Would you even consider the Air Guard?

[cmeshy]

Hello all. It's been some time since I've visited this forum (excited and busy enjoying my first year in med school) and must first start off by thanking those voices both positive and critical of MILMED who made me question my direction in undertaking HPSP, which I am satisfied that I turned down at the last moment. While I know I would have made "the best of it," I just could not give up my automony of letting anyone but myself and my actions dictate when, how, what, and where I choose to complete my GME. That was the decider for me.

However, being prior service and becoming friends with some fellow students involved with HPSP, I still am wishing to somehow be involved. I became friends with a current guardsmen in my class and his state (Minnesota) offers near HPSP like benefits. BUT paid back time is as a national guardsman.

I'm not sure if there is anyone here who is familiar with the day-in day-outs of medicine as a guardsman, but any insight would be great as I'm considering it strongly at the moment. I am fully aware of the "payback" and requirments of the package, but what I would like to know is....those who had such an aweful experience or currently getting a raw-deal, would you even consider or recommend the guard for my craving of remaining involved with the service (Air Force preferably).

I do have a few questions now that I think it...i truly am frustrated when a recruiter cannot answer what I would imagine to be a common question and quite valid. Does anyone know
1. during residency, although I do desire to remain midwest, I may end up far from the guard unit. Do they expect me to somehow return to drill with them, or do I just drill with a more locally located unit?
2. when I become boarded in my specialty (ahh so far away) and I again am not residing near the Minnesota guard team, do I switch guard teams to a local unit or do they THEN expect me to make it back to drill with them, after all they were the unit that aided in medical school funding. Does anyone know if that travel would be considered duty and be paid for by the unit or will it be out of my pocket book?
Those are just my greatest concerns at the moment. Please fill me in with any and all information one can think of. This forum was a great help before and I thank you all for any wisdom.
-C

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[resxn]

I can't answer your specific questions regarding obligations to the MN national guard, but I would recommend considering this:

I hope you do not want to be a solo practitioner and be in the National Guard. Given the length of deployments right now and their frequency, your business will not easily survive even one lengthy deployment (what do you do with your staff? your patients? your rent? your other overhead?). Moreover, if you are in a small group, your partners may likewise be upset with the length of time you are absent from the group.

One of my very good friends from residency is an anesthesiologist who is in the National Guard. He has been deployed 3 times in 4 years tallying a staggering 16 months away from his practice. Fortunately, he is a salaried anesthesiologist in a large county level 1 trauma center so he is protected; but in private practice, you, your employees as well as partners will suffer to some degree.

In my separation interview the SSgt asked, "So where's your paperwork for the Guard?"

"I'm not going into the Guard."

"Everyone joins the Guard. I've never seen anyone who doesn't do it."

"I'm a doctor."

"Oh. Yeah. Well, except for the docs."

 

[The White Coat Investor]

p

 

[dry dre]

In some (all?) states there is an Air Guard program for medical students...google Early Commisioning Program medical student. In this program, you basically get to play 2Lt while in med school without obligation thereafter. The idea is that you'll get hooked on the idea and reup down the road.

A fellow prior service med student and I went to an Air Guard base during one of their drills when we were MS2s to interview. We were both prior active Marines and had also both done time in the drilling Marine reserves. We both also had an interest in getting back into uniform... In short, the Air Guard personnel were not people we would find interest in hanging out on one weekend a month with...mostly prototypical weekend warriors. I honestly don't mean to slander the ANG, just wasn't for us. Maybe in your state/unit things could be different.

For what it's worth, the unit was perfectly accomidating. They'd let us put in drill hours whenever we wanted doing pretty much whatever we wanted. The lifer docs in the unit remarked that no docs in the air guard were deployed to Iraq/Afghanistan who didn't want to go (saying that there was (in 2003) enough volunteers). I'm sure that probably changed.

Note that I'm referring to the "Air" guard, not the army guard. You'd probably get deployed just by driving near an army base.