The Military offers several entry points for physicians and aspiring physicians alike. At whatever stage you join, you will benefit from exclusive training, financial assistance and the unique experiences that come from working with the Military’s exceptional patient population. Discover how the Military can help you achieve your goals.

About The Military Services

The U.S. Military has five Services: Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard. Each Service has an active-duty and Reserve component. Additionally, the Army and Air Force have Guard components that are controlled by state governments, unless they are called to serve during emergencies or support military objectives.

While all the Service branches need physicians, keep in mind that Navy physicians serve the Marine Corps as well as the Navy, and members of the Coast Guard rely on the Public Health Service instead of the Military. There are also some differences in the career paths available for different active-duty Services and different Reserve and Guard components.

Eligibility Requirements »Aspiring military physicians must distinguish themselves mentally and physically and always push themselves to be the best. Find out what it takes to be a military doctor.
Medical School Scholarships »The Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP) offers two-, three- and four-year military scholarships for all students. It covers civilian medical school tuition and includes a monthly stipend and signing bonus.
Military Medical School »Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) looks for aspiring students with a passion for service. They are active-duty service members with their education paid for by the government, plus a salary and military benefits.
Medical Resident Program »For residents, the Financial Assistance Program (FAP) includes an annual grant of $45,000, a monthly stipend of over $2,000, reimbursement for required books, equipment and supplies and payment of any required tuition.
Part-Time Service Options for Students + Residents »Medical students and residents can gain invaluable experience and benefits by serving part time in the Reserve and Guard components of the Military. They can also participate in various stipend programs and trainings.
Licensed Physician Options »Licensed physicians can serve in the Military either full or part time and even receive a signing bonus. The Military provides the requisite tools to practice a specialty and spend time with patients without worrying about the overheads.

Did You Know?

The U.S. Military has five Services, and each Service has an active-duty and a Reserve component.Learn More About the Military Service Branches

Explore Your Options

Select the category that best fits you and see the opportunities the Military has to offer.HIGH SCHOOL/COLLEGE STUDENT

The Military offers several funding programs to cover the costs of medical school in exchange for a service commitment. If you elect to join the Military through one of these programs, not only will you receive funding for education, but you will also gain unique training experiences that will set you apart from your peers.

Medical School Scholarships »The Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP) covers the cost of civilian medical school, provides extra training opportunities and can be used at any accredited medical school in the United States or Puerto Rico.
Military Medical School »America’s Medical School, the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU), offers world-class medical training, along with leadership development and training in global health and medical diplomacy.
Part-Time Service Options for Students »If one of your students is interested in attending a civilian medical school, they may be able to participate in the Medical and Dental Student Stipend Program (MDSSP), which offers over $2,000 per month in exchange for part-time service in either the Reserve or Guard.

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MILITARY MEDICAL DIVISIONS

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So you want to be a United States military doctor. You want to serve your country, travel around the world, and be at the cutting edge of medical technology. This is what it means to be a military doctor, and we’ll help you decide if it’s a good field for you.

Welcome to our next installment in So You Want to Be. In this series, we highlight a specific specialty or discipline within medicine, such as being a military physician, and help you decide if it’s a good fit for you. You can find more specialties on our So You Want to Be tag.

Military medicine is widely misunderstood by us civilians. We’re going to be comparing military medicine to civilian medicine, so it will make the most sense if you are familiar with the civilian medical training process. If you’re not, then take a look at this post to get a brief overview.

The Two Paths to Military Medicine

To become a physician in the military, there are two main paths to choose from: the Health Professions Scholarship Program, or HPSP for short, and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, also known as the USUHS.

HPSP

HPSP is the more common path of the two, whereby you go to any medical school, whether osteopathic or allopathic, and here’s the kicker: your tuition is entirely paid for and you also receive a monthly stipend for living expenses. For the most part, your medical training is pretty similar to that of your civilian counterparts. However, as an HPSP recipient, you will have basic military training, most commonly during your second year of medical school. During your clinical years, meaning third and fourth year, you are usually granted the opportunity to become “active duty” and rotate at military hospitals if you choose.

So what’s the catch? The United States military paid for your medical school education, so it’s only fair to pay it back. Generally speaking, there’s a 1 to 1 payback in service to the military under HPSP. That means if you graduated from medical school after the traditional 4 years, you are required to be a physician serving in the military for at least 4 years after completing your training. While you are of course being paid when you are serving as a physician, note that military compensation rates are usually lower than civilian counterparts.

The main benefit to HPSP is that you have complete flexibility to where you attend medical school. Want to go to UC San Diego and enjoy the awesome weather? No problem. What about staying at Ohio State to be close to family? Also totally fine.

The downside is that unless you’re attending a medical school that has several HPSP recipients, you will be isolated from the rest of the military medical training process. You won’t be exposed to the military match process, the military in general, and you won’t be participating in drills or field exercises.

USUHS

The USUHS is the military’s medical school. Like HPSP, tuition is completely free, but rather than a small stipend for living expenses, you’ll be serving as an active duty 2nd Lieutenant and paid as such, which is around $40,000 per year base pay, with about another $20,000 of non-taxable income for housing.

The most obvious downside is that you won’t have a choice in where you attend medical school – you’ll have to attend USUHS, which is located in Bethesda, Maryland. Additionally, the payback period is longer than HPSP at 7 years on average.

That being said, there are several benefits to this path. You’ll be fully integrated into the military medical training system from the get-go, and that means many more opportunities, unique experiences, and full immersion into the military culture. Of course, you’ll be participating in field exercises, but it gets much more exciting than that. For example, you can gain early exposure and do rotations in humanitarian medicine, disaster medicine, rotate across the U.S. and even internationally.

How is Military Medical Training Different?

The world of military medicine shares many similarities with civilian medicine, but is in some ways a world of its own.

As a military physician, it’s not only necessary for you to be a specialist in your field, but also a competent and flexible generalist while deployed. For example, a general surgeon, while deployed, may be asked to do cases more typically reserved for a neurosurgeon, otolaryngologist, or urologist. Alternatively, a pediatrician may be deployed as a battalion doctor, the military equivalent of a primary care physician.

This is a difficult and stressful aspect of military medicine, but it’s mitigated by a strong support system and excellent training. You’ll always have someone to call to ask for help or clarification. And these cross-specialty responsibilities are only reserved while you’re deployed. Back home, you’ll stick to working within your intended specialty.

Military Match & Specialty Choice

The military match process is an entirely different animal. The regular civilian match occurs in March, but the military match occurs in December. All specialties are still available for residency training, however, the military is working to curtail the number of “non-deployable specialists.” For example, the military will still train pediatricians but may limit additional subspecialty training in fellowship.

Once you graduate medical school and start residency, you are promoted to captain in the Army and Air Force, or to Lieutenant in the Navy.

A majority of graduates match into their intended specialty of choice. For the Army, that number was 85% in 2018. The Air Force’s most recent published number was 85% for 2017. Taking into account specialty and location, in 2016 72% of USUHS graduates got their first choice of specialty and site (across all branches). The Navy is a bit different in that the majority of their graduates will complete an intern year and do a General Medical Officer Tour prior to completing residency.

A General Medical Officer, or GMO for short, is essentially a primary care plus doctor. After completing intern year, GMOs are assigned to different units. Depending on their unit, they will undergo additional training, lasting months to years, to best be in service of their unit. For example, Navy flight doctors will go to flight school where they will learn not only about the physiology involved in flying fighter jets and helicopters, but they themselves will also learn to fly. They’ll work with pilots, go in jets, and experience multiple aspects of the unit. The goal is to make them experts in their respective fields. GMO units have a wide range, from flight medicine to dive medicine, and much more.

As a GMO, you can expect to get significant field experience and even deploy, with tours usually lasting 2 to 3 years. During this time you will be treated and salaried as an attending physician.

GMO’s are colloquially referred to as “surgeons,” such as flight surgeon, dive surgeon, etc. However, they are not surgeons. If you want to be a surgeon and actually do surgery, the military has training programs for the traditional surgical specialties such as general surgery, otolaryngology, orthopedics, urology, etc.

If you don’t become a GMO, you will proceed with residency training in a similar capacity to civilians. The main difference is that you will be required to fulfill certain military requirements such as physical fitness tests, drills, and online training. Some programs offer the opportunity to attend military schools, such as airborne, air assault, or flight medicine.

Those that fail to match will complete a transitional year, and they will reapply during the subsequent match. If they go unmatched again, they will go on to become a GMO. Navy graduates have the highest rate of graduates becoming GMO’s. This has nothing to do with the applicants — it’s just part of Navy medicine to have GMO’s with units. The lowest rate for GMO’s is in the Army with the Air Force in the middle.

Who Should Consider Military Medicine?

Military medicine is certainly not for everyone. Here’s how you can decide if it’s a good fit for you. First, consider the downsides. If any of these are deal-breakers for you, then it’s likely not a good match.

Lower Compensation

The average military physician makes approximately $150,000 to $200,000 per year, depending on your rank, although that is not fully accounting for specialty bonuses. As a civilian, you can make much more, depending on your specialty. As a primary care doctor, you’ll be making a similar amount, but as an orthopedic or neurosurgeon, you’ll be making 2-3x that amount.

Inflexible Practice Location

As a military physician, you don’t have much control over where you’ll be living and practicing medicine. While you can certainly submit preferences, it’s ultimately up to the military to determine where you are most needed.

Additionally, after residency you can be deployed at any time, and that usually means significant time away from your family and loved ones. There are, of course, risks if you are deployed to active war zones.

Limited Fellowship Options

If you’d like to subspecialize with fellowship training, understand that while it is certainly possible, the military limits the number of fellowship trainees every year. Between 2016 and 2018, only about 50% of Army doctors who wanted to do a fellowship were allowed to do so. That said, if you are permitted, military physicians typically go to top flight fellowship programs.

Additional Considerations

Lastly, as they say in the military, you need to “embrace the suck.” If you are in military medicine, you will be deployed, and you will find yourself in conditions that are not comfortable.

Military medicine requires a greater level of flexibility and creativity than civilian medicine. Think of the generalist having to perform specialist surgeries while deployed. Additionally, you will have to work in austere, unique, and changing environments. Military medicine can be practiced in active war zones, areas recovering from conflict, pandemics such as Ebola, humanitarian missions, global training exercises, and areas subject to natural disasters such as hurricanes and tsunamis.

Military medicine allows you to serve your country, see the world, be with America’s finest, get additional training, work with world leaders in the field, push yourself, and do things you never thought would do. It’s not for everybody, but for those who do pursue it, there is nothing quite like it.

If you’re wondering how I know so much about military medicine, it’s because of our awesome team of physicians at Med School Insiders, several of whom are current military physicians. Maybe you need help deciding if military medicine is right for you, or want to ensure you’re as successful as possible given its unique training intricacies. Regardless of your situation, our team at Med School Insiders can help. Feel free to reach out with any questions.

What type of doctor should I cover in the next So You Want to Be post? As always, thank you all so much for keeping up with our blog. Much love to you all.Share on facebookFACEBOOKShare on twitterTWITTERShare on linkedinLINKEDINShare on emailEMAIL KEVIN JUBBAL, M.D.Dr. Kevin Jubbal graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles magna cum laude with a B.S. in Neuroscience and went on to earn his M.D. from the University of California, San Diego as the sole recipient of the top merit scholarship for all 4 years. He matched into Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery residency at Loma Linda University Medical Center. He has authored more than 60 publications, abstracts, and presentations in the field of plastic surgery.Dr. Jubbal is now a physician entrepreneur, and his passion for medical education and patient care led him to found the Blue LINC Healthcare Incubator and Med School Insiders. Through these and other projects, he seeks to empower future generations of physicians, redefine medical education, and improve patient care through interdisciplinary collaboration.All Posts »PrevPREVIOUSI Was Afraid of Med School. Not Anymore.NEXTBest Apps for Med StudentsNext

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what is the best branch to join for the military if i wanna be a doctor

Im a junior in high school and i plan on joining the military after high school military

Answer This7100% of 5 Pros100% of 2 Students

5 answers

Meighan Middleton

Former College Advisor and Admissions Professional/Surface Warfare Officer Newport, Rhode Island38 Answers0 ReferralsUpdated Jan 22 · Translate

Meighan’s Answer

Like the other answers stated, all branches of the military have medical professionals (though the Marine Corps relies on the Navy for medical professionals). I would also like to put the Commissioned Corps of the Public Health Service on your radar. This program is another form of public service for medical professionals without joining a military branch.

A good medical school option for entering any of the military branches or the Commissioned Corps of the Public Health Service is attending the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences (USUHS). USUHS is a medical school specifically for training military and commissioned corps healthcare providers. As a USUHS student your tuition is free, but you owe a time in service obligation to your specific branch.

Meighan recommends the following next steps:Learn more about the Commissioned Corps of the Public Health Service: https://www.usphs.govSaveLearn more about the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences: https://www.usuhs.eduSave!Flag for reviewWas this answer helpful?? I found this answer helpful? No, it doesn’t help much

Ari Wajnberg

11 Answers0 ReferralsUpdated Jan 18 · Translate

Ari’s Answer

ALL the services need doctors, dentists, nurses, medical/dental technicians, etc. As a former Naval officer, I’ve actually had the pleasure of being treated by all of the above in EACH service.

It comes down to how much you wish to be deployed (sent forward on a mission) and/or being stationed in one place. If you are stationed with a combat division in the Army or on a hospital ship in the Navy, you might be deployed more often than an air force doctor stationed at a base in US – just know that the Air Force also has forward deployed medical staff in permanent bases in places like Italy, Japan, Germany, etc., and if there is a conflict, they will deploy just like the other services do.

Great thing about being a military doctor – if you are able to get in the right program in college, they may even help you pay for medical school. Further, there are no shortages of patients, and you certainly don’t have to worry about the costs of running a practice. Finally, if you should decide to leave the service, you will have had excellent professional experiences as you transition. If you retire as a military medical professional, you will also receive benefits

Ari recommends the following next steps:Look into the career sites for the various services. Further, if there are any colleges you are interested in, see if they have ROTC programs. The folks at the ROTC programs will have a LOT of information as wellSaveSpeak with prior military personnel to get their perspectives. Also – especially important, reach out to doctors to see if they have any colleagues who were prior military. If you don’t know any doctors, DON’T SWEAT IT! Literally looking up doctors and asking for advice will work 9 out of 10 times, as most doctors really take mentorship seriouslySave!Flag for reviewWas this answer helpful?? I found this answer helpful? No, it doesn’t help much

John McCarthy

U.S. Military Honolulu, Hawaii92 Answers0 ReferralsUpdated May 21, 2020 · Translate

John’s Answer

Of all of the bases I have been to, I think that the Navy doctors have been the best. Talk to the Navy recruiter or the Air force recruiter.!Flag for reviewWas this answer helpful?? I found this answer helpful? No, it doesn’t help much

Angela Danner

Accountant Northampton, Pennsylvania2 Answers0 ReferralsUpdated Sep 10, 2019 · Translate

Angela’s Answer

All branches need doctors. I personally would say the Navy, but I have bias. I served in the Naval Reserves as an Aviation Structural Mechanic for 8 years. One of my best friends in Boot Camp was a Hospital Corpsman. She enjoyed it. If you want to be in the thick of it, the Marines or Army would be beneficial and a great experience for learning.

Angela recommends the following next steps:Please make sure that you are guaranteed a “rate” related to healthcare when you join. Don’t just join with nothing.Save!Flag for reviewWas this answer helpful?? I found this answer helpful? No, it doesn’t help much

Kevin Cheyne

Senior Safety & Security Analyst Portland, Oregon21 Answers0 ReferralsUpdated Feb 19, 2020 · Translate

Kevin’s Answer

Any service can lead you there. Also, there are the options of the guard units or the reserves.

The bigger branches have more options. Air Force, Army, Navy ( in no particular order).
!Flag for reviewWas this answer helpful?? I found this answer helpful? No, it doesn’t help much

best military branch for medical school

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