Changing Army Reserve contract to HPSP?

Hi guys. I’m new to the forum, but I’ve been religiously listening to Doctor Ryan Gray’s podcasts since I started this premed journey.



I am currently enlisted in the Army Reserve as a health care specialist. If I get accepted to a medical school in the future, can I apply for the HPSP program even when I haven’t finished my 6 year contract with the Army Reserve? I asked few recruiters, and they said I can, but I honestly can’t trust recruiters…



Also, it seems almost impossible to find a psychiatrist who would let me shadow them, but I am incredibly interested in psychiatry. How does one find an opportunity to see what it is like to be a psychiatrist? Thanks guys!

I would talk directly with the Medical Officer recruiters. They would probably have an idea as to what reg to reference. At least for the Air Force, there is a reg that outlines eligibility criteria, paperwork required, etc. It was pretty easy to do once I figured out what all I had to, but finding the reg was miserable. I would imagine that the requirements are similar to an OTS package, but I don’t know how the army does stuff on the paperwork side of the house.



I believe you would end up having to work with a recruiter anyway to prepare your HPSP package to compete at the board. I almost had to do that until the recruiter found out that since I was an active duty officer, I had to work directly through headquarters.

@Kennymac wrote:

I would talk directly with the Medical Officer recruiters. They would probably have an idea as to what reg to reference. At least for the Air Force, there is a reg that outlines eligibility criteria, paperwork required, etc. It was pretty easy to do once I figured out what all I had to, but finding the reg was miserable. I would imagine that the requirements are similar to an OTS package, but I don’t know how the army does stuff on the paperwork side of the house.



I believe you would end up having to work with a recruiter anyway to prepare your HPSP package to compete at the board. I almost had to do that until the recruiter found out that since I was an active duty officer, I had to work directly through headquarters.




Oops. I totally forgot about this post.

That sounds like a long process… Yeah, I think it would be easier to talk to a medical officer recruiter. Thank you for serving our country sir.

The gist of the process (at least for me) was:

  1. Chain of command approval to pursue it
  2. Receive approval from personnel command folks that I would be released from current contract if accepted
  3. HPSP package boarded and selected
  4. Full separation from active duty (was going from active line to reserve medical corps)
  5. Recommission on the day following ETS date



    Sounds like a lot but it was pretty straight forward. Most of the time was just waiting for answers. Good luck.