teenyfish Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 Hello everyone, I hope that I am posting this in the right place and that you can provide me with some guidance. I am an upcoming senior (graduating with biology BS) who will be taking a gap year, so I will not be applying until Spring 2016. Recently I have spoken to both Army and Navy healthcare recruiters about the options that they have for joining for PAs. The Army does not have any program similar to HPSP or HSCP for PAs, but they do offer a 3 year HPSP for NP students. I have spoken with the nurse corp recruiter and she says that this also applies for direct entry NP program students as well. The Navy also has no slots open for HPSP, but does offer a HSCP for PAs. I have thought heavily in the past about both direct entry nurse practitioner programs and physician assistant school and I am more interested in PA school due to the curriculum and greater clinical hours. After shadowing PAs in various specialties (fm, cardiology, em, ortho) as well as a few MDs, I am fairly certain that I would enjoy primary care the most, which is why I was looking at NP programs in the first place. At the end of the day I do not care what letters are behind my name as long as I am able to practice to the best of my ability and provide great healthcare to my patients. That said, I cannot apply to both programs and will have to choose one. I have a medical condition that I will need to get a waiver for, but both recruiters said that it will most likely not be a problem. The Army recruiter said that almost everything that he has sent up for a waiver has been granted, while the Navy recruiter was a little more hesitant. I have a strong desire to serve and I would love to do so in a capacity that I enjoy and envision as my future career. From both meetings, I get the impression that it would be easier for me to receive an Army HPSP than the Navy HSCP due to my need for a waiver. I feel that I am competitive for both (3.6 cgpa/sgpa, 2500hrs hce, research experience, etc). Sorry for such a long post, basically my question is this, with your experiences, which direction do you recommend? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cop to pa Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 Pick what you want to do, then get a commission in the branch you want after graduation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
futurePA87 Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 Can you not do the IPAP with the army? Interservice PA Program. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cop to pa Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 IPAP is for folks already in the military. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teenyfish Posted June 9, 2015 Author Share Posted June 9, 2015 Can you not do the IPAP with the army? Interservice PA Program. I had considered IPAP, but I would not be competitive unless I was active for quite some time, and I would like to go to school sooner rather than later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverick87 Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 This is strange. I actually heard about the HPSP from army recruiters that came to my school a few years ago. Guess they eliminated the program since then. I just checked the website. According to this, the HPSP is only available to psychiatric NPs. http://www.goarmy.com/amedd/education/hpsp.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glorious_Ignoramus Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 Do you have a desire to get involved in nursing? Even with direct admit NP programs, you still need to accumulate hours as an RN before you can complete your NP curriculum. This was the definitive decision maker for me when exploring this option - I have no desire to enter into nursing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teenyfish Posted July 9, 2015 Author Share Posted July 9, 2015 This is strange. I actually heard about the HPSP from army recruiters that came to my school a few years ago. Guess they eliminated the program since then. I just checked the website. According to this, the HPSP is only available to psychiatric NPs. http://www.goarmy.com/amedd/education/hpsp.html Ah, thanks for the information. I did not talk to a specific nursing recruiter when I went, so apparently I missed out on some information. The recruiter I spoke to said that they no longer offer a scholarship for physician assistants because they are getting a lot out of IPAP. I thought this was a little odd because I was under the impression that members of all branches can complete IPAP. Do you have a desire to get involved in nursing? Even with direct admit NP programs, you still need to accumulate hours as an RN before you can complete your NP curriculum. This was the definitive decision maker for me when exploring this option - I have no desire to enter into nursing. To be honest, no, I do not have a real desire for nursing. I've looked into accelerated BSNs to keep down my student loan debt, as well as NP programs but at the end of the day I don't really see myself as a nurse, and I do not really care for the curriculum of the NP programs I was considering. As of right now, I've decided to go with PA school and Navy, I feel that I am better fit for both. I may throw my hat in with Air Force as well, but I know they are extremely competitive. Now I just have to keep my nose clean until next cycle when I can start my application. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverick87 Posted July 9, 2015 Share Posted July 9, 2015 Ah, thanks for the information. I did not talk to a specific nursing recruiter when I went, so apparently I missed out on some information. The recruiter I spoke to said that they no longer offer a scholarship for physician assistants because they are getting a lot out of IPAP. I thought this was a little odd because I was under the impression that members of all branches can complete IPAP. To be honest, no, I do not have a real desire for nursing. I've looked into accelerated BSNs to keep down my student loan debt, as well as NP programs but at the end of the day I don't really see myself as a nurse, and I do not really care for the curriculum of the NP programs I was considering. As of right now, I've decided to go with PA school and Navy, I feel that I am better fit for both. I may throw my hat in with Air Force as well, but I know they are extremely competitive. Now I just have to keep my nose clean until next cycle when I can start my application. I think that the Navy is a good choice. I would stick with that and not consider other options. Just my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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