regarding this school

[dfymarine]

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Hello all,
I am currently an undergraduate student, and I am interested in applying to the military medical school such as the Uniformed Services University School of Medicine. Is it a good school? is there any difference between the regular medical schools and military schools ?

thanks in advance!

D

 

[The White Coat Investor]

Nope. No difference. They're exactly the same. I'm really not sure why they even call it a military medical school.

















Have you read any of the threads on this forum? You might start there. You could even search USUHS.

 

[73BARMYPgsp]

Nope. No difference. They're exactly the same. I'm really not sure why they even call it a military medical school.

















Have you read any of the threads on this forum? You might start there. You could even search USUHS.

Brutal, but funny.

 

[mac61]

Nope. No difference. They're exactly the same. I'm really not sure why they even call it a military medical school.

As much as I agree, I also disagree.

The medical education is likely exactly the same as any other medical education. I would bet the odds of a USUHS intern knowing any medical mitutia is the same as a University of Arizona intern.

However...there are some MINOR differences.

1) Most superficially: we are on active duty while in medical school which comes with the good and the bad.

The good: all that glorified pay and benefits that my family appreciates but a lot of people will tell you (including me) is not strictly financially worth it in the long run for most young single people.

The bad: we are held to more responsibility than any other medical school. We must "sign in" for accountability even if there are no required classes (for instance during the break for Step 1, I drive 45 minutes to school on Mondays and Fridays for no other reason that to put my initials on a piece of paper signifying I am alive). We are also held to the standards of the military: grooming, the UCMJ (military law), etc. a little more visibly. I'm guessing no one at University of X gets yelled at for not having a haircut, or told before every vacation that drinking and driving will end your career.

2) The school says 400 hours of "military medical education". I think this is a little exaggerated, however it is not unnoticeable. Most noticeable are two field excercises (one between MS1-MS2 and one at the beginning of MS4). I would bet that no other medical school makes thier students low crawl under blank fire to start an IV, while living in tents for a week with no showers, etc.

There's also a pretty cool class "Military Applied Physiology" that touches (by no means comprehensively) dive medicine, aerospace medicine, field medicine. As boring as that could sound, it was pretty cool going into an altitude chamber and feeling hypoxia, trying to breathe through a snorkel 4 feet underwater to fully realize the pressure of water on your chest that stops you from breathing, etc. I thought it was worthwhile, and a useful class that most other schools don't encounter.

3) Not only do we wear a uniform everyday, but we don't get credit for our time spent here until after we hit 20 years, and our payback is almost twice as much as HPSP. Look at this how you will. I'm not sure it's right to be on active duty for 4 years without accruing time in service, but I don't mind the 7 year payback becuase this is the ONLY way my family could get through school without a divorce. I guess I take the good with the bad.

So, again, I don't think USUHS is EXACTLY the same as any other medical school. However, as far as strict MEDICAL education, we're probably on par with every other average school in the country. Further, I think if nothing else, USUHS will prepare you to be in the military a LITTLE more than a civilian school, and has the potential to make a less disgruntled military physician than someone who was taken by a recruiter and has no idea what the military is about. (I say a little, and potential because as will be pointed out shortly, I have no idea what practicing medicine in the military is like, and medical students shouldn't talk about anything about medicine in the military on the Student Doctor Network 👎)

I'm happy to call USUHS a military medical school, and I think that it is an accurate description.

 

[Two-Bit]

Well put and a good post. I bet you're a smart guy, maybe not a PhD student, though, and if a nurse pages you at 3am to tell you a patient has a fever of 99.1, you'll tell the nurse, "A fever is 100.4 or greater" and go back to bed (if you're lucky enough to be in bed).

To the uninitiated:
USUHS will be a 'Military Medical School' until they get rid of the 'US' at the beginning.

 

[colbgw02]

Nope. No difference. They're exactly the same. I'm really not sure why they even call it a military medical school.

As much as I agree, I also disagree.

 

[narcusprince]

Just like to chime in. My information comes as a student who has rotated with USUHS students and HPSP students I was a HPSP student. I feel that preclinical years HPSP has USUHS beat.
1) In medical school we focus on the boards from day one. At USUHS boards are a focus but a lot of the military medicine stuff in my opinion would cloudy the mind when preparing for boards. An important question to ask about USUHS is what their average board score is? At my institution which is a top 20 school we are above 230 and with a pass rate of greater than 99%. Also with all the signing in and having to report to class at my school during the preclinical years you didn't have to go to class( you could stay home and study). Winner Civ medical school
2) Clinical years If you have rotated at military hospitals you understand that their is a lack of pt diversity. As a student from a civilian program I would chat with the USUHS students and the pt I had to take care of were far more complex than theirs. So if your great at reading books about weird conditions, USUHS if you would like to see the patients than Civ.
Winner Civ medical school
3) Camaraderie USUHS students seemed closer with each other versus at my school where I rarely made friends in the four years I attended. Also, when I rotated at an unnamed navy hospital their was nothing like receiving the respect from the corpsman and staff. Also, I got to know my attending outside of medicine we played golf, basketball, as well as great teaching during my rotation.
Winner USUHS

 

[Boardrider32]

I
3) The average age a civilian student starting school is 24. The average age of the starting USUHS student is 92. The school feels that this additional "life experience" will make them better physicians, if they live long enough to graduate. Last time I went to a USUHS lecture, it being held in a senior center, and they took a break halfway through for "pudding time". USUHS is the only school in America where they send a sales rep from Depends.

Why if it wasn't for my bad back and my trick knee, I would tan your hide young man!!! How dare you disrespect my future school. By the way, anyone know when Matlock is on? I think I need to lie down.