u/Past-Alternative6004

Non-trad student hoping to apply for med school next cycle, and I still need to take biology. Anyone have any good recommendations of schools where I could take it online? I started on Portage Learning and very quickly realized why most reviews for it were pretty negative, so I'm planning to drop it, but need to have an alternative. TIA!

Current AF AD looking into this. anyone out there that’s gone through it recently or is in it and able to speak to these questions? haven’t been able to find much info online and the recruiter I talked too wasn’t super knowledgeable on this. TIA!

1. are you required to match military for residency? Or are you able to do residency civilian? If so, does that time still count towards AD? Does it increase your ADSC?
2. What rank do you commission at if you are prior service? I am Capt currently, would be meeting Maj boards during med school if still AD.
3. AF here so bear with me. what does medical look like in the Navy? Are you always assigned to a ship or primarily stay hospital/clinic only? How common are deployments/what do those look like? Do you only stay in your speciality or can “needs of the navy” have you taking a non-specialty (that doesn’t need specialized training) job? what is military residency like? What does typical day (hours/responsibilities/etc) look like? How often do Drs PCS?
4. Do you get BAH in addition to E-7 pay? If so, at E-7 rate?
5. are you eligible for continuation pay and medical bonus’s? If yes, is the ADSC able to run concurrent with the HSCP one?
6. If I have a current ADSC am I eligible to do this and just have the ADSC added onto the backend?

Anything else you wish you knew prior to doing HCSP?

Current AD line officer that is interested in career changing to become a MD and thinking about pursuing USUHS / HSPS, but have a couple of questions.

1. I have an ALC (C-3). Would this impact my application at all?
2. I am currently a capt. Would my time at USUHS continue to count as AD? Would I continue to promote as normal (I would be up for Maj while there) pay wise? I know they state they “demote” everyone to an O1, so how would pay work once school is complete and in residency? Would I still be a capt with more time in service, or would I be eligible to meet Maj boards right away?
3. If I pursue HSPS, I know it will be a break in service. When I would enter back in, would I come in at the rank I left?
4. Does ADSC for both programs start during residency, or is that dependent on the residency/program?
5. How much control do you have over choice of specialty v "needs of the AF"?
6. Is it possible to go reserves after, and does that impact payback time?
7. Does the accession bonus for specialties still apply if you the military pays for school? If so, does the ADSC run concurrent or separate from the ADSC associated with the schooling?

Lastly, knowing I have my full GI bill, are there massive benefits to going mil medicine route v completely separating and using GI bill to fund med school? I know it would allow me to continue earning salary, tricare, etc. but has anyone done one way or the other and have some thoughts on it?

I need to beef up my clinical hours part of my application, so looking for some ideas on best ways to get some other than the "typical" scribing, hospice, EMT etc. I have a full time job, so every scribing position is out since they require full time hours near me. I will be working in an EMT role once I quit my current job, but in the time being, I am looking to get some hours so they're not all just stacked all at once from EMT. And I really just don't want to do hospice. If that's what it is so be it, but looking to see if anyone has any unique ideas I haven't thought of that could work around a full time job?

Have heard some confusing information lately and want to clarify.

I am separating from the military soon and I was under the impression that everyone qualifys for VA healthcare, regardless of if you retired or separated. I understand there are different levels based off your disability rating, and that determines the amount you pay out of pocket/benefits you get. But I was recently told that isn't true. That you have to have an over 50% rating to even get it, unless you fall under a certain income threshold. Is that accurate?

Throwaway account bc people will know who I am on my main.

Like the title says, how important are clinical hours on an application for a non-trad?

I am trying my best to get hours, however with my current job (mil) I am unable to get a second job or even to really volunteer to gain clinical hours. I am trying my best in my very limited free time to get hours, but so far its been averaging out to ~4-8hours a month.

I know the point of clinical hours is to demonstrate to admissions that you know what you are getting yourself into and are committed. I will say however, that I have had family members who have dealt with some pretty big medical issues (think brain cancer, hematology issues, autoimmune, etc) and I have been heavily involved in their care. I've also experienced some medical issues myself, that between that and caring for family members, I feel like I have gained experience and am definitely aware (and excited lol) about the career change. And yes, I know there's a lot done on the backend with charting, etc. that patients don't experience, but I would think patient care, even if just family members is valid?

background:

I've worked 6yrs as an engineer (have masters too). sGPA: 3.86, cGPA:3.9; currently working on a diy post-bacc for a couple of pre-reqs I am missing and anticipating a 4.0 in those. Haven't taken MCAT yet, but some practice ones have me looking at the ~515ish range.

Tldr: how important are clinical hours on an application for a non-trad? Can caring for critically ill family members be counted? And if so, would it be bad if the majority of my "clinical" hours were to come from that?

Throwaway account bc people will know who I am on my main.

Like the title says, how important are clinical hours on an application for a non-trad?

I am trying my best to get hours, however with my current job (military) I am unable to get a second job or even to really volunteer to gain clinical hours. I am trying my best in my very limited free time to get hours, but so far it's been averaging out to ~4-8hours a month.

I know the point of clinical hours is to demonstrate to admissions that you know what you are getting yourself into and are committed. I will say however, that I have had family members who have dealt with some pretty big medical issues (think brain cancer, hematology issues, autoimmune, etc) and I have been heavily involved in their care. I've also experienced some big medical issues myself, that between that and caring for family members, I feel like I have gained experience and am definitely aware (and excited lol) about the career change. And yes, I know there's a lot done on the backend with charting, etc. that patients don't experience, but I would think patient care, even if just family members is valid?

Bit of background:

I've worked 6yrs as an engineer (have masters too). sGPA: 3.86, cGPA:3.9; currently working on a diy post-bacc for a couple of pre-reqs I am missing and anticipating a 4.0 in those. Haven't taken MCAT yet, but some practice ones have me looking at the ~515ish range.

Tldr: how important are clinical hours on an application for a non-trad? Can caring for critically ill family members be counted? And if so, would it be bad if the majority of my "clinical" hours were to come from that?