Hey all
Is anyone out there in med school or knows of someone in med school who is a reservist in the military?? Just wondering if they have had any problems balancing their reserve commitments with the rigors of medical school. I am a pilot in the air force reserves taking my prereqs and was wondering how difficult it would be to go through med school while juggling my reserve requirements??
Thanks!
I don't think he's inquiring about HPSP... that would mean going on active duty at some point as a doctor, rather than staying a pilot.
I'm not a pilot, but I am an IMA (Individual Mobilization Augmentee, which means that I do the same total time as a traditional reservist but get more flexibility in how I schedule my "weekends") in the USAFR and a first year med student.
It is do-able for me this year, chiefly because of the IMA's flexible schedule. I think that a traditional reserve schedule, while possible, would require real energy & discipline to pull off.
You're actually asking three questions rolled into one here:
1)
Is it worth it during the pre-clinical years (almost anything is
possible during these years -- at least if you've ever had to work hard at anything in your life before -- but there's a trade-off to everything.)
2) Is it possible during third year?
3) Is it possible and worth it during fourth year?
1) For me, it is absolutely worth it during the pre-clinical years because
- I wouldn't be getting As anyway. If I otherwise would choose to attempt straight As and go into derm or something, the impact on my grades might be a much higher price to pay. As it is, the chances of my taking away HOURS of time per week from my husband and family and physical & mental health and devoting it to memorizing every last bit of minutia in the syllabus -- well, I think my marriage is more important than AOA. Not to mention, I'd probably get bored and stab myself in the eye with a pencil.
- I hate the uselessness of my newfound student lifestyle. Going to base and actually accomplishing something (I typically go in 1 morning/week instead of 1 weekend/month) is a real psychological motivator. If you really enjoy going to base and flying your plane, you may be a happier and better-rounded person if you keep doing it.
- I don't have to give up the community of other military people (I know, in your case other pilots, the rest of us probably don't count. 😛 ) It's good to talk to people who aren't 22-year-old medical students.
- As previously stated, the IMA role gives me some flexibility. I have no idea what flexibility there is in USAFR pilot jobs.
2) There probably are simply not enough hours in the week to do it third year, unless you work it out ahead of time with your Deans to go on the five-year plan AND you have a reserve job that gives you flexibility of work schedule. And that's before thinking about your crew rest requirements. Whether flying post-call is technically against the rules or not, I'm guessing it would be pretty damn dumb. I asked a residency program directly about residency and she gave me the same answer with respect to residency -- they simply WON'T give you the weekends off to do drill. I plan on posing the question to the Dean before my clinical years, as med students' hours aren't as regulated (or as valuable) as the residents', but I expect to get laughed at when I do. Could you go Cat E for a year without having to re-qual on the other end of it?
3) This probably depends on your specific school's 4th year schedule and your specific duty schedule.
If you decide you can't stay in the cockpit but don't want to leave the guard/reserves completely, the Air National Guard has an "Early Commissioning Program" for medical students that pays a small stipend and requires you to stay ANG for a certain time afterward. Not every unit offers it. Most recruiters haven't heard of it. You'll have to call around to find out. I couldn't do it in my state. For later in your career, the Naval Reserve offers some stipend programs to residents, but I don't really know anything about that (yet).
Feel free to PM if you have more questions.
Hope this helps.
Pemberley
Edit: you could always inquire with the schools you're looking at, whether they have some exemption to let you go drill during one weekend/month or two days/month during third year. As I said, if they actually do I'll be highly surprised. But there's no rational reason they shouldn't, except for tradition and the "when I was a med student we worked 21 hours a day with no food uphill both ways..." argument.
