I am active duty enlisted with 13 years TIS. Currently in the process of applying to medical schools with a 3.72 GPA and a 506 MCAT. I have a stay at home wife with a 3 year old and a 1 year old.
Something that weighs heavy on my mind every day is staying in to finish my 20 or getting out. If I stayed in, I would prefer to attend USUHS due to the benefits for my family.
If I got out, I plan on attending a Texas State school and using the Hazelwood Act to pay my tuition and concurrently using the Ch 30 Montgomery GI Bill. I have a good amount in assets that I would liquidate to minimize student loans, and probably come pretty close to not having any.
Reasons for leaving: knowing too many older guys who missed out on their kids growing up, extremely tired of the political environment, moving every several years, the skill atrophy I read about on here, the way my body feels after 13 years in the military, and I would like to help my parents out financially.
Despite all the negatives I do enjoy the people in the military and providing care to our soldiers. Plus the security blanket the military provides and I'll be 6.5 years from retirement.
I would like any input, especially any prior enlisted that were in my position.
Felt like I had to chime in here even though I rarely hit SDN and never post. Sorry if it is long but it’s an appeal and I’m quite a few beers deep. Looks like from your post hx you’re an SF guy. I was in your shoes roughly five years ago. 18E to 18D convert with some time spent working for a few three letter agencies also. Not content with my current situation, as are many nomadic team guys, I told myself I would take the long walk or go to med school. Trained for the walk and after previous injuries, surgeries, and the ancient age of early 30’s, I found myself lacking and went the med route. Busted out college fast through Campbell, took MCAT late and shot out apps but was able to get into a DO school. Probably should have went MD (financially) but that’s another story.
So you decide to displace the kids from school and move your wife and her inordinate amount of crap out of your paid off house across the country to the med school of your choosing.
If you’ve been downrange when things were fun you’ve possibly been shot, blown up, or taken care of both. For me, this put everything into crystal clear perspective. I preface this by stating I am a quiet professional who blends in the best I can without touting ‘merica or details of my previous life. In med school I encountered neurotic classmates with petty concerns, entitlement, and with little understanding of the world of large. I found myself a stranger in a strange land. Of course there are exceptions and I found a couple of “bros” to decompress with. After the academic strains, which aren’t half bad, you’ll hit the floor. Here is where you will learn to truly hate medicine as you take care of an overwhelming population of fat, entitled, glutinous individuals. Sometimes you will take care of some of really wonderful people who will invariably crump and fuc*ing die because that’s just what they seem to do. I’m just guessing you want to go EM, like I wanted, where you will no doubt see more than enough of these booger eaters. You’ll graduate and match into whatever. I didn’t have the patience for half of the EM patients so I went into gas.
You will move on to residency where it is better but still rough. And it goes without saying, but I hope your hubris is minimal because you will still find yourself unnecessarily admonished by some attending without a quarter of the spine to attempt what you’ve accomplished thus far. I still have an upcoming medicine rotation that I would gladly trade for solitary confinement at the state pen. This is the game though and it’s best played quietly with head down.
Most of my musings have been negative thus far but I will say even as an intern I am as dedicated to learning my craft as much as anyone and excited for the CA years. I find joy in immersing myself in the textbook/lectures for what will carry me for the next 30 years and it insulates me from the crazy bull*hit of the real world for now. Also, the money I will make as an attending will theoretically carry me for many decades for materials as the only value I place on anything is found only in family, friends, and outdoors amongst the elements.
In summary there are things you have to ask yourself and I swear I’m going to develop a formal questionnaire for every god*amn SOF type in every ODA/team/regiment that contemplates Med/PA school. Some questions might include: Do you love being downrange? Do you spend more time with the team than your family (and don’t mind it)? Do you like getting paid for things SEALs won’t stop writing about and charge thousands of dollars for civilian simulations for? Are you 40 years beyond your age of what should be expected for cynicism and bitterness with regard to the human race? Will you have issues being jettisoned from what is arguably the top of your field to the absolute bottom level in a new organization? Are you averse to debt or unwilling to work as a family medicine/IM physician (god bless them)? In my assessment, a yes to any of these would preclude you from medicine.
I no longer get paid to work out, hang with bro’s in the teamroom, freefall, shoot, drive, or any other cool things that go along with being on a team. You most likely won’t listen if you’re a team guy because you’ve already decided but if I had a time machine I would smack the **** out of old me and take that burning desire to take it to the next level and put it my pocket. Best case scenario you’re back in the mil debt free as a doc on the sidelines taking care of the cool guys and watching them do what you used to do. Good luck.