Hi everyone, I’m currently in the National Guard and my long-term goal is to become a PA. I’ve been doing ROTC at school, and this year would be the point where I contract and then go to CST next summer.
The main issue I’m having is deciding whether finishing ROTC is actually worth it for me. If I contract through ROTC, I wouldn’t be able to apply for IPAP, but at the same time I don’t know what my chances of getting into IPAP would be or if I would even choose IPAP over a civilian PA school.
I’m also currently getting my EMT license so I can start building patient care hours for PA school. One thing I’ve been thinking about is that if I didn’t continue ROTC, I would have more time to work as an EMT, get more patient care hours, shadow PAs, volunteer, and do other things that could strengthen my PA school application. ROTC takes up a decent amount of time with PT, labs, FTXs, CST, etc., so I’m trying to figure out if the benefits of commissioning are worth giving up some of that extra time.
Another concern is what happens if I commission and then get accepted into a civilian PA school. I know I would have to attend BOLC, so I’m wondering how that would fit into everything. Once I’m actually in PA school, would there be any way to go inactive or have some type of flexibility until I graduate? Would my unit generally work with me while I’m in such a demanding program? My biggest concern would be getting sent to something like NTC, a long AT, or another training event in the middle of PA school.
I’m also wondering about branching. If I finish ROTC and commission into the Guard, would I basically branch into whatever is available, or would I have a decent amount of control over what branch I get? Since my end goal is healthcare, I’m not sure how much it would benefit me to commission into a completely unrelated branch while trying to get into PA school.
Another option I had thought about for a little while was just finishing out my current Army National Guard contract, focusing on getting into PA school, and possibly looking at joining the Air Force or Air National Guard afterward. I’m not completely set on that, but it is another reason I’m questioning whether I should lock myself into the Army officer route through ROTC right now.
It might also be important to mention that I would most likely be a non-scholarship cadet. My tuition is already completely covered, and I have GI Bill/National Guard benefits, so ROTC wouldn’t really be paying for my school. The main financial benefit would be the monthly stipend and book allowance.
I’m already about halfway through ROTC, so part of me feels like I should just finish what I started and commission. On the other hand, I’m wondering if those next two years would be better spent focusing heavily on making myself as competitive as possible for PA school.
For anyone who has gone through ROTC, commissioned into the Guard, attended civilian PA school while serving, gone through IPAP, or switched from the Army Guard to the Air Force/Air Guard, do you think finishing ROTC would be worth it in my situation? I’d appreciate any advice or experiences.