As their peers enjoyed post-Commencement celebrations last spring, Marie Audett '05 MD'09 and Hana Kwan '05 MD'09 boarded a flight to Montgomery, Ala. to begin a month of what many would consider boot camp.
"We got there, and it was raining, and they made us line up and learn how to salute and learn how to ask questions properly," Audett said. "It was just really intimidating. I wasn't used to that sort of thing. I would stumble all the time, and stutter, and forget to say 'Sir' and 'Ma'am.' "
But after the initial shock, Audett grew to like the discipline, as well as the leadership training and physical activity of the four-week Commissioned Officer Training. Kwan said the program grew "very intense" at times, but despite the 4:30 a.m. wake-up calls and physical fitness tests, she said it didn't really qualify as boot camp.
Kwan and Audett have time to adjust to a military lifestyle. As recipients of Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarships, they will each serve four years of active duty in the Air Force after finishing medical school and residency. For each year of active duty they serve, the scholarship covers all direct educational costs - including tuition and books - in addition to a monthly stipend during the academic year.
Kwan and Audett are unique among their peers at the Brown Medical School. Kathy Baer, director of admissions and financial aid for the Medical School, said military aid is not very popular - only 11 students at the school participate in the Health Professions Scholarship Program. Baer said that because the program requires a long-term commitment, students have to apply for it early in their medical education.
"For many students, it's too early for them to make an informed choice about their practice plans and the area of the country where they would like to live, and these military scholarships can limit their future plans," she said. "They have to make this choice very early in their medical training, before they've had a chance to investigate specialty areas and really understand what their ideal practice environment might be."
The students who do apply and receive such scholarships, however, give positive reviews, Baer said.
"Many students come back and tell me they are thrilled with the quality of the training they received from the military," she said. "They cite the degree of autonomy, the quality of the facilities and strong mentoring support."
Although there are few Brown applicants, Master Sergeant Richard Marble, officer accessions flight chief at a New Hampshire Air Force recruiting station, said those who do apply are consistently well-qualified. All HPSP applications submitted from Brown since September 2004 have been accepted, he said. Nationwide, Marble said 91.7 percent of qualified applications for the Air Force HPSP were accepted for fiscal year 2005. Marble defined qualified applicants as those with strong leadership skills, adding that many unqualified students apply each year.
Audett and Kwan voiced their own reasons for applying to HPSP, but both said they had not given too much thought to military service prior to medical school. Audett considered the United States Military Academy while in high school, but she chose Brown because she wanted a more traditional undergraduate experience. She said a good friend at the Naval Academy advised her to look into military scholarships when she started seeking out medical school financing options. As well as the obvious financial benefits, Audett said the military's research opportunities and advanced technology were particularly appealing.
"In some ways I'm looking forward to getting deployed and traveling," she said. "I've heard that the Air Force has some opportunities with volunteering to go set up clinics, which would be really great. But it's still terrifying to think of going into a war zone."
As for Kwan, her family moved to Saudi Arabia after the Gulf War, so she observed military personnel while growing up. Kwan said she enjoyed the close-knit community of the gated compound where her family lived, adding that she imagined a military base would have a similar atmosphere. The long-term benefits of military service, such as good retirement plans and health insurance, were also incentives.
Kwan said that despite the weak presence of military aid on Brown's campus, she has received positive responses from other students when they hear about her scholarship.
"People think it's a good thing that I'm helping to serve our country, which kind of surprised me in the beginning," she said. "Brown is very liberal, and you wouldn't expect that kind of a culture."
But Audett said she doesn't always receive such upbeat reactions.
"Most of the people at Brown have been pretty shocked or horrified about it," she said. "They hear that I'm joining the military, and in their heads they interpret that as, 'Oh my god, Marie's going to go to Iraq and kill a lot of people.' But once I actually explain to them what my role will be, they're much more OK with it."
