I’d suggest the following thought to supplement Dr. Dahle’s fine article in the September 2025 issue of ACEP Now: Don’t borrow anything!

Consider, as I did, the Uniformed Services Health Professions Scholarship Program. On a tax-free basis, the program covered my medical school tuition, paid for my books and fees, and provided a monthly cash stipend. It also offered 45-day clinical clerkships at academic military hospitals, during which participants received full active duty pay and allowances, in addition to reimbursement for all travel expenses.

Although this may be all that most readers will need to know, in terms of debt-avoidance, it’s far from the end of the story. Upon graduation, I did post-graduate clinical training, including emergency medicine, and served on active duty for seven years (four years of “payback,” plus three years of residency). I then elected to stay in the U.S. Army reserves part-time for 16 more years while practicing full-time in the civilian world. Consequently, I now receive military retirement pay and benefits, including medical insurance for my wife and me.

Along the way, I enjoyed training and experiences, medical and otherwise, that I’d never have had outside of the military: running an emergency department with 38,000 annual patient visits and an ambulance section of 50 staff serving a population of more than 35,000 people; deploying with and commanding 130 troops; providing medical care to 10,000 troops across multiple temporary clinics on a 30-day field exercise; being a flight surgeon and preventive medicine officer living, working, and traveling throughout Europe; earning my commercial multi-engine land and rotorcraft helicopter licenses on the GI Bill; doing temporary duty in Korea; and visiting the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea.

Approaching my 50th year medical class reunion now (still debt-free), I reflect with nostalgia on my military service. Although it entailed limitations and risks, I am grateful to have had this opportunity. Accordingly, I recommend that others give it earnest consideration.