I read the brochure and the website and it sounds like a sweet deal. If I understand correctly you work for them for 4 years after graduation in exchange for them to pay your tuition. What are the cons of this? It sounds too good to be true.
What are the cons from Navy, Airforce and Army medical scholarships?
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Try the search function, but I believe it is not so straight-forward anymore. I know people that have 12+ of repayment - it largely depends on where you do your residency (civilian vs. military) and what you specialize in.
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After reading these forums a bit there seemed to be a general theme from those who have experience. Simply, don't do it just for the money, you will most likely regret it. This is especially true if you go to a state school where tuition is cheaper.
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Military medicine is in a sad state of decline for most specialists. Unless you are certain that you want a primary-care career, don't do it--especially if money is the main reason you are even considering it to begin with. Low patient volumes + financial troubles have caused many hospitals to close or be downsized to little more than outpatient clinics. The military boards are filled with sad anecdotes from doctors who struggle just to prevent their skills from atrophying--like this guy:
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If any Canadians are wondering about our version, the MOTP, read my post here:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=256225&page=6
You can then check the Canadian Forces site, but read my post first, it is more condensed.
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=256225&page=6
You can then check the Canadian Forces site, but read my post first, it is more condensed.
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Do it if you want to serve. Do it if you want to be in the military.
Regardless how appealing the "monetary" components sound, most people loss (sometimes a significant) money compared to civilian counterparts.
Regardless how appealing the "monetary" components sound, most people loss (sometimes a significant) money compared to civilian counterparts.
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It can be a wonderful opportunity if you have a desire to join the military anyway...but if you're just doing it because it seems like a sweet deal/way to not have loans you really have to read the fine print because its a much different commitment than they try to make it seem during recruiting...
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you sell your soul to the military.
Very unlikely chance of getting your fellowship (unless you sell your soul), unlikely chance of getting your specialty (depending on the needs of military medicine), double what they tell you for how many years you owe (4 years = 4 years + 4 years in reserve).
Only do it if you want to go to the military because you might just become a flight physician (or whatever they call it).
BRO TRUST.
Very unlikely chance of getting your fellowship (unless you sell your soul), unlikely chance of getting your specialty (depending on the needs of military medicine), double what they tell you for how many years you owe (4 years = 4 years + 4 years in reserve).
Only do it if you want to go to the military because you might just become a flight physician (or whatever they call it).
BRO TRUST.
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You actually lose money when you factor in the 4+ years of militay service. Sure, you don't have any debt, but you lose out on 4 years of making 170-250k+ because you'll be on the military payscale.
You also can't choose your specialization in most cases.
You also can't choose your specialization in most cases.
Not true. You can NEVER be forced into a specialty you don't want to do. Yes, you can be forced to do a transitional year internship. Yes, you can be forced to be a General Medical Officer (GMO) or Flight Surgeon, which is basically being a general practitioner after an internship year.
Straight-through training can be difficult in the military, but you won't be forced into a specialty you don't want.
From your OP, it doesn't really sound like it may be for you. Still, if you are interested at all, I wouldn't use SDN as your only source. There's some great stuff on this forum for sure, and it helped me. Still, it's a bit skewed.
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Thanks to everyone for the info. I was kind of thinking about it, mostly for the money. I also thought it might be nice to give back to the guys who do so much for us... but it sounds like some specialists don't even get to do that and have low patient volume anyway. I wonder why they are so active about recruiting if all the doctors they have aren't even being used.
When I first heard about the deal it sounded like a win-win situation. I will graduate debt free, have a chance to help people who put their lives on the line, and learn valuable experience from the military. However, I plan to be a surgeon and all the old threads cited in the first response seem to say that your skills are going to erode working in the military.
I do not care much about the loss income for being on military pay scale for 5 years. As long as I am debt free I don't need to make 200k+ to be happy.
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From my understanding of the program, it's not that you can be forced into a specialty, but rather barred from specializing, unless that specialization is needed, until after you complete your military service, which is effectively the same thing, as being removed from the system for 4+ years is a huge obstacle.
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They recruit aggressively because most get out as soon as their active duty commitment is up. It's not for everyone. I was in for a while, got lucky breaks, and had a good experience, and I still got out as soon as I could. Not everyone had the smooth sailing that I experienced. I certainly lost money in the long run, ($3-400k) but I didn't join for the money, I joined to serve.👍
It was very rewarding to care for the nations finest and their families during wartime. I look back on that time with a great deal of pride. Though things seem to be in decline and I've been out for years. The milmed forum is full of good info. Just be warned that most of the pro military cheerleaders are not attending level posters. Their enthusiasm will likely mellow with time in service.
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Though I don't know much about medicine specifically in the military, I can attest that this decision has pros and cons, and like someone else mentioned, you really have to want to serve your country to do it.
Keep a few things in mind that are across the board military wise...
-You really have no control over where you are stationed. Though as time progresses you have more of a say, orders are orders. You may get lucky and get stationed at the Balboa Naval Hospital in San Diego, or somewhere really crappy.
-Deployments. Yes you'll make more in a combat zone and its cool to go places, but seriously, Afghanistan sucks. Depending on where the US goes in the future, you don't know where you'll end up. Also deployments really put a strain on families. Sure you can say its tough to maintain a family through med school, but a deployment doesn't compare.
-Lots of rules and regulations. This is kind of a hit or miss, since some people are fine with them. Depends on the branch sometimes. As an officer you'll have more leeway, but some of them still suck.
-Remember, this is a commitment that once you agree to it, there is no going back without serious consequences. If you find out you don't like the military later on, you're kind of screwed.
there are pros...saving the lives of service members, free med school, stuff is cheap at the exchanges, military discounts, occasionally free drinks.
Keep a few things in mind that are across the board military wise...
-You really have no control over where you are stationed. Though as time progresses you have more of a say, orders are orders. You may get lucky and get stationed at the Balboa Naval Hospital in San Diego, or somewhere really crappy.
-Deployments. Yes you'll make more in a combat zone and its cool to go places, but seriously, Afghanistan sucks. Depending on where the US goes in the future, you don't know where you'll end up. Also deployments really put a strain on families. Sure you can say its tough to maintain a family through med school, but a deployment doesn't compare.
-Lots of rules and regulations. This is kind of a hit or miss, since some people are fine with them. Depends on the branch sometimes. As an officer you'll have more leeway, but some of them still suck.
-Remember, this is a commitment that once you agree to it, there is no going back without serious consequences. If you find out you don't like the military later on, you're kind of screwed.
there are pros...saving the lives of service members, free med school, stuff is cheap at the exchanges, military discounts, occasionally free drinks.
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False. I did a civilian fellowship after completing my obligated military service. I applied to the top programs in my field and was accepted to all of them. Most new grads don't stand a chance competing with a board certified attending physician with years of experience and documented leadership skills. I actually felt sorry for them at the couple of group interviews that I had.
The .mil does some things very well. Leadership development is one of them. Consider how many congressmen, governors, presidents, etc. were former military. Payback time won't stop you from pursuing a fellowship as a civilian.
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Quoting because these (especially the middle one) deserve to be mentioned again.
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Does your subspecialty not have a match? Or was this before the days of the fellowship match?
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They just started a match last year and it only includes about 1/2 the available positions.
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