Canadian Forces entry program - pros and cons?

[Guest chochi]

Hi All,

 

I have a general question pertaining to the medical program sponsored by the Canadian Forces which is designed to recruit civilian doctors into the military. I've done some research on the subject and their are a number of sound benefits in terms of ameliorating student debt during med school, opportunities to work abroad (in UN peacekeeping/humanitarian operations - something I would personally find very rewarding) and unique research opportunities. In the past, I have heard that limitations on the scope of a physician's practice (ie: most patients are healthy young people) may deter many from entering the program. However, the CF has recently mandated that a minimum of 20% of a military doctor's time must be spent in civilian health care facilities in order to maintain clinical proficiency. Moreover, if you are interested in emergency medicine their are all kinds of unique training opportunities available.

So, I am left wondering in the face of all these apparent incentives, why are they (military recruiters) having such difficulty attracting people? Is there a general impression that military doctors have less prestige? One clear problem that I see is the mandatory 2 year family medicine residency. I myself, might very well enjoy a career in family med (but as a pre med, I'm sure my preference will be subject to change over the years to come . It is important to stress that after 4 years of service, they will again subsidize a residency in a number of specialties including: general surgery, radiology, aviation and diving medicine, psychiatry, internal medicine, public health etc. While completing these residency programs the salary greatly exceeds that of any provincial residency training program ($120,000/yr - by my calculations) and you are paying into a pension from day 1 in medical school. These CF sponsored residencies incur an additional mandatory service commitment of 5 years however. Another consideration is the remote location of some military bases, but in Manitoba for example, there are 2 bases: one near Brandon and the other in Winnipeg. Both of these cities are large enough to enjoy the amenities of urban life and to my way of thinking, are close to beautiful Riding Mountain National Park (Brandon) and Lake of the Woods (Winnipeg). Bonus!

I am personally unfamiliar with military life and perhaps one reason that I am reluctant to enter such a program is that the opportunity to interact with colleagues may be somewhat impaired and in a more philosophical sense, I'm not sure that I want to contribute to a culture of militarism in our society. I may be very willing to participate in a UN sponsored operation, but would not endorse certain "unilateral initiatives", for example. My hope is that military doctors enjoy comparable levels of professional autonomy like their civilian counterparts and are not faced with compromising their ideals.

For what its worth, I've included a web address below for those that are interested, and just to be sure, I'm not trying to pitch this idea, nor am I solely motivated by any of the above listed benefits. My intention is only to generate discussion on this subject that arose only briefly before. Sorry for the lengthy post and thanks very much for your input.

 

Cheers,

Chochi

 

For more info please consult: www.recruiting.forces.gc.ca/

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<threadtitle>Financial Help!</threadtitle>

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<username>bananagirl</username>

<dateline>1026435120</dateline>

<title>Financial Help!</title>

<pagetext>Hi Folks,

 

I was wondering if someone could answer some questions for me. I have been admitted to an Ontario med school for this upcoming fall. I have applied (and received an estimate) for OSAP; however, I was also hoping to get a student loan or line of credit. Can somebody let me know as to the difference between the two? Are there pros and cons for each? Is there one bank that is better than others for giving financial aid to med students? (ie. I called TD/Canada Trust today and was told that the max they give is 15 grand/year, which doesn't seem enough to cover tuition and living expenses, although I could be wrong). Maybe a current/former med student could enlighten me as to the damage med school does to your pocketbook....

 

Thank you!

[Guest Melissa13]

Hi Banana Girl,

OSAP should give you close to the amount that they estimate...the government runs this program and as such they loan you the money interest free until six months after you graduate at which time you have to begin paying them back. They will send you a payment schedule at the end of the four years. As you have probably noticed, the amount that they offer does not even begin to cover the massive tuition that you must pay so what most med students (in my limited experienceand knowledge), do is to top up this amount with a loan from the bank. The loans available are varied however, TD is not offering you a good deal...I have recently signed for a line of credit(LOC) for professional students through the Royal Bank and I believe that it is very similar to what Scotia Bank is offering. RB will give you 125,000 over four years and what they do is make 1/4 of it available on your line of credit each year so the first year $31250 is available and then they up the limit to $62500 the second year and so on over the four years and I believe that you are responsible for beginning payment on the principle six months after graduation. Now you are under no obligation to use all or any of this amount if you don't need it, but it is there for you to use at any time for whatever you need it for. The draw back is that you have to pay interest at a rate of 4.25% on the amount that is used each month from the time that you make your first withdrawl. You can call the Royal bank 1-800 number and tell them that you are a professional student looking for a line of credit to finance your med ed and they will pretty much do the rest for you, howver they will tell you that they only give interest rates at 4.25% + 1% (prime plus one) which is okay to start but then they will send your papers to the branch of your choice and you can negotiate for the prime interest rate...DO NOT ACCEPT ANYTHING MORE THAN PRIME with the RB branch that you choose because they will give it to you if you are firm. I belive that there is another link similar to this one in the UofO forum with the name and number of a woman at the RB branch near Billings Bridge Plaza in Ottawa (the closest branch to the school) and she is negotiating for prime at her branch for the aforementioned LOC. I think that she is on holidays until the end of July so if you feel comfortable dealing with someone else at that brach or any other to get yourself set up at prime interest don't wait for her but you can wait if you aren't comfortable. For any branch that you approach, tell them that you are aware of the deal being given at the Billings branch and they will give it to you in order to secure your ongoing business. Hope that long winded answer helps somewhat with your dilemma and I will see you in school this fall.

[Guest Melissa13]

Just to add, check out the UofO forum thread called Student loans...

[Guest bananagirl]

Thank you for all of the advice!! I'll be sure to use it when I bank-hunt today. Looking forward to seeing you in the fall!

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<threadtitle>BSc(med)</threadtitle>

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<pagetext>Can anyone provide more info on the BSc med programs that are available at schools such as Dal and U of M? Is this available at U of T? What exactly is it, and do you come out of med school with an additional degree?