I am going to medical school next year and have been offered both the Navy and AF HPSP scholarships. I am having difficulty deciding if and which to accept. Here are my concerns:
Pros:
My medical school costs $40k+ per year (affordable but maybe not the best idea for my family). Quality of life in medical school will obviously increase ($20k signing bonus + $2060 / month) vs having no job or making very little money.
I feel good for serving my country.
Military residency seems to have better quality of life than civilian.
Should make medical school far less stressful as I'm not worrying about money.
Cons:
I am committing 4 years of my life in the distant future when my desires might be different.
I want to go in to surgery (trauma, cardiac, CT, ortho). I feel that the military may limit the amount of time I spend operating and force me to spend excessive time in clinicals / doing things other than performing surgery (more than usual).
I might be forced into a military residency (sounds boring compared to normal residency).
Pay as military doctor is far less than as a civilian doctor (though it has no malpractice, and may be augmented by bonuses - which are not set in stone)
Could have difficulty finding a job if I choose to leave the military after my 4 years of service.
Navy vs AF
AF says no added time regardless of residency length. Navy says add 1 year of payback for each year beyond 4 years of residency (meaning I could have to serve 7 years after residency instead of the 4 required by the scholarship).
Navy could force me into a GMO (which I don't want) whereas AF has no GMO program.
Navy bases are better locations than AF bases.
AF seems to have a better quality of life.
Navy physicians gain more experience due to more fieldwork (also serves marines)
Can anyone please help clarify all of this for me? Does it sound like I want to do it? I feel 50/50 and am looking for help swaying me one way or the other.

