USAF MD '05 said:
The difference with USHUS is you get paid AD salary during school, and you owe a 7 year payback time post residency. Also, USHUS grads are required to do a military residency. In my exp., most USHUS grads make it a career, and most HPSP get the hell out ASAP. Gotta fly- too early for all these acronyms.
True! Most USUHS docs stay in the military and retire after 20 years service after graduating USUHS.
Here's the differences between USUHS and HPSP:
Your commitment to USUHS is 7 years Active Duty, but internship and residency do not count toward fulfilling this commitment. So honestly, the earliest you can get out is 8 years (1 year of internship and 7 years of GMO work) if you do NOT do a residency. If you do a military residency, expect to stay in the military for AT LEAST 10 years. However, while a med student at USUHS, you can make up to $40,000 per year (YES, THEY PAY YOU $$$ TO GO TO MED SCHOOL!). At USUHS, you are required to wear a uniform during normal business hours (no stylish clothes in school
😡 ). At USUHS, the majority of the med students are OLDER and served in the military before as enlisted or officers. At USUHS, males tend to outnumber females (on average 70% male, 30% female). At USUHS, there is NO student housing (you find housing on your own). USUHS is located in Bethesda, Maryland (in the greater DC area), a very beautiful metropolitan
😎 , but very expensive area. USUHS has Army, Navy, Air Force, and rarely Public Health Service med students. During the 3rd and 4th year of med school at USUHS, you can rotate at any military hospital and some civilian hospitals (Tripler Army Med Center in HAWAII, San Diego Naval Med Center in Southern CALIFORNIA, etc, etc)
🙂
HPSP's typically have a 4 year Active Duty commitment on their contract. As an HPSP awardee, the military will pay for your attendance at ANY LCME accreditted medical school, be it a private or public med school (from Harvard and Johns Hopkins to the University of North Dakota Med School). The HPSP stipend is around $12,000 per year (well, that's what I got when I was a med student), but it may have increased since my time. HPSP's can enjoy civilian lifestyles, wear comfortable clothes, suits, ties, and dresses for 11 months of the year. HPSP's can spend up to 8 consecutive weeks with their respective service (Army, Navy, Air Force) every fiscal year...that's when you make the REAL $$$ as a HPSP med student
😀
Also, it depends on the breadth of medicine you are looking for. At USUHS, in addition to regular medicine, you'll see a unique study of medicine with interesting fields such as Tropical Medicine, Aviation Medicine, Dive Medicine, and Bioterrorism
👍 However, the disadvantage with military hospitals is their lack of typical diseases (compared to the civilian world). As a NYC CIVILIAN med student, I always had patients with HIV, cirrhosis, psychiatric diseases, and working in trauma I level centers. I had good technical skills and drew blood and IV's for the patient myself (I could not afford to rely on nurses, corpsmen, or techs to do it). I rarely saw these cases in the military hospitals
👎
One more thing...if you join the Navy (USUHS or HPSP), expect to do a GMO, FS, or UMO tour and be prepared to deploy. Some people like that, some people don't.
Again...do the research, Research, RESEARCH...and ask yourself which one best fits you and your goals.
