[Closed] Anybody know anything about being an army doctor?

My cousin Jane did this years back. The most important thing is to get some exposure to army life beforehand - she joined the army cadets - as it is quite a culture leap from the world of school especially for a woman. She found she took to it but said some people didn't and ended up either leaving uni, changing degrees or just getting loans for them.
She left the army after about 10 years and is now a GP.

My brother is about 16 years in the army as a doctor. He got a bursary in the second year, paid for uni, was in the OTC at uni and really enjoyed it. He earns as an army officer but works in the NHS. Lots of extra training opportunities, did a tour of Afghanistan back in 2011, now getting supported to get his specialist training in. Currently works in a city hospital in the UK within the NHS system but gets advanced pick on placements to suit his learning. I think he has thought about leaving but remains in currently.

I did OTC (army) at uni as well and its a great opportunity to meet people and gain skills alongside your degree. I wasn't doing medicine so can't comment on the time allowance but it is challenging to keep it going through all of uni but as a bursary student she would be more supported.

As above I don’t think she can apply for a military cadetship until she’s actually at uni doing medicine.

Don’t rule out RN/RAF which have lower potential for sleeping in a hole in the black mountains.

In terms of the jolly life of uni, medical school really doesn’t prevent that.

My son initially looked into joining the armed forces (navy) as a way of avoiding the student fees whilst he trained to become a doctor.
He decided career wise it was better options and opportunities to do it outside the armed forces.

I think it all depends.

I was in the reserves for a long time (though out for a few years now and out of the loop) and got to know a lot of the regulars. Ultimately the opportunities were different, and it seemed easier to do eg. overseas fellowships than it was as an NHS registrar. However, this was anaesthetics/ICM and other specialties may be different; also the DMS will only offer training in specialties that are of use to it, so I’d imagine no paediatrics etc.

Miss Beaker has decided she wants to be a Vet and one option she’s thinking about is being an Army Vet. The bursary/scholarship option worked out something like 2k for going to 6th form, the 2k for the first three years of uni, 5k for the last two. Upon graduation (with allowance given for gap years) she would get 45k (taxed) and then spend two months at Sandhurst rather than 12 months and become a Captain on 40k pa. I think it was a minimum of 6 years commitment. I understand the same applies to medicine. Obviously there is the chance of spending times in hot and sandy or cold and wet places but it’s certainly something to consider if the military appeals.

I thought about doing this but ultimately decided against it and I'm glad I did.

On the plus side, the army will help out hugely with the cost of studying. When I was at uni that meant paying rent for a very nice place to live, plus a salary. They may pay uni fees as well, I'm not sure on that. There are also opportunities to go away for paid "training", which includes ski trips and the like. For the people I knew who did it the time commitment while at uni seemed minimal and the things they had to participate in mostly fun, outdoorsy stuff. It certainly didn't interfere with their studies.

The downsides, as I see them, have mostly been covered. Army life isn't for everyone - she should think about that point very carefully. As mentioned, she'll have to complete officer training.

Once she's qualified and through Sandhurst she'll go to an NHS hospital like any other junior doctor for the first couple of years. After that her choices are quite limited compared to a "normal" doctor. She would only be able to choose from a few specialties (mostly GP, Emergency medicine, anaesthetics/ICU, some surgery), however the army may push her towards one specialty or another. The locations for training are also more limited. Then, the biggest downside, is that the army will essentially own her for, I think, a minimum of 7 years. She could buy her way out earlier but most don't have the means to do that.

It's a big decision. Best of luck!

She would only be able to choose from a few specialties (mostly GP, Emergency medicine, anaesthetics/ICU, some surgery), however the army may push her towards one specialty or another. The locations for training are also more limited.

Also radiology, some medical specialities e.g. ID and a huge amount of occupational med IIRC, so not as limiting as it might be, but equally there are plenty that the MoD don’t train into.

Locations for those in secondary care tend to be surrounding the MoD hospital units (so Birmingham, Middlesbrough, Portsmouth, Plymouth, Peterborough and Frimley) plus a few outliers in Edinburgh.

If you're an outdoorsy type and can deal with the various aspects of army officer life - it's still very much a class divide between officers and soldiers, for instance - then it can be good. My oldest mate, who is a senior officer, loves it, but I can see it definitely wouldn't have been the course for me.

JP

Watched a documentary series about it, quite a few years ago though (Korean War I think). Looked like a riot to me, all illicit drinking and fooling around.

Sounds like a great environment to work in.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-49259115

FWIW I work in a job that brings me in contact with lots of GP’s, I know several who did their training with the army and all speak highly of the experience, one of them stopped practicing medicine for a while and ended up flying helicopters! Med training was pretty much normal med school then committed to 5 years minimum service.
Opportunity to travel and get involved in various sports/ activities, I’d go for it personally!

I've watched mash alot does that help?

1st step for me is to go n see the MOD careers team and get a feel for it.