Service years

[LGMAlpha]

As I have read, to repay the debt of FAP or HPSP one must complete 4 years of active service and 4 years of reserve service. Is it possible to do 8 years of active service and fulfill both debts?

A second question that I am certain has been addressed but is an easy yes or no question, does a residency add service years?

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[HStudent]

I can't answer your first question, but as for the second:

Q: "Does a residency add service years?"
A: It depends. For four years of HPSP, you will owe four years of active duty time (for a 3 year scholarship, you will owe 3; its a 1:1 ratio). An internship (PGY1) is a neutral year.
Residencies/fellowships count as training; for each training year you will owe a year of commitment time (again, a 1:1 ratio). However, this time can generally be served concurrently with your scholarship commitment. In other words, as long as your scholarship commitment is equal or greater than your residency-length (which will be the case for the vast majority of dental specialists) you will not accrue any more of a service commitment.

A four-year HPSP recipient will owe four years of active duty time, leaving the military after 8 years (4 in dental school + 4 as a dental officer)
A four-year HPSP recipient who directly enters into a 2-year AEGD (Comprehensive dental) program, will still only owe four years active duty, for a total of 10 years in the military (4 in dental school + 2 in AEGD + 4 as a dental officer).

If you did a 1-year AEGD and a four year OMS residency after a three year scholarship, however, your commitment would be 2 years greater than with only the scholarship. Also, note that if you serve part of your commitment prior to residency, the residency might add to your commitment:
A four-year HPSP recipient who after dental school does a three-year GMO tour and then does a two-year residency will owe 2 years post-residency rather than only the one remaining year for his scholarship commitment.

FYI, residency time will count towards retirement, should you choose to stay in the services, but not towards time-in-grade/years-in-service for pay et cetera. Also worth noting, in addition to typically receiving higher-pay during residency than you would in a civilian residency, completing a residency and passing your board exams will increase your pay during your commitment years.

 

[DrReo]

So if one was to accept the 4 yr HPSP scholarship and attend a 2 year endo or OMFS residancy, they would owe 5 years for endo and 4 for OMFS?

Or is it 7 for endo (+1 rule) and 8 for OMFS?

 

[umkcdds]

As I have read, to repay the debt of FAP or HPSP one must complete 4 years of active service and 4 years of reserve service. Is it possible to do 8 years of active service and fulfill both debts?

A second question that I am certain has been addressed but is an easy yes or no question, does a residency add service years?

1st - yes

2nd - it depends on when you get into the residency and how long it is.

 

[DrReo]

Assuming you start residenacy right after dental school...

 

[Focker2Fillings]

Assuming you start residenacy right after dental school...

there are different ways of looking at it or explaining it, but when it's all said and done, every year you do residency or aegd is added to your committment.

so, 4 year HPSP and 2 year endo = 6 years active duty commit

4 years HPSP and 1-year AEGD = 5 years active duty

i think where people get confused is if your time in residency or AEGD counts towards your scholarship payback. The easiest way for me to see it is to say yes it does, but for every year of extra training (aegd or residency) you add a year to your total committment. So a 4 year hpsp and a 4 year OMFS residency totals 8 years of active duty....your 4 years in residency pay back your scholarship and then you serve 4 years after your residency to pay back your OMFS training.

 

[DrReo]

there are different ways of looking at it or explaining it, but when it's all said and done, every year you do residency or aegd is added to your committment.

so, 4 year HPSP and 2 year endo = 6 years active duty commit

4 years HPSP and 1-year AEGD = 5 years active duty

i think where people get confused is if your time in residency or AEGD counts towards your scholarship payback. The easiest way for me to see it is to say yes it does, but for every year of extra training (aegd or residency) you add a year to your total committment. So a 4 year hpsp and a 4 year OMFS residency totals 8 years of active duty....your 4 years in residency pay back your scholarship and then you serve 4 years after your residency to pay back your OMFS training.

Okay, thanks! For some reason I was thinking the residancy adds to your overal payback. Specifically, after the 2 year residancy, you'd owe a total of 6 years (2 from residancy and 4 from HPSP).

 

[umkcdds]

but....

if you were to get into a 2-year residency right out of school, and did a 4-year HPSP in school.....two years of the 4 from HPSP would be paid back while in residency. you would incur two years from doing the residency, which would be paid back concurrently with the two years remaining from the HPSP ADSO once the 2-year residency is completed. so in that case, no, you wouldn't be really ADDING any more ADSO.

if you started a 4-year OS residency, right out of school, and had a 4-year HPSP, then the 4-year ADSO from the HPSP would be paid back during the 4 years spend in OMS. you would then owe 4 more years after the residency that were incurred from OMS. so, in that case, yes, you would be adding more ADSO. in this case, you would also be completing ALL of your 8-year service obligation from the ADSO at the end of 8 years on active duty. you would not have an additional 4 years in IRR.

the only residency that does not count toward an HPSP ADSO is the 1-year AGD.

but.....the only catch to all this is that most people cannot get into a residency (other than the 1- and 2-year AEGD) right out of school.

 

[HStudent]

i think where people get confused is if your time in residency or AEGD counts towards your scholarship payback. The easiest way for me to see it is to say yes it does, but for every year of extra training (aegd or residency) you add a year to your total committment. So a 4 year hpsp and a 4 year OMFS residency totals 8 years of active duty....your 4 years in residency pay back your scholarship and then you serve 4 years after your residency to pay back your OMFS training.

Well, I can't think of any reason why thinking of it that way, if it helps, would be a problem. But technically, thats not what is happening...
The time in residency (or any other sort of training) does not payback the time owed for the scholarship, and does accrue its own commitment. However, the two commitments are different and can be paid back after residency concurrently (rather than having to be paid back consecutively).
Like I said, not sure if it really makes a difference, but thats how the military says it works technically.

 

[umkcdds]

Well, I can't think of any reason why thinking of it that way, if it helps, would be a problem. But technically, thats not what is happening...
The time in residency (or any other sort of training) does not payback the time owed for the scholarship, and does accrue its own commitment. However, the two commitments are different and can be paid back after residency concurrently (rather than having to be paid back consecutively).
Like I said, not sure if it really makes a difference, but thats how the military says it works technically.

the only residency that does not count toward an HPSP ADSO (while in residency) is the 1-year AGD.

 

[eric275]

the only residency that does not count toward an HPSP ADSO (while in residency) is the 1-year AGD.

Don't forget the GPR's as well.

 

[krmower]

As I have read, to repay the debt of FAP or HPSP one must complete 4 years of active service and 4 years of reserve service. Is it possible to do 8 years of active service and fulfill both debts?

A second question that I am certain has been addressed but is an easy yes or no question, does a residency add service years?

Some clarifications:

1) Residency programs are neutral. They do not count as part of your payback for HPSP. This also includes the 1 yr AEGD. They are neutral time. If you do any type of post grad training you will incur additional payback. The payback mentioned in other posts is only if you do it soon after graduating from dental school. It can be concurrent with your payback for your HPSP though. 4 year scholarship + 2 year comprehensive training = 6 years total (because the 2 years in the program were not counting towards your payback - if you do your training during the first 2 years you are in the military). If you were to wait 2 years after graduating and then do Oral Surgery your payback would look like this - 2 years HPSP payback initially + 4 year program + 4 year payback for OS (2 remaining years of HPSP paid back concurrently) = 10 years total.

2) If you come in as a direct accession and do not do the scholarship - your payback will not be concurrent. You will owe 4 years + the payback for the program + the neutral time.

3) Endo and Ortho you will incur a 1:1.5 payback. 2 years of training = 3 years payback.

4) Any active time you put in past 4 years will count towards your 4 years IRR.