First, I apologize if this is considered double-posting; if so, feel free to delete this thread.
I posted over in 'Help Me Decide: School X vs Y' but thought maybe I should post here for visibility from more people with relevant backgrounds. I really appreciate any help you can provide; I feel like this is such a big decision because my life could go in very different directions depending on whether I go civilian or military. But in the end, regardless of what I decide, I know I'll think I made the right choice.
I'm deciding between USUHS (Navy) and Jefferson HPSP (or just Jefferson without military obligation, or Jefferson with FAP later down the line). I did see this very similar thread in this forum; OP ended up going with another school.
I've read through the stickied posts, most of which are from the 2000s, but there were a couple posts from 2015 that said military med hadn't change much. So should I assume that people would still express more cons and pros about their military med experiences?
Anyway, my situation (copied from my thread with slight edits):
I'm female, will be 30 this summer. No family, don't really like kids, but could change my mind. I'll be 44 by the end of the USUHS obligation, 41 by the end of Jeff HPSP.
Maybe I should hold off and do FAP if I still have the itch to do military med? I don't want to miss out on becoming part of the culture (by going through USUHS or HPSP); I wonder if FAP people are seen as outsiders, or is this not an issue?
I'm someone who's fine with being part of the military. I've never served or have family who has, but I attended USMC OCS before, so I have an interest in it. And I think my goals (see bottom) align well with such a life. The idea of being able to say "my sailors" or "my Marines" really appeals to me -> that camaraderie aspect. I'm not **100%** sure about the military, but I think that's just because one is never truly sure about anything; I'd say I'm sure enough. I adapt well to circumstances anyway and can find things anywhere to make life more enjoyable. I'm currently interested in EM (a generalist specialty), though that can change. I'm into sports and training, so I'd also like to look into ortho, PMR, or sports med.
So since both of my choices include me spending a stint in the military, the differences between the two are:
USUHS
- 7-year commitment after residency
- paid ~$60K/year during school
- I would have already spent 4 years becoming part of the military culture, so I'd feel more a part of it
- live in DMV (I prefer Philly because it's smaller and better for biking, but I've been to DC a lot and it's fine. Might be useful to be near government organizations)
- can network with instructors, who have connections to all sorts of things in the military
- have to drive to climbing gym (~30 minutes) - this is more inconvenient than in Philly
Jeff
- 4-year commitment after residency
- paid ~$25K/year during school
- live in Philly
- I still think their students were the warmest, most loving group I met among the 12 schools I interviewed at, though I could see myself among USUHS students as well. I'm sure both schools' students are great.
- can bike to climbing gym (~15 minutes)
Career goals:
To have a varied career, including: clinical practice (military and civilian), deploying to combat zones, working with astronauts/people traveling to extreme environments, working at research stations in Antarctica or other cold/remote places or at Everest base camp (aerospace or wilderness med), doing consultant-type work (changing projects every few months, or minutes as in my current specialty interest of EM, seems to fit my personality), working with MSF/International Red Cross/humanitarian missions, working with athletes, or doing something related to technology/innovation/entrepreneurship.
--
One thing that I really want to prioritize and get better at is people/social skills, emotional intelligence, being engaging, and earning strangers' trust, which is so important for doctors. I think I can improve at this no matter which school I go to, as long as I make a concerted effort?
Something I admire about people in the military, and also many doctors I've met, is their self-confidence and self-assurance. I love that and want to be around those kinds of people. Not everyone who is in the military is like that of course (it's such a big organization, you can't generalize everyone like that), but I feel like I can find people like that. Especially Marines, just based on personal experiences; I admire every single one I've met - they have that aura about them, and that stereotype is pretty true.
Related to developing confidence: In addition to learning to practice medicine, my goal through med school/in life is to develop the personal aspect: personality, emotional and social intelligence, social/people skills. Docs have to be able to connect with strangers and gain their trust immediately in order to help their patients. That's not my strength, but I'm sick of not having better people skills, so I'm determined to seek out opportunities to work on this whether I go to Jefferson or USUHS, or any other school.
I posted over in 'Help Me Decide: School X vs Y' but thought maybe I should post here for visibility from more people with relevant backgrounds. I really appreciate any help you can provide; I feel like this is such a big decision because my life could go in very different directions depending on whether I go civilian or military. But in the end, regardless of what I decide, I know I'll think I made the right choice.
I'm deciding between USUHS (Navy) and Jefferson HPSP (or just Jefferson without military obligation, or Jefferson with FAP later down the line). I did see this very similar thread in this forum; OP ended up going with another school.
I've read through the stickied posts, most of which are from the 2000s, but there were a couple posts from 2015 that said military med hadn't change much. So should I assume that people would still express more cons and pros about their military med experiences?
Anyway, my situation (copied from my thread with slight edits):
I'm female, will be 30 this summer. No family, don't really like kids, but could change my mind. I'll be 44 by the end of the USUHS obligation, 41 by the end of Jeff HPSP.
Maybe I should hold off and do FAP if I still have the itch to do military med? I don't want to miss out on becoming part of the culture (by going through USUHS or HPSP); I wonder if FAP people are seen as outsiders, or is this not an issue?
I'm someone who's fine with being part of the military. I've never served or have family who has, but I attended USMC OCS before, so I have an interest in it. And I think my goals (see bottom) align well with such a life. The idea of being able to say "my sailors" or "my Marines" really appeals to me -> that camaraderie aspect. I'm not **100%** sure about the military, but I think that's just because one is never truly sure about anything; I'd say I'm sure enough. I adapt well to circumstances anyway and can find things anywhere to make life more enjoyable. I'm currently interested in EM (a generalist specialty), though that can change. I'm into sports and training, so I'd also like to look into ortho, PMR, or sports med.
So since both of my choices include me spending a stint in the military, the differences between the two are:
USUHS
- 7-year commitment after residency
- paid ~$60K/year during school
- I would have already spent 4 years becoming part of the military culture, so I'd feel more a part of it
- live in DMV (I prefer Philly because it's smaller and better for biking, but I've been to DC a lot and it's fine. Might be useful to be near government organizations)
- can network with instructors, who have connections to all sorts of things in the military
- have to drive to climbing gym (~30 minutes) - this is more inconvenient than in Philly
Jeff
- 4-year commitment after residency
- paid ~$25K/year during school
- live in Philly
- I still think their students were the warmest, most loving group I met among the 12 schools I interviewed at, though I could see myself among USUHS students as well. I'm sure both schools' students are great.
- can bike to climbing gym (~15 minutes)
Career goals:
To have a varied career, including: clinical practice (military and civilian), deploying to combat zones, working with astronauts/people traveling to extreme environments, working at research stations in Antarctica or other cold/remote places or at Everest base camp (aerospace or wilderness med), doing consultant-type work (changing projects every few months, or minutes as in my current specialty interest of EM, seems to fit my personality), working with MSF/International Red Cross/humanitarian missions, working with athletes, or doing something related to technology/innovation/entrepreneurship.
--
One thing that I really want to prioritize and get better at is people/social skills, emotional intelligence, being engaging, and earning strangers' trust, which is so important for doctors. I think I can improve at this no matter which school I go to, as long as I make a concerted effort?
Something I admire about people in the military, and also many doctors I've met, is their self-confidence and self-assurance. I love that and want to be around those kinds of people. Not everyone who is in the military is like that of course (it's such a big organization, you can't generalize everyone like that), but I feel like I can find people like that. Especially Marines, just based on personal experiences; I admire every single one I've met - they have that aura about them, and that stereotype is pretty true.
Related to developing confidence: In addition to learning to practice medicine, my goal through med school/in life is to develop the personal aspect: personality, emotional and social intelligence, social/people skills. Docs have to be able to connect with strangers and gain their trust immediately in order to help their patients. That's not my strength, but I'm sick of not having better people skills, so I'm determined to seek out opportunities to work on this whether I go to Jefferson or USUHS, or any other school.
