Independent Duty Corpsman

[OreoDJ]

I ship out in 3 weeks and have been doing a lot of studying on different pathways through HM. I'm really interested in Independent Duty Corpsman because it's an excellent stepping stone for IPAP or any other medical program. I'm wondering how I can make my application for IDC more attractive. Any extra information would also be appreciated (personal experience, things to study, other medical programs in the navy, etc..) Thanks!

[PropertyofBuMed]

I ship out in 3 weeks and have been doing a lot of studying on different pathways through HM. I'm really interested in Independent Duty Corpsman because it's an excellent stepping stone for IPAP or any other medical program. I'm wondering how I can make my application for IDC more attractive. Any extra information would also be appreciated (personal experience, things to study, other medical programs in the navy, etc..) Thanks!

Just about anything is attractive for IDC School... just stay out of trouble.. study and pick up HM2 quickly, and never get a P eval as a third, in fact never getting a P Eval at all is ideal.. fight for NOB or MP.. pretty much it.

That Said most IDC will advise against IDC as a stepping stone. Contrary to popular opinion simply being an IDC does not improve your chances at being picked up for PA. When you apply, you produce a package that is reviewed by a board which takes many things into account. Your military career is a big part of what they consider, but the biggest factor that will make or break you is the Recommendation of the institution that reviews your college transcripts. These military commissioning programs are sponsored by accredited schools that issue you a degree upon completion, for example, IPAP graduates are awarded a degree from the University of Nebraska (If I recall correctly..). So if the University of Nebraska has concerns regarding your package, its almost a certainty you will not go. Doesn't matter if you're the hottest shit Senior Chief Recon IDC the Navy has ever seen... You simply will not go to PA school. I had a similar idea and had to learn the error of my ways as well. The best way into IPAP or a Medical degree program like EMDP2 is to go to college as soon as possible. Stay above a 3.5 GPA overall with a 3.2 in Hard Sciences over the course of your last year in college, and never let your grade fall.. if you barely pass a class brush it off and continue to improve your grade no matter what.. don't get discouraged if you're sub 3.2, you can survive this if you're in your first year. Having a 3.5 and falling to a 3.2 in Hard Science in your final year will hurt you more then having a 2.9 and raising it to a 3.2.

Also bear in mind CLEP and JST Credits do not count towards your package.. you need to take the actual classes. If you see an easy way to get a degree through some shady school that awards a lot of JST credits (Every base has one..) DON'T DO IT. Keep your eye on the prize and go through a school with a good name behind it that doesn't award JST credits and discourages CLEP. You'll see a lot of shipmates talk up these schools and tell you how wonderful it was and how fast they earned a degree! If you're serious about being a PA or even maybe a Doctor, you need to be serious about your education, and these schools are frowned upon and sometimes even disqualifying all together by the boards that review these packages.

60 Credits can apply for IPAP now, with work, and studying for advancement that should take you 3-4 years while active duty.

Good Luck!

[LT Guppy]

Every IDC I've met has done an FMF tour at some point in their career. Not saying that's a requirement, just a trend I've noticed.

[OreoDJ]

Thanks guys this is awesome information. I'm enlisting as an E-3 because of my Eagle Scout so hopefully that makes advancement to E-5 a little quicker even with overmanning. I did read somewhere that if you are an IDC then you only need 30 credits to get into IPAP. Any truth to this? I'd like to follow a pathway of: Corpsman-> Orthopedic tech-> IDC-> IPAP-> Orthopedic Surgical PA. Its a pretty lofty goal but im pretty sure if i work hard I can manage it. Thinking of doing a Biomedical Engineering major for my bachelor's to give me a better background in prosthetics. The downside being that's a 5 year bachelors as a full time student. Thoughts?

[PropertyofBuMed]

Every IDC I've met has done an FMF tour at some point in their career. Not saying that's a requirement, just a trend I've noticed.

Yeah, that's a general corpsman trend. FMF is a sea duty for us, given the lack of actual ship billets FMF is usually the only thing that will satisfy the requirements of our sea/shore rotation. When I checked CMS-ID last literally 80% of available billets for me were FMF... 10% overseas, maybe 8% stateside and 2% Ship.

Its also worth noting that the billets were pretty strange.. there were 2 billets to Poland and Romania. My initial reaction was lolwut.. so I did some googling and discovered they're some type of strategic air defense setup with like.. a few dozen personnel at most. There was also a stateside billet to.. New Hampshire.. I couldn't make it up if I tried.. they have Navy in New Hampshire apparently.. my neighbor took that one. Part of me kind of regretted dropping a package.. this would probably have been the only time in my career I see these types of things open up.

[LT Guppy]

Yep. AEGIS Ashore Romania is part of the European BMD plan. It's a fairly new command - only about 2 years old.

[Raca1234]

Thanks guys this is awesome information. I'm enlisting as an E-3 because of my Eagle Scout so hopefully that makes advancement to E-5 a little quicker even with overmanning. I did read somewhere that if you are an IDC then you only need 30 credits to get into IPAP. Any truth to this? I'd like to follow a pathway of: Corpsman-> Orthopedic tech-> IDC-> IPAP-> Orthopedic Surgical PA. Its a pretty lofty goal but im pretty sure if i work hard I can manage it. Thinking of doing a Biomedical Engineering major for my bachelor's to give me a better background in prosthetics. The downside being that's a 5 year bachelors as a full time student. Thoughts?

Making it to E-5 is going to take a little longer than that. Typical advancement for us to E-4 takes three years. Our advancement rate is pretty rough. Your first eval, if you can, work your butt off to get an MP. You won't get an EP straight off the bat, unless you're the only corpsman in your clinic. That'll give you somewhat of a better chance toward your first advancement test. It's pretty hard to get into the IDC program as an E-5 unless you've been deployed a couple times. Most don't get accepted until E-6 these days. Ortho tech is pretty hard to get unless you choose it after your first duty station. You can absolutely do a 4 year bachelors while active duty, TA can take care of it. Most bases have an education center (I haven't been on one that doesnt) and you can do all your in person classes there. If you have any questions feel free to message me!