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

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

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

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

Getting down to brass tacks: Applying to HPSP Pt. 1

     So you've figured out what branch to apply to, you've hopefully got a med school acceptance (or soon will), and you're talking to the recruiter, what next?

     A lot of paperwork.  Or if you are in my situation then a lot of paperwork and then a lot of waiting.  Because my GPA didn't meet the minimum requirement of 3.2 (undergrad GPA - they don't factor graduate school into that) I had to get a GPA waiver.  This involved official copies of all my transcripts and a resume.  It took about two months before the committee reported back that I could move on with my application.  (The minimum MCAT score is a 24 or so says my unofficial research.)

     Once that was finished it was mid January.  I had to submit the forty page application which details everywhere you lived and worked in a certain time span, references, medical questions, and security questions.  Along with this I had to submit a personal/motivational statement (my recruiter helped me out with examples) and five letters of recommendation.  I got three from supervisors and two from peers from my EMS job.

     After submitting that you need to head to MEPS, Military Entrance Processing Station, to get a physical.  It will be your first demonstration of preferential treatment as an officer candidate and alienation from the potential enlisted folk.  Three years prior to this I went to MEPS to try and enlist as a combat medic.  I ended up not going through with it due to there being no spots for female medics and my recruiter attempting to push me towards a MOS, Military Occupation Speciality (or job), I didn't want.  So I had gotten the enlisted experience at MEPS and now I was getting the officer experience.

     When I went I was the only officer candidate.  I didn't have to spend the night previous to the physical in a hotel.  I was trusted and expected to show up in the early morning hours on time and ready.  I stood and waited with my recruiter for the rest of the future soldiers to get there.

     Once in MEPS, I noticed that people were perhaps more considerate and critical of me.  I wasn't a teenager acting like a fool.  I dressed comfortably, but respectfully and spoke in turn.  I listened and obeyed all the rules.  One time it was asked who was the officer candidate in the room when we were filling out some forms.  I attempted to confidently raise my hand.  The only reason for it was to address how I would fill out my paperwork slightly differently.

     So other than that and the physicians treating me well after hearing I would be going to medical school, it was a very similar experience to the one I had as an hopeful enlisted solider.  At the end of the ordeal, I passed my physical, and happily called my recruiter to tell him the news.  On to the next step.

     If you want more info about MEPS, there are some great blogs talking about the process, though I am currently too lazy to find them.

When we next continue: Waiting anxiously, Boards, something called a scroll, and commissioning!



*Word of advice: don't bring anything that can be confused as a weapon, like an oxygen key to MEPS.  The security guards really don't care for it.*

2LT Lister

Thinking of applying to HPSP

     Great!  You've decided to join the ranks as a future military physician and maybe you've even decided which branch to apply to.  Next up?  Contacting a recruiter.
   
     If you're really certain you'll get into medical school before December then I recommend starting the process after you interview.  You don't need a medical school acceptance to talk to a recruiter, but you will need one to get the scholarship.

     I started the process in November after I received my first acceptance.  The first time I went through this process I never got a medical school acceptance, so for the second time around I didn't want to waste a recruiter's time until I was sure.

     My first bit of advice for you all is to do your own research!  Hopefully a recruiter won't lie to you, but they will paint the sunny side of things without stressing the sacrifice.  It's their job to recruit, so listen to them very carefully, but keep an open mind.  Pretty much since I first discovered the HPSP I have researched the program.

     I got most of my information from blogs such as this one, student doc forums, and reading between the lines of contracts.  I learned a lot and will pass on some of my information on to you guys.

     First up, do not apply for the HPSP if you're doing it solely for the money.  The military will pay for your tuition, but it's not free.  You are a member of the military and while your friends will be subspecializing or setting themselves up in a practice, you will be who knows where in the world for four years AFTER residency.  So if you don't think you can abide with the military lifestyle understand that you will be in the military for 11-15 years until your contract is fulfilled.

     Additionally from what I've read the lack of student debt is nice, but since civilian doctors make more money than military ones, it eventually all evens out financially.  Plus if you are planning on having a family anytime in the next ten years think about how that will affect your family/future family.

     I'm not trying to discourage anyone from joining up, but I do want you all to have a point of view that doesn't come from behind a recruiter's desk.  Truth is, I am very happy with my decision.  It was the right one for me.  With thought and research, it could be the right one for you too.    

2LT Lister

   

Why do I want to become an Army Doc?

     "Why do I want to become an Army Doc?" is such a big question, but I'll try and be succinct and keep it simple.

     I have always wanted to be a doctor, well perhaps not always, but since I was around eight years old.  My Grandma sent me a Fisher Price doctor kit and I fell in love.  I diagnosed and treated all sorts of teddy bear maladies and barbie doll injuries.  From that point onward I knew that's all I wanted to do in life.  I'm not sure where my passion for medicine comes from, maybe it's God given, but one thing is for sure: I am supremely grateful for that passion.

     I hate to be a cliche, but since sometimes cliche happens, 9/11 is what made me really consider the military for the first time.  I was a young teenager living close enough to NYC to feel threatened by the events of that morning.   If I was old enough I might have signed myself up right then and there.  But there was one major problem: I wanted to be a doctor.

     Enlisting right off would delay my college plans and frankly I didn't think I was tough enough to be one of the enlisted.  I thought about ROTC in college, but even then that was likely to delay and perhaps even derail my medical school plans.  Of course as a teenager, TV was a big influence and I had been mainlining MASH episodes.  The military had to have doctors!  Hawkeye wouldn't lie to me!  So I began researching military medicine and that's when I found HPSP.

     I was fifteen the first time I found out about the Health Professions Scholarship Program.  It's a too good to be true deal.  If you qualify the military (Army, Air Force, and Navy) pays for your medical school, your textbooks, tests, and gives you a monthly stipend.  In return after you finish all your training you owe the military four years of active duty service (for a 4 yr. scholarship).

     It was the perfect choice for me.  But why Army, you ask?  I had three choices: Army, Air Force, and Navy (the Navy provides medical care for the Marines as well).  I didn't have any immediate family that was in the military.  In fact my parents and siblings did their best to talk me out of the decision to serve.  But the point of no connections was that I was free to evaluate all the services and make a decision independent of outside biases.

     The Navy as a choice was out for me almost immediately.  I read places that after medical school you don't go straight into residency, you serve as a GMO, General Medical Officer, for a number of years first.  I wanted to specialize.  I wanted my residency.

     Then it became a tough choice between the Air Force and the Army.  Air Force seemed like the more comfortable of the two services and having a greater number of women.  As a woman, this was a concern to me.  I even shared a few emails with a AF recruiter before finally deciding on the Army.  Why?  Again it came down to the residency.  I wasn't sure what type of medicine I wished to practice, but I wanted choice.  And the Army has the most amount of specialties for its residents mostly because the Army has the greatest number of doctors.

     So there you have it.  My story to the Why of this.  Now a quick disclaimer: the military isn't right for everyone and there is something truly great about each branch of the Armed Forces.  This is my opinion alone.  I hope through this blog I can help give light to us gluttons for punishment: the future military docs.

2LT Lister  

Welcome to the Show!

    I am one of those fickle souls who could not choose between her love for medicine and her desire to serve her country.  So I decided to do both.  No, I'm not a combat medic, those guys are way cooler than I am.  Currently I am a first year medical student going to medical school under the Army HPSP, or Health Professions Scholarship Program.  I have been a commissioned Second Lieutenant since last year.  There aren't too many resources for HPSP students out there, so this blog is to help them out, as well as give me a forum to rant about medical school.
     I'm more than half way done with my first year, but I thought for a while we would backtrack and start from the beginning.

2LT Lister