There are only 16 universities with a formal military-to-medical school pipeline in the U.S., but more medical schools are recognizing the importance of recruiting veterans into medicine.
In May, Greenville, N.C.-based East Carolina University became the latest school to open a military-to-medical school pipeline.
“Military service members represent one of the most underutilized, high-impact talent pools available to medicine,” Fernando Vasquez, assistant dean of admissions and early insurance pathway programs with Texas A&M Vashist College of Medicine, told Becker’s. “Schools that are missing out on these applicants are missing out on individuals who change the climate of a medical school — who help the entire student body better understand the population of servicemen and women who protect this country.”
Here is what to know about the current military-to-medical school pipeline.
1. The number of veteran medics entering medical school varies by school. At Bryan-based Texas A&M Vashisht College of Medicine, fewer than 100 medical school applicants had any military service experience, and Mr. Vasquez said he has encountered only about a dozen applications with medic experience. This is because most military medics do not require further credentialing to perform their duties in service. Only those who want to do complex procedures or continue to serve in healthcare after retiring from military services pursue a formal MD program.
However, medical schools that partner with Special Operations Forces to School of Medicine, a nonprofit dedicated to helping veterans enter medical school, see as many as 95% of applicants who are prior special operations members who served as medics, Brentyn Jones, director of partnerships at Special Operations Forces to School of Medicine, told Becker’s.
2. These candidates have experience both in acute trauma care in the field and serve as primary medical providers for their units. This gives veteran medics a unique range of experience.
“As a special operations medic overseas, you’re working alongside physicians, and when you’re operating independently, your scope of practice is well beyond what’s permitted on the civilian side; you’re essentially functioning at a resident level in many respects,” Mr. Jones said. “But when you’re a student, you’re still a student. You may have the underlying aptitude and hands-on skills, but school is still school.”
3. All veterans go through the same medical education as civilian students due to the Liaison Committee on Medical Education requirements, even students with significant hands-on experience. Many schools, however, try to elevate experienced students to leadership roles within courses and use them as co-instructors and facilitators, Mr. Vasquez said. This becomes especially true in the last two years of school.
“When you get into the clinical environment, there’s a natural spread of capabilities among students, and that’s where these individuals will shine,” Jason Higginson, MD, executive dean of the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, told Becker’s. “They won’t be frightened by new or high-stakes situations. In clinical training, when a student is eager, willing and demonstrates they can handle advanced skills, attendings are more willing to teach them and give them the opportunity to do more.
“My sister was a helicopter pilot in the Navy before she went to medical school; she’s now a trauma, critical care and burn surgeon. One of her attendings told her during residency that she was the most fearless person in the OR, and he genuinely valued that about her. She used to say: ‘In my old life, if I made a mistake, I died. Now, if I make a mistake, my patient dies.’ That shift in mindset is profound. She already knew how to operate in complex, high-stakes environments without being paralyzed by them, and she has thrived as a surgeon because of it. That’s exactly the mindset these special operations students will bring.”
4. Upon graduation, many of these veteran students go on to pursue careers in emergency medicine, family medicine and psychiatry.
5. Veterans face many unique barriers to admission into medical school. Most military servicemembers do not have premed advising or a high GPA or MCAT score, a core metric for most medical school admissions. Schools with a military pipeline take this into account and have a slightly altered admissions process so these applicants are not screened out in the first filter.
“What you see with these applicants is a lot of atypical backgrounds,” Dr. Higginson said. “Maybe they weren’t the best high school student, maybe they started college on the wrong foot. And then they had this entire military career that turned them into professionals. If you look at the end of their transcripts, they become strong students. They may not have had the preparation early in life, but they have everything needed to succeed in medical school. A system that screens them out at first glance, based on an old GPA, is missing exactly the kind of person medicine needs.”
6. To overcome admission barriers, Texas A&M offers prep courses and seminars to help these students have competitive scores, as well as take service into account as a key metric for admissions, Guillermo Canedo, program manager for early assurance pathway programs and student recruitment, told Becker’s. Veterans also face barriers around rigid program design, institutional culture that is not military friendly and competing for seats. Only military pipeline schools reserve so many seats per year for veterans.
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