How can I pass the "Med Board(?)" as a military recruit and still work in civilian?

2022-10-24T21:25:43-04:00

So I am a 26 year old dentist and to make my story short, I was originally planning on joining the military HPSP and sticking with the military as a medical doctor. However, unexpectedly, my mother has end stage renal disease and is in need of a kidney, and I am now currently in an exchange program where I can donate my kidney to a family in exchange for their donor to give their matching kidney to my mother so she can live without dialysis. By the end of it, I will be missing a kidney and my mother will have the one she needs.

I don't know when this will happen, it may be sometime next year, or the year after, I am not sure. I don't need the military to pay for my mom's surgery, I will pay for it all on my own. I don't even need the be payed or receive any benefits for being with the military, the only thing I need is to pass that Medical Board, so I can already be in the military when the surgery happens, and then I can go before another board where they can determine if I can stay or not (and I hope they will let me stay because of my unique/niche skills of both Dent and Medical)

What I need, is to join the military before this surgery, because from what I understand, missing a kidney is grounds for denial, even if you are the donor with the healthy kidney.

What my obstacle is, is the fact that I am already bound to a scholarship with the IHS, another federal program. I am a practicing dentist and I am in the middle of my scholarship time commitment which cannot be broken and lasts 2 more years, it functions as a civilian job but it is a job that I am not allowed to quit.

So the summary is, I need a way to get into the military, pass medical inspection, but still be allowed to work my civilian job, for at least 2 more years until I can apply and be accepted into Medical school and then HPSP into Military Doctor. Right now, I am currently trying to get information for the possible path of signing up as a reservist, but I don't know if this is right. I am sorry if this format is too long or the question is weird for this forum, I was originally planning on doing this the normal way in 2 years time, so I am inexperienced with everything and I am desperate.

What I have done so far is try to get information from my local recruiting office but its always closed before I can get off work, and I can't get in contact with my old HPSP contacts.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 24 at 2022 9:40 PM

2022-10-24T21:40:13-04:00

What you are wanting will not happen. If you get in, you work for the military. But that's if you go Active Duty. If you go Reserve or Guard, then you could do it. BUT. You lose a kidney, you will no longer be allowed to serve in the military. If the kidney is donated BEFORE you can join, you will not be allowed to join.

Response by Sgt Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 24 at 2022 10:26 PM

2022-10-24T22:26:05-04:00

As mentioned by MSG Private RallyPoint Member what you want will not happen. You state you are desperate. Why are you desperate to join the military?

Response by SSgt Christophe Murphy made Oct 25 at 2022 8:07 AM

2022-10-25T08:07:20-04:00

I admire your desire to serve but you have a major conflict when it comes to what you want to do, what you are currently committed to and what you are obligated to in the future.

Being committed to IHS for the next two years would be enough to block you from service considering the kidney procedure you mentioned seems to be a year out.

But diving into this you have some things to consider.
The Military has some hardline rules when it comes to certain things and loss of a major organ is one of those things. As others have said it would result in you leaving the service or if it happened before you joined up it will bar you from service. For your current situation going reserves seems to be the most logical approach but if you are 100% committed to donating a kidney this would directly conflict with that. In this instance I don't see you being able to do both.

But with that said there are tons of ways for you to serve that isn't in the Military. Looking at USAJobs right now there are 67 Dentist jobs needing to be filled. worked at a Naval Hospital and I served with plenty of Civilian doctors who supported the Military. They worked the same job but instead of being in uniform they were a Civilian. You could also join the Foreign Service and support the Dept of State. Or join the Peace Corps.

You can also become a reserve law enforcement officer if you have a desire to be in Uniform serving. Being in the Military is not your only option to serve.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 25 at 2022 8:43 AM

2022-10-25T08:43:45-04:00

I don't know the medical side of what happens to a Soldier after they donate but I would think you should focus on the Reserve or Guard. The Reserve has a large medical command and if there's a way to waiver something and keep you they would know about it. In the guard they won't have as many medical people but waivers are usually at the state level so it would be much easier to get face to face with the person or people needed to approve.

Best of luck

Response by CPT Lawrence Cable made Oct 25 at 2022 8:53 AM

2022-10-25T08:53:29-04:00

One, you can get a direct commission as a Dentist, you still have to complete a basic leadership course. You can apply to Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences as a post grad in Dentistry or try for an MD. All of that is competitive.
That being the good news. The bad news is that if you donate a kidney, you are disqualified for military service, either active or reserve.

Response by SFC Kelly Fuerhoff made Oct 25 at 2022 11:30 AM

2022-10-25T11:30:23-04:00

Wait a minute, you're in the paired exchange program and you don't know when the transplant surgeries will be scheduled? I call bullshit on that - because my daughter had a kidney transplant. Hers ended up from a deceased donor - but we were in the paired exchange program and we were looking for a living donor. With living donors it's easy to schedule the transplant. Why would you be waiting a year or two when your mom and someone else are in ESRD? The transplant evaluations don't take that long. The only time I've seen someone get stopped from a transplant is if they get admitted to the hospital or the donor gets sick or something. So this seems really weird that it's going to take "a year or two" for the transplant to happen. I mean I guess in paired exchange maybe it can take time but...yeah. It still sounds weird based on my knowledge of it.

I very highly doubt you're going to get what you want, especially if they know you're a potential organ donor. I don't know why you would wait if your mom is on dialysis. My daughter was on it for 11 months and I would have loved to have found a living donor sooner than that. I searched everywhere - I started getting tested but I'm her sole caregiver and I couldn't find anyone who could be my caregiver and one for her.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 25 at 2022 1:29 PM

2022-10-25T13:29:57-04:00

What you're asking is pretty simple. Every single branch of the military has a Reserve Corps. As a Doctor or as a Dentist you can take your pick of any branch, plus some you probably haven't even heard of. The Commissioned Corps of Public Health Service has a Ready Reserve Component as well. They serve with all the branches which means you may be working at an Air Force base one tour and three years later be on a Navy ship.

There is no medical board for joining the military, it's just a physical. Once you lose your kidney you will be considered disabled, or medically not qualified for retention. However, a board will determine if you are capable of remaining in the military. A large part of that decision is based on whether or not you are deployable in the future. While the medical standards to join the military are pretty high, the medical standards to remain are pretty low as long as you can do your job and deploy.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Oct 27 at 2022 6:31 PM

2022-10-27T18:31:12-04:00

Am I missing something? You want to join the military ASAP, but you have a 2-year obligation with another institution?