A young Afghan boy was injured by shrapnel in his
village. Army Sgt. 1st Class Philip Nordstrom treated the boy after he was
injured. (Photo courtesy
of Philip Nordstrom)
"Even if you're already in the military and have a career, you can still take a different path," Nordstrom said. "In my case, it's almost like starting a new career all over again."
In order to apply for HPSP, Soldiers must obtain a baccalaureate degree from an accredited school.
"I went to college for a few years before I came into the Army," Nordstrom recalled. "Then 11 years later, I decided I wanted to attempt med school, so I had to get my bachelor's degree. That was the first step in the process."
While on active duty, Nordstrom obtained his baccalaureate degree from Campbell University in North Carolina.
"I had to work a 9 to 5 full-time, active-duty job in the Army, and a combination of online and classroom courses from 6 to 10 p.m. weeknights," he explained. "Most of the classes I had to take were in the classroom or in labs since I was trying to apply to medical school."
Prior to applying for the HPSP, Nordstrom was accepted to the University of South Carolina, School of Medicine.
"Getting accepted to medical school was the first box to check for me," Nordstrom said. "Once you have that, then you can continue. If I could give some advice to anyone who plans to apply for HPSP, I would encourage them to start the HPSP process while they are applying for medical school."
Nordstrom was excited and relieved after learning he had been selected for HPSP.
"I had decided that I was going to go to medical school no matter what, but I prefer to do it with the Army," he said. "I want to continue my military career in this direction."
Nordstrom comes from a military family. His brother Joel Nordstrom is a combat engineer, and his father, Mark Nordstrom, is a retired Army colonel.
"He's always been interested in pursuing a worthy and great challenge in the service of others, and he's done very well," Mark Nordstrom said. "Several years ago I attended a school fair with him at Fort Bragg as he was considering his options. When one school found out he was a Special Forces medical sergeant, they told him that he could obtain certification as a Physician's Assistant in three semesters. Pretty tempting. He walked away. I asked him about that decision to turn down a bird in hand. He replied, 'You remember Dad when you told me that sometimes when faced with a decision that you might want to choose the path that you would later regret not pursuing? That's how I feel, I would always wonder if I could have made it into medical school. I don't want to live with that regret.' I was grateful he actually listened to me!"
Nordstrom hopes to work with the Special Forces as a supervisory doctor in the future.
"I think it would be an amazing experience later on in my Army career because of my background of being a medic on an SF team," Nordstrom said. "My familiarity with that aspect of medicine would give me a unique perspective as a supervisory doctor."
Learn more about the F. Edward Hébert Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship Program.
Disclaimer: Re-published content may have been edited for length and clarity. Read original post.