please.let.me.in
Full Member
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2023
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Hello Everyone,
I just found this page, and I am frankly a little bit taken aback at what I have seen so far, so I hope that you can give me some clarity before making some pretty big commitments.
I heard about HPSP for medical school like a lot of people do through spam messages after I took the MCAT, and the money definitely caught my eye, so I wanted to learn more. I looked into it, mostly through the resources available on the military websites, but also through conversations with some physicians that went the military route a long time ago, along with a USUHS student I know.
Most of what I heard was very positive from the older physicians. Even though it wasn't all sunshine and roses, they enjoyed their experience in the military and are glad they did it. They mentioned things like working with a great patient population, being part of a nationwide organization and fraternity, having memorable experiences serving at exotic stations like Germany/Japan/Hawaii. They acknowledged drawbacks like knowing that they were not free to make their own choices and that they were moved around frequently (they mentioned that their station preferences were taken into account more often than not). While they had the option to leave after fulfilling their service obligation, these physicians stayed to retirement age because they didn't want to leave.
On this forum, it seems like a lot of this has changed, so I'm hoping for some advice.
Background on me:
Go to medical school on the HPSP scholarship. I want to do genetics-based chronic disease research (cancer/Alzheimer's/etc.). Apply to residencies with preference to military residencies.* Serve my 4-year commitment. Hopefully get stationed somewhere cool for at least part of it.* (By cool, I mean overseas or near a coast. I have had enough of the Midwest for one lifetime.) Finish my commitment. Maybe join a fellowship program in oncology if I feel like I need to at that point (especially if I just did a internal medicine residency). Practice as a civilian. Maybe go into academic medicine and do a 50/50 split clinical/research.
*I know that my goals can change while I am in medical school, but I don't see myself going into surgery (which most people on this board seem to say is the worst specialty to go into the military with).
*It seems more likely that someone in internal medicine could be stationed overseas than someone in heme/onc. How likely would that be for either?
*I have a pretty big question that my recruiter can't seem to answer: where are the Air Force Residencies? I have a map that an Army recruiter emailed to me that showed Air Force residency locations in Sacramento, Ohio, San Antonio, or Bethesda, but the Air Force Website only talks about Sacramento. And, could I do residencies in the Army or Navy on the Air Force HPSP?
Please let me know if I am crazy or if I have glaring misconceptions. My recruiter is next to useless, so I'm not even going to bother asking him to clear up questions I have.
I just found this page, and I am frankly a little bit taken aback at what I have seen so far, so I hope that you can give me some clarity before making some pretty big commitments.
I heard about HPSP for medical school like a lot of people do through spam messages after I took the MCAT, and the money definitely caught my eye, so I wanted to learn more. I looked into it, mostly through the resources available on the military websites, but also through conversations with some physicians that went the military route a long time ago, along with a USUHS student I know.
Most of what I heard was very positive from the older physicians. Even though it wasn't all sunshine and roses, they enjoyed their experience in the military and are glad they did it. They mentioned things like working with a great patient population, being part of a nationwide organization and fraternity, having memorable experiences serving at exotic stations like Germany/Japan/Hawaii. They acknowledged drawbacks like knowing that they were not free to make their own choices and that they were moved around frequently (they mentioned that their station preferences were taken into account more often than not). While they had the option to leave after fulfilling their service obligation, these physicians stayed to retirement age because they didn't want to leave.
On this forum, it seems like a lot of this has changed, so I'm hoping for some advice.
Background on me:
- I have obtained the HPSP scholarship with the Air Force and am starting medical school this fall.
- The schools I am looking at will be very pricey. Both out of state private schools. W/o the scholarship, I will be taking out hundreds of thousands of dollars of loans. W/ the scholarship, I will probably be able to buy a cheap house/condo wherever I go to medical school and rent it out when we leave.
- I am married w/ no kids. My wife doesn't have a company/career she is devoted to. She can probably teach math wherever we go until we have kids and she will probably homeschool them.
- Even though I know that going the civilian route could probably put me in a better financial position 10 years after graduation, I would appreciate the security and less stress of no debt before then.
- I do want to serve for the sake of serving my country. I have wanted to be in the military since I was a little kid, and the Air Force Academy was one of the last two schools I chose between for undergrad.
- I am interested in internal medicine or hematology/oncology.*
- I played football and wrestled in college and look forward to the physical aspect of the military. A pipe dream I have would be to go to Army ranger school over a summer to be ranger-qualified.
Go to medical school on the HPSP scholarship. I want to do genetics-based chronic disease research (cancer/Alzheimer's/etc.). Apply to residencies with preference to military residencies.* Serve my 4-year commitment. Hopefully get stationed somewhere cool for at least part of it.* (By cool, I mean overseas or near a coast. I have had enough of the Midwest for one lifetime.) Finish my commitment. Maybe join a fellowship program in oncology if I feel like I need to at that point (especially if I just did a internal medicine residency). Practice as a civilian. Maybe go into academic medicine and do a 50/50 split clinical/research.
*I know that my goals can change while I am in medical school, but I don't see myself going into surgery (which most people on this board seem to say is the worst specialty to go into the military with).
*It seems more likely that someone in internal medicine could be stationed overseas than someone in heme/onc. How likely would that be for either?
*I have a pretty big question that my recruiter can't seem to answer: where are the Air Force Residencies? I have a map that an Army recruiter emailed to me that showed Air Force residency locations in Sacramento, Ohio, San Antonio, or Bethesda, but the Air Force Website only talks about Sacramento. And, could I do residencies in the Army or Navy on the Air Force HPSP?
Please let me know if I am crazy or if I have glaring misconceptions. My recruiter is next to useless, so I'm not even going to bother asking him to clear up questions I have.