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