OregonHerc Posted February 25, 2008 Posted February 25, 2008 Hi everyone, I had a question about significant others and them going to med school. Has anyone gone through this? I'm commissioning in about a year, and I really don't know how this is going to work after graduation. Thanks for your help.
Guest melissakae Posted February 28, 2008 Posted February 28, 2008 Hi everyone, I had a question about significant others and them going to med school. Has anyone gone through this? I'm commissioning in about a year, and I really don't know how this is going to work after graduation. Thanks for your help. I don't know about med school, but I can speak to the subject of military spouses and higher education in general. Do you have specific questions? Are they already in school or looking for schools?
Guest L Unit Posted February 29, 2008 Posted February 29, 2008 My girlfriend is starting Physicians Assistant school in June. Depending on my ability to secure a job with the ANG, we will be apart for some period of time. (Her's is a 2-year program vs. 4, however.) I'm planning that during school she will not have much free time anyways, so this may work to my advantage, depending on timing. The nice thing is that wherever you go, your spouse/SO will be able to get a job. Summary: Tough times ahead, especially if you two need to be around each other. Long run outlook, however, is better.
The Kayla Posted February 29, 2008 Posted February 29, 2008 The nice thing is that wherever you go, your spouse/SO will be able to get a job. That's not always true; I know a spouse who is a Dr.(Kid's doc at that), and she has tried looking for jobs yet she can't find one.
OregonHerc Posted February 29, 2008 Author Posted February 29, 2008 Sorry, I basically forgot to ask my question, but Kayla answered it. She wants to be a pediatrician, but it'll be difficult to find a job?
Guest KM Posted February 29, 2008 Posted February 29, 2008 Sorry, I basically forgot to ask my question, but Kayla answered it. She wants to be a pediatrician, but it'll be difficult to find a job? In general, spouses planning careers in the medical or educational field don't have trouble finding jobs. That said, the spouse has to be pretty flexible as far as the jobs they are willing to take. Most likely, it won't be a "dream job" and it might not pay as much as you hoped. It might be only tangentially related to your course of study, but keep in mind that for an active duty family, it is only a temporary job.
Guest melissakae Posted February 29, 2008 Posted February 29, 2008 A few things you probably already know, but most bases are in the middle of nowhere, so that limits choices of schools and jobs. Waiting on the military spouses assignment, so that you can even know what schools to narrow the search to adds a little stress and makes time rush for application deadlines. It can be done though! I personally have just been accepted to a Masters in Nurse Anesthesia program and start next fall. Because of my husbands carreer with the military it has caused many challenges, but the extra time and leg work have made me want this even more. We found out his assignment July 2007, did the school search for all schools within 2hours of the base (that was our max, but most people cannot do this) and had applications, resumes, essay, transcripts, etc turned in by the Sept 2007 deadline (those 2 month flew by). In my case it worked out that there were 4 schools in the distance I was willing to go, and one school has a residency site within 1 hour of our base and has classes 4 days a week, needless to say that is the school I chose. There will be sacrifices made, but I asure you it can be done! Hey, during my bachelors degree it was a 3hour drive and mostly weekend study dates, not the easiest route, but we made it work! A few words of wisdom to overcome obstacles. * know what most med schools in general want and get a general application (mostly essay & resume) ready ahead of time and then fine tune it later when a specific school is chosen * be ready to not have a ton of time to spend with your significant other, and make the most of the time you do have, because med school will be very time and self consuming * BE SUPPORTIVE, this goes for both people in the relationship good luck to ya'll, it can be done, but it is not the easiest route... then again no one really has an appreciation for the easy road. And to the comments about jobs not being easy to be found. I must say they are not always easy to find. Sometimes we have to give more and go a longer distance to get a job but they are there. Unfortunately that is just the nature of us chosing a spouse in the military. And if she is not looking for a job right now, don't worry about this right now, a lot of changes will happen in only a few years with any military job. Always important for both spouses to support eachothers dreams!!!
Guest melissakae Posted February 29, 2008 Posted February 29, 2008 (edited) In general, spouses planning careers in the medical or educational field don't have trouble finding jobs. That said, the spouse has to be pretty flexible as far as the jobs they are willing to take. Most likely, it won't be a "dream job" and it might not pay as much as you hoped. It might be only tangentially related to your course of study, but keep in mind that for an active duty family, it is only a temporary job. I think we must have posted at the same time because I did not see this post, but very, very good point!! Edited February 29, 2008 by melissakae
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