Question on HPSP, resigning from medical school

[CamG]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I'm currently in medical school, don't want to give too much information but I'm not a first year student.

So the question:

If I resign from the school, what happens?

I went to college on an ROTC scholarship and I want to go into the military. I've always wanted to do that. But it seems I made a bad/rash decision to go to medical school... I wanted to be in the military since I was a kid. But only got thinking about medical school my last year of college- I think I jumped in without really knowing what I was getting into.

I've had classroom time, clinic time, all that... and I'm just not enjoying it. It's not that it's tough and I don't want to study... it's that I see no reward in continuining, no "light at the end of the tunnel". All I see is getting stuck in something I will hate. And that would be horrible for me to not want to do this and treat patients.

So what happens? Do I go the officer training program for the branch I am contracted with? Can I switch branches? (Say from Army to Navy or Navy to Marines?)

I owe the military for ROTC and the few years they've paid for HPSP and fully plan on "paying it back" by serving in some capacity. But how does this affect career options, for example... training, stuff like that? Would I just be placed in some crappy position without a chance to do something like flying or infantry or armor?

Thank you.

 

[DrMetal]

I owe the military for ROTC and the few years they've paid for HPSP and fully plan on "paying it back" by serving in some capacity. But how does this affect career options, for example... training, stuff like that? Would I just be placed in some crappy position without a chance to do something like flying or infantry or armor?

Thank you.

I would think whatever service you're in now (ROTC+HPSP), that's the service you owe the time to. I suppose you could try to inter-service transfer, but that's a difficult process that takes a lot of justification.

Question for you now is, what do you wanna do? What are your other skills and interests?

Each branch is divided (in some fashion) into communities (pilots, submariners, IT nerds, medical corp etc). When you figure out what you wanna do, I'd advice calling the 'detailer' or head of whatever community in your service, and inquire about transferring into that community. They may love to have you and pick you up right away, they may make you jump through some hoops, or flat out reject you, it all depends (in my case, they wouldn't let me fly an F-18 b/c I'm partially color blind, Fuk!)

 

[nd92]

The specifics will obviously depend on the branch of the military that you are in - I will give you my AF biased impression, but this is also dated. If you completed ROTC, then I would imagine that it would be much easier to simply serve on active duty in another AFSC (specialty). If you had only completed COT (officer training for physicians/lawyers/chaplains) then that most likely would not be considered sufficient training to serve as a "line" officer. You are most likely currently commissioned in the Medical Service Corps (or whatever your service calls it) and that may be the default option on the books for service if you do not complete medical school.

If you would like to transfer into the Army, you have a great chance. If you want to transfer out of the Army, you have no shot. A transfer between Navy/Air Force is unlikely but you might be possible.

You say that you are not a first year student and that you have some clinical experience. If you are close to graduation I would stick it out to get the degree. It can provide many future options that would not obligate you to practice medicine.

 

[IgD]

I think you gotta remember that medical school, internship and residency are difficult times for most people and that there is a light of the end of the tunnel. I think you should make sure you are not making any decision under duress. Go talk to someone and make sure you are making the right choice.

As far as your question, the military will want its pound of flesh one way or the other. The question is will you give it as a doctor or as a different type of officer.

I would encourage you to go ahead and finish medical school. You could do something else in the medical industry even if you don't practice medicine clinically.

 

[notdeadyet]

Would I just be placed in some crappy position without a chance to do something like flying or infantry or armor?

I would think that you could pretty much rule out aviation or other highly sought after slots. If you quit HPSP, I doubt the Army would be inclined to put you through another expensive, long training program like aviation.

In the Army, your default go to would be Medical Services. I have no idea whether transferring to a combat arms specialty would work. Hopefully someone else can give some input.

You say that you are not a first year student and that you have some clinical experience.

I think the OP said he has some "clinic time" which makes me think he's probably a second year. If he's a second year and truly hates the idea of being a doctor, I think a career change now is probably for the best. If he's a year away from graduating, toughing it out is the smart choice.

 

[Perrotfish]

I would think that you could pretty much rule out aviation or other highly sought after slots. If you quit HPSP, I doubt the Army would be inclined to put you through another expensive, long training program like aviation.

You're making this sound like more than idle speculation. Do you have any data or experience to back this up? I have no idea what the OP's chances of of a lateral transfer are and I don't think you have any idea either. I'm not sure that the military would want to penalize him for changing careers. We definitely have people in my class who will be serving out some of their obligation from flight contracts in the medical corps.

Anyway, OP, since we're wildly speculating I think changing careers right now might be a wise idea if you know you can't stand medicine. I'd guess that if you graduate with a medical degree the very understaffed medical corps is going to want to utilize you as a doctor and deny any type of lateral transfer. Since you already owe 9 years that means you're almost definitely going to want to complete a residency (because who wants to be a GMO for 9 friggin years) and therefore won't have an opportunity to get out of medicine for at least 12 years post graduation. On the other hand if you quit now you probably go to the Medical Service Corps, which to the best of my knowledge has been meeting recruiting targets and therefore might be more amenable to letting you go.

Keep in mind that the military, which currently has several qualified applicants for every non MC officer slot, has a right to demand repayment in the form of cash rather than service. If they decide that's what they want to do they have the right to demand everything within one month of you droping the program, and if you don't pay in full they can start assessing fines. This came up in the case of someone who discovered they had a serious medical condition, so I doubt that they'd be real sympathetic to someone who just wanted to quit.

My vote is that you stick with medicine unless you're sure that you really loathe it. It's a good job, it pays well, and you get to be proud of what you do. If you're expecting more than that from a career I think your problem is mainly with your expectations. Have you even had all your core clinical rotations yet? Medicine has a lot of options, it might be that you enjoy one of them while hating a lot of the others (most medical students do). Definitely don't drop until you've had at least that much clinical exposure.

 

[notdeadyet]

You're making this sound like more than idle speculation. Do you have any data or experience to back this up?

Good catch, Perrotfish. Was my saying "I would think..." your first clue? I was trying to show speculation.

I'm not sure that the military would want to penalize him for changing careers.

I don't think the military is going to penalize him either. I just don't think that quitting a program is going to kick open doors into programs that have a high washout rate like aviation. I think he'll have better luck with other programs.

We definitely have people in my class who will be serving out some of their obligation from flight contracts in the medical corps.

Apples and oranges. You're describing someone who has successfully completed a rigorous training program like the 1+ years for aviation and try to transfer into a program that is highly needed by the Army yet not competitively sought after by applicants. This = a good deal for the Army.

The OP is describing taking someone who has quit one demanding program and wants to get a slot in another demanding program that has far more applicants than slots. This = not a good deal for the Army.

You may think that the Army is willing to say, "Aw, let's give 'em a second shot" and roll the dice with an aviation slot. I would think they would be less enthusiastic. But your exposure with the Army may have more warm fuzzies than mine.

Regardless, OP, best of luck with your decision. Many folks hate the first two years of medical school, but love years 3/4 and beyond. Make sure that what you hate is actually dealing with the sick and working as a physician, and not the fairly miserable experience of preclinical medical education. And if you quit HPSP, I hope you're able to find a soft place to land. Best of luck.