Quitting intern year to join military

[Iapyx]

If one were to quit a civilian intern year and join the military what would happen? Would they be allowed to become a combat officer and not work in the medical field. Or would they be forced into a military residency due to their credentials (M.D.)?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[backrow]

If you apply to be a line officer, are accepted, and go to regular officer candidate school (or the equivalent for the Service of your choice) then you'd do whatever job you had been accepted for and your M.D. would simply be something you have.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app

 

[WernickeDO]

If one were to quit a civilian intern year and join the military what would happen? Would they be allowed to become a combat officer and not work in the medical field. Or would they be forced into a military residency due to their credentials (M.D.)?

backrow's reply is likely accurate.

If you are thinking about quitting intern year and this is not a hypothetical, allow me to encourage you not to do that. No intern year means no license, which means no practicing medicine. You may not want to now but your thoughts on the issue may change in the future. Good luck.

 

[pgg]

Three thoughts:


1) Yes, when you quit Job X and join the military, you are in the military and you do what you joined to do. Doesn't matter what Job X was.


2) Quitting mid-intern year is likely to be the act that forever burns all bridges between you and medicine. You really ought to finish the year unless you're absolutely 100% positive you want out of medicine and will never go back. However miserable the year has been so far, you can gut it out and finish.


3) If things aren't working out at your current program and you're failing for whatever reason, do not quit and join the military, thinking that in a little while you'll be able to slide into an internship slot at a military hospital. Military GME programs are not second chances for people who screw up in the civilian world. Our PGY-1 slots are more or less full every year, and to put it bluntly, we don't want civilian rejects and retreads, and we're not so hard up for bodies that we'll take anyone who applies.

 

[fivehourenergy_MD]

I know a line officer who is currently in the reserves but is a physician in the civilian world. He does nothing related to medicine when he drills. You should think about completeling your residency and go this route if you're serious about it... however, don't forget joining the military as a medical officer a lot different than joining as line officer!!!

If you join as a Medical Officer, you'll go through Officer Development School (ODS) which means you're pretty much in as an officer and they are just teaching you the ins and outs of being an officer. You almost can't fail ODS.

On the other hand, Officer Candidate School (OCS) is designed to weed you out if you don't have both the mental and physical capabilities. Their standards are different than ODS. Lastly, they might not even select you to even go to OCS since quitting out of intern year does not look good on your resume and that's assuming you don't have anything else shady in your past. So in the end... you may not even get selected to go to OCS or fail out of OCS and be left with nothing but school debt and no job.

 

[jabreal00]

Yes you can join after quitting your intern year. As a MD, you probably will be be able to join as a medical service officer. Otherwise you'd have to try with some other field (artillery, Military police, etc) and it's not a guarantee that they may pick you up. It's basically a line officer in support of a medial brigade (in the Army). It's not glamorous, especially as a junior officer and more clerical and secretarial in nature. In more times than not, many medical service officers are in some various stage of applying to PA school, medical school or any of the other allied health related fields.

Like said above, if possible try to gut out your intern year. You'd be much more marketable even if you decide not to every practice medicine, unless you are getting kicked out.

 

[armytrainingsir]

It is hard to imagine having a successful military career as a line officer if you can’t knock out your intern year.

 

[DMBandFan86]

Quitting something that is going to last 7-8 more months and joining something that will last 8 years at minimum is probably not wise. By the time you get recruited and get shipped off to OCS your internship would be over anyways.

However you haven't told us your reasons: if it's because you are failing intern year then the military may not take you. If it's because you decided that you don't like the medical field then there is probably a better job for you in the civilian world. If it's because you feel harassed in the medical field then the military will increase the amount of harassment you will get. If it is because of the long work days in the medical field then the military will certainly make your work days even longer. If its because of the low pay during residency then you will take a pay cut joining the military.

 

[Gastrapathy]

It is hard to imagine having a successful military career as a line officer if you can’t knock out your intern year.

If he’s still an intern, that year hasn’t gone well.

 

[pgg]

If he’s still an intern, that year hasn’t gone well.

3 months after he posted this thread, he was making friends elsewhere on SDN asking about signing bonuses for starting an IM residency at some Kaiser hospital. At least at that point, he was still an intern.

 

[HighPriest]

I mean, what's the issue with internship? Too much work? Too much oversight? Competitive colleagues? Long hours? Physically demanding? Have to learn too much in too short a period of time?

Yeah, OCS won't have any of that. You should do it.