Become an MD Through the Army, Debt Free! [Show Summary]

Are you interested in practicing medicine in an environment that allows you to focus on clinical excellence? Do you want to have the option of practicing medicine in a host of different environments? Is it important for you to emerge from medical school debt-free? Do you wish to serve your country? If you answered yes to these questions, a medical career in the military might be right for you. Captain Jennifer A. Cox, current Officer in Charge at the Charleston, South Carolina U.S. Army Medical Recruiting Station, shares everything you need to know about the various options available to practice medicine in the military – and have your entire medical education paid for.

Be All You Can Be - Become an MD Through the Army [Transcript]

Our guest today is Captain Jennifer A. Cox. She graduated from Lewis University in 2011 with a BSN. While earning her BSN, she was also an Army ROTC cadet. She entered active duty as a Second Lieutenant in the Army Nurse Corps and has served at Fort Hood TX and Joint Base San Antonio TX. She earned her Critical Care Registered Nurse license in 2016 and then worked in the Neuro-Surgical Trauma Intensive Care Unit. Currently, Capt. Cox is the Officer in Charge at the Charleston, South Carolina U.S. Army Medical Recruiting Station. She has embraced this opportunity to commission fellow Army Medical Department Officers (while enjoying Charleston with her husband) and looks forward to her next assignment.

Can you tell us a little about your story? How did you come to be an army nurse and recruiter? [2:16]

Growing up I thought I wanted to be a special ed teacher, but when I got to college I had a revelation when meeting with a guidance counselor – there was a schedule for nursing clinicals on the wall, and I thought that is kind of perfect - I can help people and be involved in science, which was my favorite subject at the time.

I grew up in the military. My dad is a Naval Academy graduate - I had Saturday morning room inspections before I could go out and play with my friends - so it was a natural progression. I found the ROTC brochure during a school tour, met with the ROTC director, and before I knew it was going to Fort Knox for training that summer.

In terms of becoming a recruiter, I spent the first six years in the military as an RN, only seeing military treatment facilities and the hospital side of things, and I wanted to see more of the army. I applied for a broadening assignment, and when I found out I could be the officer in charge I thought that would be a good leadership challenge for me being a junior captain, and the opportunity to live in Charleston didn’t hurt, either. I really liked the opportunity to pick my medical department family, which is how I got here.

How does the U.S. Army help MD and DO wannabes become debt-free doctors? [5:01]

There are two different routes – one if you are wanting to go the civilian medical education route, and the other if you want to start in the military right away. The first is an active duty option, it’s called the Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP), which provides 100% of tuition and academic fees with a monthly stipend in medical school of about $2200. This is a 3-4 year scholarship when you begin medical school. You are commissioned as a second lieutenant, which is the first officer rank, and when you graduate you are promoted to the third officer rank,