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Old 10-21-2008, 09:23 PM
 
13,975 posts, read 25,820,403 times
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Hello all,
My son has graduated college, and started applying to med schools. His grades and MCAT scores were very good, so he anticipates getting accepted. Now he is weighing the wisdom of joining the Air Force or Navy to pay for the med school. He has a friend who has gone that route, and is very satisfied. My son's goal is to be a trauma surgeon, so the idea of serving 4 years after school doesn't really deter him, he believes it will just expose him to more types of injuries. I should note that he had some serious asthma issues when he was very young, and was turned down by West Point because of it, but is in excellent physical condition now. Can anybody offer any pros and cons on this plan?
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Old 10-21-2008, 09:49 PM
 
Location: Midwest
9,199 posts, read 10,970,609 times
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It's a good deal. As an Army and Army Reserve careerist I can tell you the docs and other medical personnel are not in the same army as the grunts and go-to folks. They have a different mission and there are always shortages.

As a military doc, given our current situation, your son will see all the trauma he will ever need for any big city hospital (or country doc, for that matter) on the planet.

I'm hoping he's going into it with the idea of service in mind.
There are no (financially) poor doctors, but there are poor doctors regarding attitude, listening skills, and generally caring for people vs. caring for one's bank accounts.

Good luck to him, and to you.
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Old 10-22-2008, 08:30 AM
 
Location: San Antonio
3,536 posts, read 12,273,889 times
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With childhood asthma, he'll probably get turned down
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Old 10-22-2008, 09:55 AM
 
13,975 posts, read 25,820,403 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dmarie123 View Post
With childhood asthma, he'll probably get turned down
As I mentioned above, he was turned down when he initially looked into West Point. I'm not sure what would be required of him if he served after med school. Would he still have to go through boot camp? He is a gym rat, and would have no problem physically, except maybe long-distance runs. Thank you for your responses, has anybody had first hand experience with this?
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Old 10-22-2008, 10:07 AM
 
Location: Texas
44,257 posts, read 64,056,257 times
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If he doesn't mind the service after med school/residency, then it's a great way to finance all that and serve your country.

Trauma surgery will definitely come in handy in the armed services.

However, be aware that if your son decides on another specialty, there is always a chance the military will not allow him to do it (if it does not serve their needs). I didn't know this could happen until I saw it.

I worked with a med student (top of the class, AOA-type, very good) who was financing her education via the Air Force. She was told by the AF that she would not be doing her chosen specialty (plastic surgery), but that she could choose between a couple of other ones. Given how competetive this student was and the fact she could have otherwise gotten into plastics easily, financing her education through the military cost her the choice.

If he wants to be a trauma surgeon, I don't see how they wouldn't let him do that. Keep in mind, though, how many people go into med school thinking they want to do one specialty and change their mind by the fourth year. Plus, that would normally be a 5 year surgery residency and then a trauma fellowship to boot...lotta years to owe.

As to the physical aspect, from all my classmates that did the military route, I know the physical requirement standards for the docs/med students are pretty darn low.

I'll be honest; given the choice, I would not opt for the military route if he can pay for it any other way (that doesn't put him hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt). One way is to apply to top schools that are state schools (instead of private). I went to top 15 school, and the tuition was only between $6000 and $8000 a year. And I came out having my choice of residencies.
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Old 10-22-2008, 08:47 PM
 
3,842 posts, read 10,476,147 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mattie View Post
Hello all,
My son has graduated college, and started applying to med schools. His grades and MCAT scores were very good, so he anticipates getting accepted. Now he is weighing the wisdom of joining the Air Force or Navy to pay for the med school. He has a friend who has gone that route, and is very satisfied. My son's goal is to be a trauma surgeon, so the idea of serving 4 years after school doesn't really deter him, he believes it will just expose him to more types of injuries. I should note that he had some serious asthma issues when he was very young, and was turned down by West Point because of it, but is in excellent physical condition now. Can anybody offer any pros and cons on this plan?
He has to be willing to live the military lifestyle.

RIGHT NOW 4 years doesn't sound bad b/c he is thinking of the free medical school....

But it's 4 years after he completes his schooling. That means he will go where they want him to go & whatever life he is living at the time will be put on hold or stopped.

It's is nice but nothing in this world is for free My dh & I were both officers in the Army. Believe me, they government doesn't give away anything for free..the price is just paid in different ways.

It's a great route if he can get in. Right now, all the branches are tightening their reigns based on need & therefore competion is tough for the professional schools.

Hope whatever path he chooses goes well.
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Old 10-24-2008, 03:14 AM
 
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probably biggest waste of time considering you'll get deployed 3-4 times.
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Old 10-24-2008, 05:49 AM
 
Location: Va Beach
3,507 posts, read 13,403,734 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by killer2021 View Post
probably biggest waste of time considering you'll get deployed 3-4 times.
Why? His service would be most appreciated.
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Old 11-05-2012, 03:46 PM
 
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My daughter was just accepted to med school and we have now found out that she will be paying over $246,000 for a 4 year medical education in a state school! This is basically equivalent to owing a home mortgage before you have even received one paycheck, and at an interest rate which is double a home mortgage rate at this time. Of course we are now forced to explore all options for financing this because we can't pay for her, and the question of the military scholarships has come up. Could any of you please give us the downside to all this? She is currently interested in Family Medicine. I am particularly leery of recruiters who cannot be trusted to tell all sides of the story. God forbid that I would push her towards this option and it turn out to be a terrible mistake. She has never in her life ever considered being in the military--Please Help!
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Old 11-05-2012, 04:10 PM
 
Location: Northern Virginia
499 posts, read 2,151,606 times
Reputation: 1021
For the Army, your daughter needs to speak to an AMEDD recruiter--- they deal specifically with Army medicine applicants. She does not need to talk to a regular recruiter.

For the record--I spent 2.5 years in Army recruiting. There is quite a bit of integrity. The Army, nor the Recruiters, have anything to gain by having a system that is dishonest or deceiving.


Army Medicine (AMEDD) | GoArmy.com
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