Here is a website designed to be an introduction to not just HPSP, but military medicine across all the branches. It's not very detailed, but it does go into other choices to serve in the military other than HPSP or USUHS, the military medical school.
http://medicineandthemilitary.com/
Sunday, April 5, 2015
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
A second year's opinion on BOLC
I got my official reservation for BOLC, Basic Officer Leadership Course (medical officer basic training), in the email this week. It's really happening. Maybe I'll start to feel more like a officer in the military after BOLC. As it's coming up in a few months I had a few questions. Luckily for me I had a second year Army HPSP student to talk to about it.
At an event I started talking to one of the second year students about BOLC, or officer basic training. He told me a great many things, such as it's a lot easier than you think. You don't have to worry about failing your physical fitness test. You only do about thirty minutes a day of physical fitness. You get a lot of time to yourself to do whatever you want. You can get hurt if you don't pay attention. The tests and quizzes are a joke for a med student, though some people (usually not med students) still fail sometimes. There's only other medical officers (dentists, doctors, vets, nurses, etc.) at the training and most of them are a bit older than your typical first year med student. And you meet an incredibly diverse set of people.
At an event I started talking to one of the second year students about BOLC, or officer basic training. He told me a great many things, such as it's a lot easier than you think. You don't have to worry about failing your physical fitness test. You only do about thirty minutes a day of physical fitness. You get a lot of time to yourself to do whatever you want. You can get hurt if you don't pay attention. The tests and quizzes are a joke for a med student, though some people (usually not med students) still fail sometimes. There's only other medical officers (dentists, doctors, vets, nurses, etc.) at the training and most of them are a bit older than your typical first year med student. And you meet an incredibly diverse set of people.
A worry of mine about joining the military has been about the homophobia that might be present. I know Don't Ask, Don't Tell is long gone, but certain attitudes might still remain. When this worry was brought up to the second year, he said not to worry. At BOLC, the Army kills you by powerpoints about a lot of different topics including how to be a leader, sexual harassment, and discrimination. The official stance is don't be a douche and don't discriminate. Now I pretty much get along with everyone, though I don't doubt there are some people would like to see the gays out of the military. Even still the second year's words made me feel better about my decision. It's a different country now than it was ten, twenty years ago. I love being able to serve proudly, while still being the best version of myself.
2LT Lister
Friday, March 6, 2015
Thoughts on quality of Army residencies
While a couple of Army HPSP students and I were waiting around for an event we started asking each other questions. Okay, it was mostly my friend and me asking the prior service field artillery officer what he felt about Army docs or the quality of Army doctors.
It seems there is a general idea that Army or military doctors are not as good as civilian doctors. One possible reason is that some medical students may join up and then decide to embrace mediocrity and put in very little effort to becoming the best doctor they can become. They think that school is paid for and a residency is almost assured, so why put in the extra effort.
I will say it is true that if you are wanting to go into a super sub-specialized area of medicine then going down the military route might not be the best decision. There aren't an extraordinary number of specialities available as military residencies. Even so, there is no guarantee that you will be allowed to pursue those residencies/fellowships. The military can get more use out of, for example, a general pediatrician than a pediatric cardiologist with extra training in fetal imaging.
Plus, even in the civilian world, those sub-specialties and fellowships are very competitive. Therefore it is likely the highest achievers will get those spots and are also not as likely to join the military, because it limits options. Also since military doctors get paid less than their civilian counterparts, that's another reason for not attracting the "cream of the crop". (Though when you factor in the military benefits, it does come close to evening out.)
All this being said, the military does attract very intelligent, hard working medical students and doctors. But what about the quality of the residency programs? Do they compare? As a first year medical student I cannot say for sure, but I wanted to point out a few things.
Residency programs, state to state, hospital to hospital differ greatly. I think what hospital you end up at matters more than whether it's military or not. For instance Walter Reed has some amazingly strong residency programs, and to say they're inferior to any civilian program just because it's military is ridiculous.
Finally, I think if you want to be a great doctor you can become one. If you have the drive, even if you end up at a sub-par residency program (civilian or military) you can still guide your own learning. Besides we all have different definitions on what being a great doctor means, so live by your own definition and become that doctor.
And as for residency, I'm sure more thoughts will be forthcoming.
2LT Lister
Friday, February 27, 2015
Getting into shape for BOLC
The bad news: studying all the time and a med school diet mean you are probably not in the best of shape and now you're worried about BOLC this summer.
The good news: if you fail your APFT, Army Physical Fitness Test, don't stress. You don't have to pass it officially until you graduate med school and head to residency. However, it's better to get good habits ingrained now and not have to worry about it three years from now.
Below are some standards I found for the Army PFT.
So if you're not an athlete, or you haven't been one since college, how do you get into shape? For me it was about finding the proper motivation. I decided to sign up for my first half marathon and take pictures of my progress. Also I used some of my bonus money to invest in a basic home gym. Therefore on a cold day I would have no excuse. To get to a place of being able to even train for the half marathon I did this workout for a month. It was easily adjustable and it worked the whole body. Also a good idea is to do a mock APFT at the end of each month to see how much farther you might need to go.
Stay on your workouts, but if you need to study then study. But don't let Netflix take a hold of your free time when you could be on the elliptical watching Netflix.
On that note, I need to stop writing and get my lazy ass on the elliptical. Hooah!
2LT Lister
The good news: if you fail your APFT, Army Physical Fitness Test, don't stress. You don't have to pass it officially until you graduate med school and head to residency. However, it's better to get good habits ingrained now and not have to worry about it three years from now.
Below are some standards I found for the Army PFT.
So if you're not an athlete, or you haven't been one since college, how do you get into shape? For me it was about finding the proper motivation. I decided to sign up for my first half marathon and take pictures of my progress. Also I used some of my bonus money to invest in a basic home gym. Therefore on a cold day I would have no excuse. To get to a place of being able to even train for the half marathon I did this workout for a month. It was easily adjustable and it worked the whole body. Also a good idea is to do a mock APFT at the end of each month to see how much farther you might need to go.
Stay on your workouts, but if you need to study then study. But don't let Netflix take a hold of your free time when you could be on the elliptical watching Netflix.
On that note, I need to stop writing and get my lazy ass on the elliptical. Hooah!
2LT Lister
Monday, February 23, 2015
Someone tell me how to Army!
With the completion of the first semester, my eyes turned to the summer. I knew that at some point in the summer I would be at BOLC, Basic Officer Leadership Course, at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. (Air Force equivalent: COT and Navy equivalent: OBC). BOLC is basic training for medical officers.
From everything I've read it is very different from the Basic Training that enlisted soldiers go through or the training other officer candidates might go through. Because we didn't have to earn our officer title, we were direct commissioned officers (like lawyers, medical professionals, and religious leaders). Therefore we need specific training to our very specific job. As future doctors our job is not to order around infantrymen, it is to lead a medical team, diagnose and treat.
I was excited, but curious. I hadn't heard anything about BOLC yet from anyone official. I wanted to fit in some research or an externship in my free weeks, but I had no idea when BOLC actually was going to be this summer. So after searching the internet with no answers I went to my next best resource: Facebook.
There is a Facebook group called, "Military HPSP Students & Physicians", and I encourage all HPSP students to join it. Any question you might have can be answered in that group. So I asked and soon my question was answer to my great disappointment. The way BOLC fell smack dab in the middle of my summer meant I didn't have enough time for a summer research project or a formal externship, or even to volunteer at our classes' summer service project.
As a HPSP student you go to an abbreviated version of BOLC, a six week and some days long course. There is a component you have to complete online before you get there, but I haven't really looked much into it yet.
I heard about applying to BOLC in early to mid January. The application is simple. My biggest question though was: fly or drive? I had done my research. Everyone told people to drive their own vehicle even if coming from far away, even if it meant not getting reimbursed for your extra travel. Because the Army will pay for gas up to the cost of a plane ticket, because if your fuel is going to be more than that, then you should be flying.
After talking it through with a couple of my fellow Army HPSPers at my school I decided to go ahead and fly. We're pretty far away from Texas, and for us flying was the cheaper choice if perhaps not the smartest one. I don't know yet. BOLC is in three months. I'll let you know then.
One other thing of note is that when it comes to HPSP, no one knows anything. We follow blindly until we heard otherwise. I am fortunate in that we have five Army HPSPers in my class. We help each other out, and we have a Military Medical Interest Group which is a great resource as well.
But mostly, we do what we think we should be doing, making class our first priority. Because ultimately nothing matters if we flunk out of medical school.
So now I am officially caught up to present day. Posts with come up as I find things to write about. Until next time!
2LT Lister
From everything I've read it is very different from the Basic Training that enlisted soldiers go through or the training other officer candidates might go through. Because we didn't have to earn our officer title, we were direct commissioned officers (like lawyers, medical professionals, and religious leaders). Therefore we need specific training to our very specific job. As future doctors our job is not to order around infantrymen, it is to lead a medical team, diagnose and treat.
I was excited, but curious. I hadn't heard anything about BOLC yet from anyone official. I wanted to fit in some research or an externship in my free weeks, but I had no idea when BOLC actually was going to be this summer. So after searching the internet with no answers I went to my next best resource: Facebook.
There is a Facebook group called, "Military HPSP Students & Physicians", and I encourage all HPSP students to join it. Any question you might have can be answered in that group. So I asked and soon my question was answer to my great disappointment. The way BOLC fell smack dab in the middle of my summer meant I didn't have enough time for a summer research project or a formal externship, or even to volunteer at our classes' summer service project.
As a HPSP student you go to an abbreviated version of BOLC, a six week and some days long course. There is a component you have to complete online before you get there, but I haven't really looked much into it yet.
I heard about applying to BOLC in early to mid January. The application is simple. My biggest question though was: fly or drive? I had done my research. Everyone told people to drive their own vehicle even if coming from far away, even if it meant not getting reimbursed for your extra travel. Because the Army will pay for gas up to the cost of a plane ticket, because if your fuel is going to be more than that, then you should be flying.
After talking it through with a couple of my fellow Army HPSPers at my school I decided to go ahead and fly. We're pretty far away from Texas, and for us flying was the cheaper choice if perhaps not the smartest one. I don't know yet. BOLC is in three months. I'll let you know then.
One other thing of note is that when it comes to HPSP, no one knows anything. We follow blindly until we heard otherwise. I am fortunate in that we have five Army HPSPers in my class. We help each other out, and we have a Military Medical Interest Group which is a great resource as well.
But mostly, we do what we think we should be doing, making class our first priority. Because ultimately nothing matters if we flunk out of medical school.
So now I am officially caught up to present day. Posts with come up as I find things to write about. Until next time!
2LT Lister
Sunday, February 22, 2015
The summer before and the start of medical school
Once you're commissioned, there really isn't much for your recruiter to do. He/She will help you set up your AKO email, set up direct deposit, and introduce you to your Medcom site. On the Medcom site you can file for reimbursement, get info, apply for ADT, Active Duty for Training, and a few other things I haven't done yet.
(All of this has to do with Army specific HPSP things. I'm not sure where and how Navy and Air Force differ in their regulatory sites and emails.)
So until school starts, finish school, quit your job, and enjoy your last free summer! I quit my job with a month left until school. I went to California and relaxed and purchased school supplies. Which, a note on finances: you will not get any of your bonus money or school money until after school starts.
The Army pays on the 1st and the 15th of the month or the closest business day before either date. I started classes (which doesn't include the previous week of orientation) around August 3rd and I got my first paycheck on the 15th.
So the first few weeks of med school were rough financially. If you can, save up, and know it could be a while before you get paid. A friend of mine didn't get his first paycheck until a month into school. There was a clerical error, the first of many for us all. Also, if you decided to take the 20,000 dollar bonus (which not sure why you wouldn't, there is no extra obligation in taking it) then expect to get the first installment a month after you start classes.
Not sure if this was the case for everyone, but my bonus was all given to me in a month and a half and was in increments of 2,000, 9,000, and 9,000, of course minus the taxes taken out. I think I ended up with around 14,000 total after taxes.
The military knows medical school is busy. They don't want you to focus on your military career just yet. They want you to pass medical school. So don't expect much communication from anyone, and if you need something or have a question don't expect to get one from any official lines.
As officers in the Inactive Ready Reserve (what you are while attending school) no one pays us much mind. We go to class, study, take tests and mostly you forget you're in the military.
That is, until you try and get something reimbursed. Keep all your receipts and know that the military won't reimburse everything or every textbook. It has to be a required textbook, so if your request is audited be prepared to show the required book list from your syllabus. I tried to get reimbursement for the ipad they forced all the first year med students to get. It was a required material, so I submitted my request. Denied that day. So that sucked, but at least once I got my bonus money I could pay off the buy now/pay later plan I used to get the ipad.
The goal for us for the first semester was simple: Pass. And so we did.
Next up on ADIT, Army Doc In Training: no one knows anything and thoughts of BOLC.
2LT Lister
(All of this has to do with Army specific HPSP things. I'm not sure where and how Navy and Air Force differ in their regulatory sites and emails.)
So until school starts, finish school, quit your job, and enjoy your last free summer! I quit my job with a month left until school. I went to California and relaxed and purchased school supplies. Which, a note on finances: you will not get any of your bonus money or school money until after school starts.
The Army pays on the 1st and the 15th of the month or the closest business day before either date. I started classes (which doesn't include the previous week of orientation) around August 3rd and I got my first paycheck on the 15th.
So the first few weeks of med school were rough financially. If you can, save up, and know it could be a while before you get paid. A friend of mine didn't get his first paycheck until a month into school. There was a clerical error, the first of many for us all. Also, if you decided to take the 20,000 dollar bonus (which not sure why you wouldn't, there is no extra obligation in taking it) then expect to get the first installment a month after you start classes.
Not sure if this was the case for everyone, but my bonus was all given to me in a month and a half and was in increments of 2,000, 9,000, and 9,000, of course minus the taxes taken out. I think I ended up with around 14,000 total after taxes.
The military knows medical school is busy. They don't want you to focus on your military career just yet. They want you to pass medical school. So don't expect much communication from anyone, and if you need something or have a question don't expect to get one from any official lines.
As officers in the Inactive Ready Reserve (what you are while attending school) no one pays us much mind. We go to class, study, take tests and mostly you forget you're in the military.
That is, until you try and get something reimbursed. Keep all your receipts and know that the military won't reimburse everything or every textbook. It has to be a required textbook, so if your request is audited be prepared to show the required book list from your syllabus. I tried to get reimbursement for the ipad they forced all the first year med students to get. It was a required material, so I submitted my request. Denied that day. So that sucked, but at least once I got my bonus money I could pay off the buy now/pay later plan I used to get the ipad.
The goal for us for the first semester was simple: Pass. And so we did.
Next up on ADIT, Army Doc In Training: no one knows anything and thoughts of BOLC.
2LT Lister
Saturday, February 21, 2015
Getting down to brass tacks: Applying to HPSP Pt. 2
So you've got into medical school, you choose your branch, you filled out a lot of paperwork, wrote your motivational statement, got your recommendations, and got your physical. Now we...
Wait. Your recruiter collects all your paperwork and submits it to "the Board" to see whether or not they will grant you a scholarship. I believe they meet once a month to go over the applications. And in the meantime you wait. And wait. And wait. My paperwork was submitted at the beginning of March and I heard word two weeks after the Board meeting: I got it!
Do not take that call while driving. All of my happy dance and exuberant cheering was muted by staying focused on the road. Excellent, I thought now I could be commissioned and start my new chapter. Except. Except I had to wait on "my scroll". I spent so much time researching the scroll and all I could come up with was that it was about the Defense Secretary signing off on the new officers, a formality, but a lengthy one. I read the scroll could take anywhere from two weeks to two months.
I got the scholarship, but I had to wait. So I waited. Luckily for me, it was only two weeks to be approved. This was at the end of March, and at the beginning of April I was getting commissioned. Though the final step was to sign the official formal contract, in triplicate in ten different places. (Which I ended up having to sign twice because I changed the school I was going to from a D.O. school to a M.D. school.) READ THIS THING. It is a legal binding contract and will affect your life for a long time, perhaps the rest of your life.
Again I stress do your research. If you have any questions ask your recruiter or better yet, those who have been there before. Like the misconception of when your serve your four years of active duty. You do your residency first and then once you're done with all your training you serve those four years. That most likely you will do your residency within the military and if you do a civilian residency or a military residency longer than four years you could have to pay back more additional years of active duty service. Or how about the four years after your active duty service where you are in the IRR, Individual Ready Reserve, out of the military, but still deployable.
Great HPSP resource
Anyways, once you sign you can schedule your commissioning ceremony. You can invite any officer of any branch, active or retired, to commission you. With my utter lack of a military background I didn't know any officers, so my recruiter found one for me, who ended up being a friend of a friend, so that worked out well.
I invited a few friends and coworkers, dressed up for the occasion, and then took the oath. I went then from Lister, EMT, to Second Lieutenant Lister, future Army physician. It was a proud moment. My recruiter gifted me with Army swag and a cake with my new title on it. All my research and applying and effort had brought me to this point. I was now a solider. So of course my next question was: now what do I do?
2LT Lister
Wait. Your recruiter collects all your paperwork and submits it to "the Board" to see whether or not they will grant you a scholarship. I believe they meet once a month to go over the applications. And in the meantime you wait. And wait. And wait. My paperwork was submitted at the beginning of March and I heard word two weeks after the Board meeting: I got it!
Do not take that call while driving. All of my happy dance and exuberant cheering was muted by staying focused on the road. Excellent, I thought now I could be commissioned and start my new chapter. Except. Except I had to wait on "my scroll". I spent so much time researching the scroll and all I could come up with was that it was about the Defense Secretary signing off on the new officers, a formality, but a lengthy one. I read the scroll could take anywhere from two weeks to two months.
I got the scholarship, but I had to wait. So I waited. Luckily for me, it was only two weeks to be approved. This was at the end of March, and at the beginning of April I was getting commissioned. Though the final step was to sign the official formal contract, in triplicate in ten different places. (Which I ended up having to sign twice because I changed the school I was going to from a D.O. school to a M.D. school.) READ THIS THING. It is a legal binding contract and will affect your life for a long time, perhaps the rest of your life.
Again I stress do your research. If you have any questions ask your recruiter or better yet, those who have been there before. Like the misconception of when your serve your four years of active duty. You do your residency first and then once you're done with all your training you serve those four years. That most likely you will do your residency within the military and if you do a civilian residency or a military residency longer than four years you could have to pay back more additional years of active duty service. Or how about the four years after your active duty service where you are in the IRR, Individual Ready Reserve, out of the military, but still deployable.
Great HPSP resource
Anyways, once you sign you can schedule your commissioning ceremony. You can invite any officer of any branch, active or retired, to commission you. With my utter lack of a military background I didn't know any officers, so my recruiter found one for me, who ended up being a friend of a friend, so that worked out well.
I invited a few friends and coworkers, dressed up for the occasion, and then took the oath. I went then from Lister, EMT, to Second Lieutenant Lister, future Army physician. It was a proud moment. My recruiter gifted me with Army swag and a cake with my new title on it. All my research and applying and effort had brought me to this point. I was now a solider. So of course my next question was: now what do I do?
2LT Lister
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