JoJod Posted May 26, 2009 Report Share Posted May 26, 2009 Hello there, Now that we have been accepted I was wondering if anyone is considering the armed forces as an option to finance school? I would like to get feedback from those that used this avenue in previous years. It sure sounds tempting..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ninjaface Posted May 27, 2009 Report Share Posted May 27, 2009 Search "MOTP" on these forums. There was a recent thread where a few people in the program offered to answer any questions, but it doesn't look like anyone asked any - including the OP, whose thread was pretty much exactly like this one. You may want to ask something more specific than "tell me everything" though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted May 27, 2009 Report Share Posted May 27, 2009 Hello there, Now that we have been accepted I was wondering if anyone is considering the armed forces as an option to finance school? I would like to get feedback from those that used this avenue in previous years. It sure sounds tempting..... If you were aiming for family medicine anyway it certainly does! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoJod Posted May 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2009 Thanks for the feedback, Ninja. I was a bit vague. It all seems too good to be true. What I want to find are contacts who have been through the process so I can get the nitty gritty from them. Like during the 4 years mandatory service how much time is spent oversees? Also do they really pay all tuition, books and all other expenses plus a $50,000 yearly salary? It sounds great but I am leery. Of course when I called the Armed Forces to get info they basically told me everything is rosey and grand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted May 27, 2009 Report Share Posted May 27, 2009 Thanks for the feedback, Ninja. I was a bit vague. It all seems too good to be true. What I want to find are contacts who have been through the process so I can get the nitty gritty from them. Like during the 4 years mandatory service how much time is spent oversees? Also do they really pay all tuition, books and all other expenses plus a $50,000 yearly salary? It sounds great but I am leery. Of course when I called the Armed Forces to get info they basically told me everything is rosey and grand. I am not in the program, but tracked down an actual participant 6 months ago. By the way if you contact CAF, they will put in contact with people in the program and graduates of it. You have to be a little presistent. If I could do it before getting accepted, I am sure after being accepted they would be even more accommodating. They want to sell the MOTP! He confirmed a lot of what they say. They really do pay all of those things (books, tutition, extra fees...). There really is a bonus (but it is taxed), and a salary equal to what they say. The website says expect at least 6 months, and you should know you will be stationed the rest of the time at/near a base of their chosing. You can expect some pressure do army stuff in the summers, unless there is a good reason for you not to be. I will see he can contact you if you PM me an email address. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w8kg6 Posted May 27, 2009 Report Share Posted May 27, 2009 http://www.forces.ca/media/_PDF/MOTP_en.pdf You're obligated to be a family physician. You only have a limited say in where you live. You will spend do at least one 6 month tour overseas in your 4 years. Any other questions should be answered by that document. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mildoc1 Posted May 27, 2009 Report Share Posted May 27, 2009 I'm a military nurse so I can try to answer your questions. Once you graduate med school and do your family practice residency you have to do basic training for docs, and the BMOC course in Borden, ON. If we are still in KAF you'll probably do a 6 month rotation as a GDMO in Afghanistan. You could also deploy on ship if you're navy. They do pay for everything if you're subsidised. They paid for my undergrad and grad school (and hopefully will pay for med school) including my salary, books, tuition, and incidentals (stethoscopes, scrubs, OR shoes). If you are interested in specializing you can in a few years, but its only for certain specialties (ortho, gen surg, anesthesia, psych, rad). Hope that helps. Feel free to PM me if you need any more info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolvenstar Posted May 27, 2009 Report Share Posted May 27, 2009 most people have already stated everything there is to be said on the MOTP program (they pay you a salary and subsidize your tuition, yadda, yadda). What I wanted to address was how people speak of how you live where they want you to live. I think alot of people have this big idea that you can live anywhere, and when they hear that the military places you at/near a base that they don't care for your preference at all. The thing is you can't go back and live in some 3000pop town 400km away from the nearest base. I don't know if they still have it, but the military website used to have this flash program that showed a map of Canada, where Canada's military bases were, and what jobs were undertaken at each base. The biggest thing in placements is: do you want to live in one of the towns with a military base? Does that base have a full complement of doctors? Is there a town with a base that desperately needs more doctors? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
failtes112 Posted May 27, 2009 Report Share Posted May 27, 2009 hey i was also really interested in going the MOTP route as well... i totally agree with you when you were saying that they make everything rosey and grand...when i spoke to the recruitment officer when inquiring about the program he said that doctors almost always get their location of choice and almost never get called over seas...but after when i read the document it says almost the complete opposite (weird) my question is: after the 4 years of mandatory service are you allowed to quit the armed forces and specialize and do whatever the heck you want with the rest of your life? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmorelan Posted May 27, 2009 Report Share Posted May 27, 2009 hey i was also really interested in going the MOTP route as well...i totally agree with you when you were saying that they make everything rosey and grand...when i spoke to the recruitment officer when inquiring about the program he said that doctors almost always get their location of choice and almost never get called over seas...but after when i read the document it says almost the complete opposite (weird) my question is: after the 4 years of mandatory service are you allowed to quit the armed forces and specialize and do whatever the heck you want with the rest of your life? Well you completed your specialization in family medicine, so you can leave and be a family doctor. If you want to specialize into something else you remain with them to do that. For every year spent specializing you have to do 2 in the army (If I recall correctly!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katdb Posted May 27, 2009 Report Share Posted May 27, 2009 my question is: after the 4 years of mandatory service are you allowed to quit the armed forces and specialize and do whatever the heck you want with the rest of your life? Hi, I am currently an 2nd year MOTP student. Most of what I would say about the MOTP program has already been answered, but I thought I would jump in and respond to your question. From what I gather, there are 5 options after you have completed your payback: 1. Stay with the military as a family doc and serve until you decide to retire. 2. Stay with the military, and specialize (you owe 2 yrs back for every year of specialization UP TO 5 yrs... so if your specialization takes 5 yrs, you only owe them 5 yrs which is a pretty good deal considering you will be paid as a Dr not as a resident). 3. Stay with the military as a family doc with an added speciality such as Dive Medicine (this is what I'm hoping for ), Aviation medicine etc. 4. Quit the military no strings attached and serve as a family doc wherever you want 5. Quit the military and try to get into a specialty on your own Hope this helps! Katdb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mildoc1 Posted May 27, 2009 Report Share Posted May 27, 2009 That's the way it typically works, 2 years working for every year subsidized. In terms of postings, you will be posted to a base. You have a career manager who you meet with (usually once a year) to discuss postings. They ask you for your top three choices and try to work around them. It is not to anyone's benefit to send someone somewhere they really hate. That said, the military's needs do come first. For me, I grew up and went to school in BC, my first posting was to Ottawa, then NB, and now Halifax. Some postings have been better then others, but really its what you make of it. The military has its definite pros and cons. I have had amazing experiences that I never would have had otherwise. But I've made huge sacrifices too (like missing my daughter's 2nd b-day). If the only reason you would consider joining the CF is for the $ and incentives, please don't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
engineer2doc Posted May 27, 2009 Report Share Posted May 27, 2009 There's a lot of MOTP/MMTP discussion on this site. Here's a thread I contributed to some time ago: http://www.premed101.com/forums/showthread.php?t=31058&referrerid=8152 You can find lots more. I've done 22 years in the military. I would urge you to find out as much as you can, and just remember one thing if nothing else - it's military service, with ups and downs attached. It may be for you and it may not, so just ask around to find out. Try to find a current military doc, as they know what's involved; MOTP students will only have seen the benefits to date, paying the piper comes later! If you decide it's for you, it can be a brilliant and very interesting career like no other - it has been for me. You live in it, not from it. Cheers and best of luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alfalfa Posted May 27, 2009 Report Share Posted May 27, 2009 The military has its definite pros and cons. I have had amazing experiences that I never would have had otherwise. But I've made huge sacrifices too (like missing my daughter's 2nd b-day). If the only reason you would consider joining the CF is for the $ and incentives, please don't. Here you have it pretty clearly, the money and incentives are great, if not amazing to be fully honest. BUT if its the only reason you consider joining the MOTP program and you do not believe in what the CF do... its not for you. If the only thing you can think of is MOTP = $$... re-think more before going this route. I do not know exactly the numbers but I heard that the MMTP and MOTP were very successful in the past and that now the CF is not in acute shortage of doctor anymore. Reason for some MMTP and MOTP candidate not being accepted. Dont quote me on this one but it does come from a Major at work that is just recently out of the recruiting system as his last posting... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoJod Posted May 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 28, 2009 Thank you everyone. All my questions seem to be answered and then some. It really is something to think long and hard about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boodog Posted May 28, 2009 Report Share Posted May 28, 2009 i would put it off till you finish a couple of years so that you know what is important. ie. family, location, etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.