Why I chose NOT to Become a Military Doctor!

In this video, Dr. Webb gives his reasons for NOT returning back to the military after serving 8 years in the Air Force as an enlisted medic.

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[justinthompson]

You did more than your share of time already, I think you definitely did it the smart way. I'm taking a similar path, however I only did 4 years as an enlisted Marine, and now I am on track to becoming a neurosurgeon. Love your videos, glad I stumbled across them.

[Mypotatostory]

He only provide the con, but didn’t mention the pro.
Here the pro if you apply for HPSP:
1. They will pay 2300 monthly for 10.5 month and 1.5 month active duty pay
2. Their FAP during residency which you get pay about 85k during residency since other resident get pay only 45k
3. Free textbook, medical, free board exam etc all cover
In my opinion, if you struggles finically during medical school and you got the physical then you should think about joining. It’s not that bad

[rastafarai]

awesome I was a combat medic as well and now i'm in medical school. Proud of you man!

[FloreFleur]

Oh yeah, so true. The military tells you where to practice. You’ll lose a lot of freedom & flexibility when you get these military scholarships. Be forewarned, folks.

[lancewilliams]

This is why you’re so I touch with what you do, the military has some of the best doctors in the world, the professional attitude is very welcoming, the military saved me life, I own so much to the people who helped me, started a nonprofit for homeless veterans to give back, we’re going to help them gain control of their lives back, our program is designed to help them return to a normal life. You’re a product of being well trained, and your professional attitude is so positive

[doctorprice]

Thanks Dr. Webb. Also, great personal story about your time in the military and school. Beautiful. Those are the stairs that makes and shapes greatness.

[kwesiwilliams]

Great video. I think that it's all on personal preference. I don't think that there's any right or wrong route to take. Military physicians don't get paid as much as civilian doctors, but the training and the leadership experience that you get as a military doctor is by far uncomparable. As a military doctor you learn how to be a leader of men. The things that military Physicians see coming out of medical school, most civilian doctors will probably never see (especially if one gets deployed on a humanitarian mission or combat area). The military physicians that I servered with all had offers from high paying civilian jobs, and most of them decided to stay in and retire and possibly still have time to start their own practice once they retire. All this while still receiving their officers retirement and never having to ever pay any medical school loans. I think it's different for you Dr. Webb because you've been there and done that already. However, you can't compare yourself being a Staff NCO to possibly being the Surgeon General. Lastly, if deployments is a major concerned because of family, you can always choose something like the Medical Service Corps or the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. They don't deploy unless they're in extreme need. Most PHS service members I've met working at the once Naval Hospital in Bethesda (Now it's Walter Reed) never deployed outside of the States unless they put in request to deploy. Just my input. Again. Thanks for the videos.

[ClarJMoon]

And also that 300k builds up interest pretty fast, so people will end up paying more to which it takes more time. And every med school has different tuition rates

[FloreFleur]

So happy that I found your YouTube page! God bless you, Dr. Webb❤️

[JohnS]

Thank you for your opinion and explanation of your decision.  Just a little additional insight into some areas that you did not mention.  How much are you paying annually for malpractice insurance?  As an active Army doctor, you do not pay for malpractice.  Also, the typical deployment for a MD/DO is 3 months not a year or 18 months.  That time period is rare even today for traditional Soldiers.  The maximum length of a tour now is 9 months and on occasion maybe a year.  MD/DOs serve a very short deployment to ensure that their skills do not degrade/atrophy.  Also, you can serve as a reservist and apply for loan repayment of up to $250k with very little commitment (year for year).

[angeleyes]

The biggest thing for me when I researched it was the fact that you may not get into your specialized residency or fellowship because of limited slots. They will force you to do general medicine. And if you do residency first outside of the military then payback your time those years as a general doctor will not allow you to practice and keep up with your skills as a specialist.... With the military option you win in the beginning but lose out big in the end not just financially.

[pauld]

This isn't the best comparison. You're completely overlooking residency. During residency military docs are making around $85k while civilian residents are making $45k. $45k isn't enough to pay back your loans and during that time the interest keeps adding up.

[lucasrothenberg]

You may make less in the military, but remember this, saving lives is priceless.

[tesseract]

You have to remember that the military would Pat for your student loans as well as you don’t have to pay medical malpractice

[Ricardo_]

Well the salary seems pretty low but to be hones something that motivates me to joins is the experience and that the education is free, medical school is expensive and even more being a first generation student in your family, I don't know much about military but this video was helpful.

[timothytorrez]

I believe a lot of points are very valid Dr.webb. A couple things to aid is that while the avg debt is around 200k these loans are in sub and will incur interest during school and residency as most residency salaries are not sufficient enough to pay for living/loan costs. Also, the military most fellowships are civilian sponsored and incur 2x years in pay back. In addition, most competitive specialties and some that are normally not ultra competitive are even more competitive in the military. I strongly suggest anyone considering military fully understand what it means to get put in a GMO position before joining as some docs have to wait 8yrs to become residency trained talk about a loss of income potential. Great video hope people really do their research before joining it’s not for everyone.

[Breezym]

I leave for boot camp in January for the navy and I’m going on as a hospital corpsman my goal is to finish my degree and apply for the military medical school in Maryland *fingers crossed*

[mrard]

Wish you would join my Air Force team at Nellis AFB as an Individual Mobilization Augmentee. We started a spine practice here and could’ve used a guy like you on our team!

[ricky]

5:10 you know he’s rich when he says people who make 150k a year don’t make that much

[wisdomok]

I am an operating room specialist in Army.. now going to Dental school.