National Guard or Reserves while in PA school; need advice

[DaniDoRight]

Hello, first time poster here. Please forgive me if this is in the wrong section or has been answered before; I searched but didn't come up with the answer I needed. Red line is the basic question, but I added more detail in case it was necessary or anyone had helpful advice.

 

Long story short, I'm trying to find out if its possible to be in the National Guard or Army Reserves while attending PA school.

 

I know there is IPAP, and my original goal was to join Active Duty and try for IPAP or go to a civilian school after my contract was up and then try to commission  back in afterwards and serve till retirement. My husband, however, is currently AD and wants to go into police work after he is out, which isnt really a "portable" career. We have two young children as well so it makes sense for me not to join, but I still want to serve.

 

Im still in the very early stages of pursing this career. I still have about a year and a half, maybe even two full years, left in my undergraduate degree. I have HCE but none that would count (animal related) and just turned in an app to volunteer at a hospital. I believe the Guard/Reserve offer three year contracts (?), so I could do that while Im still undergrad and getting experience, then go to PA school, then try to get back in (but I know getting in for prior service is harder). Also you dont get the GI bill unless you sign at least 6 years and, while the funding isnt my main reason for joining, graduating with less debt would be nice. Things are uneasy in the world and I want to be there to help the best way I can (which would be as a PA). 

 

Heres the basics of what I know:

 

1. I want to serve until they tell me I cant (retirement)

2. Active is sadly not an option

3. I want to serve those who need it most and those who deserve it most (military, and civilians in underprivileged areas)

4. I want to start serving as soon as possible even if Im a 68w in the military and  PA in the civilian world

 

Any advice would be appreciated! Sorry that ran longer than I thought it would.

 

[PAMEDIC]

Have you thought about applying to IPAP via the Guard or Reserves? You don't have to be Regular Army.

 

You could enlist as a medic and then apply.

The two reservists I know that are in IPAP both enlisted as LPNs and then applied to the program. One had only been in for 2 years (at least a year of that was the LPN training).

[ryanistryin]

I don't think anyone would recommened to be in PA school while doing the 1 weekend a month and 2 weeks out of the year you'd have to do in the guard or reserves. Plus you could be called up to active duty for a year at any point.  There's just no guarantees with the military (as I'm sure you and your husband both know).  I would say, however, that joining as a PA after prior service wouldn't have as much of an affect as you would think.  If you're a PA-C and the Army needs PA-Cs then they'd would take you.  I was never a recruiter, but I think it would HELP being prior service if anything.  Also keep in mind, guard/reserve can go to IPAP, but you'd have to be in San Antonio for a year for the didactic phase and your clinical phase could be at one of a number of Army hospitals in the states so if your family isn't able to relocate with you then that might be pretty tough.

[DaniDoRight]

Thank you both. I should have thought of the two week training before I posted, definite no, no. Ill look into the option of enlisting short term for now then re-enlisting as a PA. Otherwise Ill put on my big girl pants and wait :D

[MedicinePower]

I talked to an Army NG recruiter about joining as a PA which allows for direct commission. He indicated that the earliest I could sign up would be within 6 months of graduation. That will be in 1.5 years from now so it's on my radar.

[SemperPAratus]

I'm AD USCG, not in a healthcare specialty (rating)...I'm a mechanic. However, I am planning to attend PA school and stay reserve. I too would love to commission as an Officer after I graduate PA school and complete my retirement. So, we're fairly similar regarding our plans.

 

I've talked with 3 schools in TX and all of them seemed as if they were pro-military, and said they would not frown upon a reservist. One said they had a deployed student who just got pushed back into the following year's class.

 

My Wife graduated from TTUHSC and she had 3-4 reservists who drilled and had no issues. PA schools, around here at least, seem to be accommodating. They want you to pass...

 

I would say go for it. As long as you maintain your grades it shouldn't be an issue. I plan to (although my drills and deployments as a Coastie could vary greatly from the other branches).

 

Good luck!

[cc56]

I was a California National Guardsman when I went through PA school.  I had been with the unit for over 4 years and had a deployment with them.  They were super super supportive and made all the efforts they could to accommodate for school.  In California I got a NG only scholarship and was using my Active duty GI bill benefits (post 9-11).  I was able to do it, but my school had some distance learning so I was not bogged down M-F in class.  I think it would be very hard just joining now and trying to do it.  I say you join after personally.  If you had already been in and the unit knew you and you knew they were supportive then I think it is possible. 

[mercedes214]

Hi,

First of all, congrats on deciding to be a PA, it's a great and rewarding career as a majority of PAs will agree and on deciding to be one in the military. Second, I will try and give you some helpful advice on your career path but know that I'm not a healthcare recruiter and my advice is based on my experiences alone. Yours may differ depending on what you decide to do.

 

So to address your basic question: YES, you CAN do PA school while serving in the National Guard/Reserves. 

- IPAP- from my experience and knowledge of IPAP, you can apply for it while on Active duty, (which is what I did, but got put on an alternate list) or you can apply for it as a Guardsman/Reservist or as a civilian. I recommend talking to a healthcare recruiter about this if this is what you want to do. 

- Civilian PA school- As a civilian, you can go this route also, then try to get into the military as a licensed PA, or do it while drilling (as an enlisted member) and then get commissioned and become a PA. 

- Entering the Guard/Reserves while doing undergrad- it can be done but I know a lot of Soldiers who complain about the drill schedule interfering with their school schedule, so it depends on the unit you're in. Some units may be willing to allow you to make up drills or other training days that occur during the week if you have classes or important exams but it's not guaranteed that most units will do this. It all depends on the chain of command. FYI, when you do join the Guard/Reserves, even though the motto is one weekend a month, 2 weeks a year, if the unit is in the window for deployment or JRTC (anyone on AD knows what that is), the optempo can increase along with the amount of days drills are. Therefore, your drills may be more than just a weekend. Again, this depends on your unit. Talk to a recruiter about how long the contracts are.

- Trying to get back into the military as a prior service member- I've heard this too that it's hard to get back in once you leave however I have no experience to validate this so I can't confirm this statement. 

- Finances- Even though this may not be an issue for you, you should look at the financial benefits for each option there is. If you decide to go to PA school as a civilian, look at schools that offer scholarships, grants, etc. There are monetary incentives for being a PA in the military such as loan repayment program and/or special pay bonus for being a healthcare provider, so take that into account when deciding to do PA school as a civilian. If you enter as a Guardsman/Reservist, do your 3/4 years or whatever it is while doing undergrad, and then apply and get accepted into a civilian PA school, if you have the GI Bill by then, you can use that towards paying for PA school. A lot of civilian PA schools are now looking more favorably at veterans who apply for the PA program, especially if they were medics in the military. 

 

I hope this helped a little, I feel like I left a lot out but there are quite a few ways to accomplish what you want, it just depends on which way you take. 

 

A little bit about myself to give my advice some credibility: 

I initially entered the military as an enlisted member, then went Green to Gold (which is basically a scholarship program that allows you to go from enlisted to officer via a ROTC program). When I commissioned, I got a branch of Signal but had a BIO major (I originally was planning on doing med school). I did my obligatory 4 yrs to repay for the Green to Gold scholarship I got. As I was nearing the end of my last year of obligation, I had to decide what I was going to do next, (by then I was a CPT), either stay until retirement or try and pursue medical school. I then heard about the IPAP program and tried to apply and shadow one of the PAs in our unit but being that I was a Signal officer and really had no HCE, I got put as an alternate. So then I decided that I would have a better chance applying for PA school as a civilian as opposed to trying to apply again for the IPAP (FYI, IPAP is super competitive and very hard to get in as I found out later on. Service members from all the armed forces can apply for this school so it kinda shows how competitive it is and how many apply, plus it's the only school the military has.) When I ETSed, I entered the Guard because I wanted to continue serving. I spoke with my Battalion Commander about my wishes and thankfully, he said he would work with me. (Btw, he was a medical service officer so he kinda understood what I planned to do, not all commanders will be this amicable with your wishes.) I applied to a civilian PA school and got in, and did the two + yrs while drilling. Now, whenever I had to do long training weekends or the 2 wks a yr, if I was able to, I did them but if not, I talked with my chain of command about making it up and they allowed me to do that. During the 2nd yr of PA school, my unit came up for deployment and they actually put me in the rear while I finished up the school, so I never deployed with them. Again, this may not happen with other units. I had told myself that if I did deploy with them, I would speak to the school about deferring until I got back but I never had to do that. After I became PA licensed, I worked with an AMEDD recruiter to get my packet in so I can switch branches (from Signal to Medical Specialist) so that I can become a PA in the Guard and luckily , everything worked out although doing all that does take a lot of paperwork and time. 

 

So like I said, you have options. If you have any other questions, don't be afraid to ask.