothy blue seas and visit exotic lands! Or I just want to be stationed near a coast where they have independent-minded movie theatres and Thai food isn't considered a novelty...)

I just wonder about folks who are focused on the Air Force if they have no prior service, no expressed interest in aviation, and no family affiliations. I worry that it's due to the common misconception that AF is somehow "less military" and is somehow a better option for those not really into the military thing. From previous posters, the Air Force seems to have as much if not more of the bureaucracy and rigid-thinking that turns so many folks off to military med.

2) lilbluesmurf313- Are you from Detroit? Or was lilbluesmurf actually already taken as an SDN handle???

 

[lilbluesmurf313]

To BNPG and TheGoose-- I greatly appreciate your thoughts. I've already been weighting pros and cons of military medicine and HPSP versus service with the National Health Service Corps (NHSC), so maybe I'll do more research as to if work with the NHSC is a better option for me. Also, The Public Health Service Commissioned Corps looks amazing! Thank you, that is exactly what kind of field I am trying to get into. The Student Opportunities, unfortunately, from what I can tell do not offer the kind of financial support I'm looking for. In the meantime should I pursue that, I might have to settle for loans :-/. Does anyone know if I can use the NHSC or the HPSP as a jump-start to get into the Public Health Service Commisioned Corps.?

To notdeadyet-- 1) I do not believe I mentioned I was specifically interested in the Air Force (USAF = US Armed Forces, when I used it), as I am still doing research as to IF I pursue HPSP and military medicine, what branch I'd like to go into. Lately, however, I have been leaning either Air Force or Navy. Regarding the Navy, for the base locations and (from what I've heard) a greater opportunity to serve overseas or in response to natural disasters. As far as Air Force, I have family and close friends both enlisted and serving as officers, so I have a lot of good contacts that have swayed me. I am also interested in serving as a Flight Surgeon because my undergraduate major is in engineering, and I've always had an interest in aerospace. The fact that it's "less military" never occurred to me, although I have heard that Air Force physicians generally travel less than either Army or Navy and thus MAY make it more conducive to physicians with families (which is a concern for me as my fiance and I will want to start a family most likely while/if I am serving). Still, with the Air Force I'm aware that your duty is to the service, which everyone should consider before going into military medicine, period.

2) No to both questions. Sorry!

 

[notdeadyet]

To notdeadyet-- 1) I do not believe I mentioned I was specifically interested in the Air Force (USAF = US Armed Forces, when I used it)

Ah. Gotcha. Keep in mind that when you use USAF around here, people are going to probably be more likely to read it as US Air Force, not US Armed Forces. For the latter, you can just say "military" and it'll probably avoid confusion.