Here is a question for the group and Dr. Ryan Gray.
For those of us who are wanting to make a career as a military physician, how much of this should be reflected in out application and personal essays? There seems to be a big push for either medical research and rural medicine, among other career areas, and it seems that many schools – other than USUHS – might think that this goal does not align with the primary goal/mission of their own. How should I, and others like myself, present ourselves to non-military gatekeepers?
Best regards,
Ryan
I’m a mil to med school guy (AF). Even if you think your skills may not translate directly into medicine, a whole lot of other things you got out of the military do. Leadership, maturity (?), discipline, ability to think outside the box, ability to act/react under stress, self-sacrifice/risk, etc. All of that stuff definitely aligns with medicine. If you were a combat arms guy, I wouldn’t go touting a body count or anything, but you can definitely highlight a lot of what you learned in the military. There are a handful of prior military guys in my class, and you can definitely tell a difference in military dudes vs straight-out-of-college folks. The biggest challenge is how you try to sell those skills on paper. Definitely have someone in the medical field and/or civilians read over your stuff to a) make sure it makes sense/translates to a non-military person and b) comes off as a benefit to the medical community to have you.
I had a decent GPA, average MCAT, no research, and no volunteer work, so I definitely got in based on the merits on what I got out of the military.
@Kennymac wrote:
I’m a mil to med school guy (AF). Even if you think your skills may not translate directly into medicine, a whole lot of other things you got out of the military do. Leadership, maturity (?), discipline, ability to think outside the box, ability to act/react under stress, self-sacrifice/risk, etc. All of that stuff definitely aligns with medicine. If you were a combat arms guy, I wouldn’t go touting a body count or anything, but you can definitely highlight a lot of what you learned in the military. There are a handful of prior military guys in my class, and you can definitely tell a difference in military dudes vs straight-out-of-college folks. The biggest challenge is how you try to sell those skills on paper. Definitely have someone in the medical field and/or civilians read over your stuff to a) make sure it makes sense/translates to a non-military person and b) comes off as a benefit to the medical community to have you.
I had a decent GPA, average MCAT, no research, and no volunteer work, so I definitely got in based on the merits on what I got out of the military.
All of that makes sense and I’m tracking you on your feedback. I was a Medic and now want to go back in as a physician. I’m more concerned about discussing my future career plans because I am not necessarily interested in working in rural medicine, or civilian medicine at all. I want to serve in the military, and the military community. With that said, how should I go about expressing my career desires with adcom’s, professors, advisors, etc? I am concerned about this because I know schools are looking for students who align with their own mission and goals. Thank you for the feedback.
This is just my take, so take it or leave it:
BLUF: Be honest with what you want to do because the “mission statement” of schools is a little looser than what you’re used to it meaning.
ALL schools have a general mission of finding the right people and making them great doctors. That being said, sure, there are some that have a “focus” on what they are looking for. I think regardless of what they advertise, they’re either looking for academics (ie really interested in research type stuff) or those who really just want to help people. Every adcom understands that you may want to be a surgeon, you were born to be a surgeon, you love dissecting whatever in the lab, but that there is still a pretty good chance that you will change your plans sometime during the first 3.5 years of medical school (whether it be due to true interest or a crappy board score). Some schools are looking for people who want to stay in state, but again, you will end up at whatever residency takes you, so the chance of you leaving the state, for at least part of the time post-grad, is pretty high.
The best you can do is be truthful. The military needs doctors, especially doctors who are dedicated to the force and not just looking for a free ride through medical school. That’s respectable, and I think that won’t be “frowned upon.” I was straight forward with my career goals (finish out to retirement, see where life takes me) and still got interviews at both state and private schools. The only “ties to the state” I even attempted was to say I wanted to support SOF, and the state is full of SOF and the school (undergrad portion) had ties with the base. I ended up at a private school at a huge academic center, so there is really no expectation that anyone will stay local after training (and the area is not hurting for docs).
If you’re super worried about it, you should really look at East Tennessee State, they actually try to recruit military folks to their program. While we’re on the subject, also look at schools that offer the Yellow Ribbon Program (regardless of whether you have any GI bill left) since they also “support the troops”. My school does not offer it, but there are like 7 HPSP students (half are prior) in my class of 120 and a couple other former mil folks that cut ties completely. We actually just hosted HPSP recruiters today…
Just out of curiosity, what branch? If you want to talk offline, shoot me a private message.
Hey @kennymac, thank you for your feedback. I would like to speak to you via PM, but this website won’t allow me to send messages. What you have said makes perfect sense, and I hope it works out. I am not a liar and would have a hard time telling a story just to get into a school anyways. Simply put, I am looking for feedback on this concern to either help with confidence in my career goals, challenge these goals, or avoid being surprised with negative responses. I was an Army Medic in multiple units. I served under 1st MED BDE for various missions in support of OEF, and decided, at the advice of some mentors, to return to school in order to meet the requisites for IPAP and become an Army PA. Once in school I started working in a Neuroscience Research lab as an RA, and realized that I wanted to do more. Over time, and through much counsel, I decided that I would be most fulfilled serving as a military physician. Being that I have a background in the Army, among other passions and interests, I would feel at home within that branch and intend on either applying to USUHS as a first choice or apply for HPSP.
Hmm… the PM issue has been going on for new members for awhile now. I’m surprised it hasn’t been fixed yet.
I’ll try sending you a PM to see if you can read it, please reply with whether or not you received it (sending @ 1137 on 11/13).
@kennymac
I did receive the PM, but I cannot reply.
If you would like to talk offline and keep anonymity you can PM me on Reddit @ryanthorsays (www.reddit.com/user/ryanthorsays/), or if you PM me your email, I will send you my contact info.
Thank you for being willing to share your experience with me.
@kennymac I’ve been offline from OPM for a while now (and still can’t send PM’s either) but I wanted to hop on and say thanks for the advice you gave me months back. I’ve since been accepted to a DO program and will hear back from an MD program in a few weeks! Fingers crossed, but either way they’re both my number 1 and 2 choices so I’m happy! I’ve got a 90 day deployment to knock out then I’ll be transitioning off active duty, taking a Guard slot, and matriculating with the class of 2021.
Awesome dude. Congrats! I’m glad the deployment timing worked out for you too. We’ve got a guard guy in my class who says drill weekend = study weekend since they put him in a medical unit and he isn’t credentialed to actually do anything. Double bonus.
Apparently you can click on my name and hit “send email” if you want to get in touch with me one on one.