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I am still waiting on DoDMETS to locate a cardiologist in my area for my remedial. They began the process at the end of December. I'm on the WL and worried I won't be complete before the deadline. Any ideas what I should do?
 
does anyone know if having one frequency in each ear below the allowed threshold for hearing is a medical disqualification? it's something I have had my entire life and never had hearing aids for it/ never been recommended aids by an audiologist but it caused me to fail my hearing test. I had my remedial done already and am just waiting on the audiologist to upload my results. any input is super appreciated!
 
AUrunner4life said:
I’m in the same boat- a letter saying my application is on hold. What does this mean? Feels almost like a soft rejection.
Click to expand...
I think there's a hierarchy of some sort regarding post-interview decisions. Don't quote me on this, but I believe it's Acceptance>WL>Alternate, and those on post-interview hold are in a purgatory between WL and Alternate, or Alternate and R. If a favorable decision is made upon candidates being held post-interview, then they're either placed on the bottom of the WL, or the bottom of the Alternate list (depending on what they're being held for). Please note that I'm just theorizing here, based on what I've read in the previous USUHS threads. I'm on the primary waitlist at the moment, so I'm anxiously waiting for a decision too!
 
blax34 said:
What impressed you specifically?
Click to expand...

Ok, so here's my little schpeal: There is a lot of stuff here on SDN about military medicine, mostly a lot of gloom and/or uncertainty about the future. There is a lot of discontent/dissatisfaction among those senior SDN members who have been in the military a while. It's hard to navigate and understand what specifically went wrong for them, how much of their dissatisfaction comes from the DHA changing, how much of it comes from their own unrealistic expectations going into military medicine, how much of it comes from just sheer bad luck in not getting their desired duty stations/specialties. There are obviously very valid concerns about the DHA, about the lack of flexibility in military medicine---and it certainly behooves us to understand those concerns. At the same time, it is definitely important to not put the "cart before the horse," to not get ahead of ourselves, since its impossible to understand the position that we will be in 7-11 years (after med school and residency). Therefore, I think the only reasonable thing for us to do is to examine the fundamental question of whether or not we want to serve, and whether we are okay with the potential changes to the landscape of military medicine? For me, that answer was yes, and during the interview, I tried to mentally bifurcate the actual med school (4 years at USUHS) and the career trajectory/things associated with military medicine. I had read a lot of doom and gloom about military medicine on this forum, and I think I had a good idea of what the supposed "bad parts" of military medicine entails, which is why I thought it would be useful to separate those experiences from that of the med school experience in order to not get ahead of myself, to not "put the cart in front of the horse" (given the uncertainty of what the bad parts might look like when we get there).

I've been on my fair share of interviews (one at a T20), and for what its worth, I have enjoyed all of the programs that I have attended. In that regard, I don't think I am biased (but you should obviously take what I say with a grain of salt). When I went to all of my interviews, I only thought about one thing: how can this school get me to where I want to go, how can this school provide the opportunities for me to succeed, both from a specialty standpoint, and from a career standpoint. Here are the specific things that really impressed me at USUHS:

1.) Everyone was so damn happy. I went to talk to students outside of the interview group, they said that they were all very happy about their education. They all seemed very supportive of one another, and this goes back to what other past interviewees have said about the school--the camaraderie, and lack of gunnership is something that I definitely appreciated.

2.) Similar to the point above, there seems to be a great deal amount of administrative support for the students. CDR Liotta was awesome, and having talked to other students outside of the interview sphere (I wanted to get an unbiased, unpolished opinion of the school), they said the same thing about the administration. I think it was clear to me that the administration views their role as individuals who really serve the students, and have made the curriculum reflective of that (online lectures, not too many mandatory things, etc.).

3.) Proximity to Walter Reed. This was a huge deal for me, because unlike the smaller programs that I have interviewed at, I was sure that the quality of clinical education would be excellent. It means that even before MS3/MS4, I can connect with the home program for the specialty of my choice (connections that are important for residency), and get a head start of what I want to do. Having such a huge medical center (I would think) ensures an awesome level of exposure to a whole range of disease presentations, etc. And having it so close to campus (literally, walked there myself after the interview, took 8 minutes) is awesome.

4.) Proximity to NIH. Another huge deal for me. I did 4 years of TBI research, and am definitely keen on continuing some form of research. You're literally next door to the NIH, its insane. Hell, even some core facilities (Murtha Cancer Center) are on USUHS/Walter Reed campus. And even USUHS has its own research on campus (which again, is strengthened by its ties to Walter Reed and NIH). Needless to say, if you are interested in research, I would say USUHS is a very attractive option by virtue of its location. Having such strong research facilities, and taking advantage of it would definitely make you competitive for military and civilian residencies (if you got deferred). I spoke to an orthopod who is an alum of USUHS, and he is a faculty member at USUHS and at Hopkins (where he might ultimately go after the military), so again, I think the location can definitely set you up for success later in your career if you take advantage of it.

5.) Cool facilities. I thought the 4 students/cadaver was nice, their library was awesome (bigger than the T20 I went to lol), gym access, proximity to metro was cool (though these are less important tangibles than the ones above).

In terms of what I stated before, I definitely came out of the interview believing that your 4 years at USUHS will be a strong educational experience; as a school, I think its definitely a solid program, and you can get a lot of the experience (NIH, Walter Reed) if you really get after it. As a side note, I would choose USUHS over HPSP any day in my personal opinion for the reasons listed above (in addition to the leadership stuff unique to USUHS).

In the context of these strong attributes, let's not forget the fact that 1.) their Step 1 score is hovering/slightly below national average, and 2.) all of the uncertainties associated with military medicine (that you can find all over this forum). Those are definitely some cons that ought to be looked into, and weighed against your own options.

But again, all of the programs that I have been to have their own pros and cons, and this value judgment needs to take place for whatever program you choose. I went into the interview knowing about the uncertainty, but knowing that I want to serve at the end of the day. Even in this uncertainty, I still believe that USUHS can definitely set me up for success in terms of my residency options, in terms of my desired career trajectory given the attributes mentioned above. I just think that it is important to temper your expectations, and really understand the type of career that you are going for. I realize the irony of saying that given the issues associated with military medicine (and how its unclear what it will look like once we are out of residency), but hopefully my opinions and perspective address that uncertainty.

Here is a post that I think is useful and important. On page 6, further down, there is a post of the "Bucket 1" specialties, which as I understand, are part of the "war-time critical specialties" that won't be on the chopping block/in danger with changes in the DHA. Somewhere else in that post are Bucket 2 and 3, which some argue might be in danger of changes. Again, it's not entirely clear what this means for us (especially since we wont be at that stage for a few years), but maybe it will be useful for some current applicants/posterity who come to visit this forum.

forums.studentdoctor.net

Thinking about HPSP/USUHS? READ THIS.

*matched
forums.studentdoctor.net forums.studentdoctor.net
 
Last edited:
Sic Parvis Magna said:
Ok, so here's my little schpeal: There is a lot of stuff here on SDN about military medicine, mostly a lot of gloom and/or uncertainty about the future. There is a lot of discontent/dissatisfaction among those senior SDN members who have been in the military a while. It's hard to navigate and understand what specifically went wrong for them, how much of their dissatisfaction comes from the DHA changing, how much of it comes from their own unrealistic expectations going into military medicine, how much of it comes from just sheer bad luck in not getting their desired duty stations/specialties. There are obviously very valid concerns about the DHA, about the lack of flexibility in military medicine---and it certainly behooves us to understand those concerns. At the same time, it is definitely important to not put the "cart before the horse," to not get ahead of ourselves, since its impossible to understand the position that we will be in 7-11 years (after med school and residency). Therefore, I think the only reasonable thing for us to do is to examine the fundamental question of whether or not we want to serve, and whether we are okay with the potential changes to the landscape of military medicine? For me, that answer was yes, and during the interview, I tried to mentally bifurcate the actual med school (4 years at USUHS) and the career trajectory/things associated with military medicine. I had read a lot of doom and gloom about military medicine on this forum, and I think I had a good idea of what the supposed "bad parts" of military medicine entails, which is why I thought it would be useful to separate those experiences from that of the med school experience in order to not get ahead of myself, to not "put the cart in front of the horse" (given the uncertainty of what the bad parts might look like when we get there).

I've been on my fair share of interviews (one at a T20), and for what its worth, I have enjoyed all of the programs that I have attended. In that regard, I don't think I am biased (but you should obviously take what I say with a grain of salt). When I went to all of my interviews, I thought only thought about one thing: how can this school get me to where I want to go, how can this school provide the opportunities for me to succeed, both from a specialty standpoint, and from a career standpoint. Here are the specific things that impressed me at USUHS:

1.) Everyone was so damn happy. I went to talk to students outside of the interview group, they said that they were all very happy about their education. They all seemed very supportive of one another, and this goes back to what other past interviewees have said about the school--the camaraderie, and lack of gunnership is something that I definitely appreciated.

2.) Similar to the point above, there seems to be a great deal amount of administrative support for the students. Captain Liotta seemed to be an awesome guy, and having talked to other students outside of the interview sphere (I wanted to get an unbiased, unpolished opinion of the school), they said the same thing about the administration. I think it was clear to me that the administration views their role as individuals who really serve the students, and have made the curriculum reflective of that (online lectures, not too many mandatory things, etc.).

3.) Proximity to Walter Reed. This was a huge deal for me, because unlike the smaller programs that I have interviewed at, I was sure that the quality of clinical education would be excellent. It means that even before MS3/MS4, I can connect with the home program for the specialty of my choice (connections that are important for residency), and get a head start of what I want to do. Having such a huge medical center (I would think) ensures an awesome level of exposure to a whole range of disease presentations, etc. And having it so close to campus (literally, walked there myself after the interview, took 8 minutes) is awesome.

4.) Proximity to NIH. Another huge deal for me. I did 4 years of TBI research, and am definitely keen on continuing some form of research. You're literally next door to the NIH, its insane. Hell, even some core facilities (Murtha Cancer Center) are on USUHS/Walter Reed campus. And even USUHS has its own research on campus (which again, is strengthened by its ties to Walter Reed and NIH). Needless to say, if you are interested in research, I would say USUHS is a very attractive option by virtue of its location. Having such strong research facilities, and taking advantage of it would definitely make you competitive for military and civilian residencies (if you got deferred). I spoke to an orthopod who is an alum of USUHS, and he is a faculty member at USUHS and at Hopkins (where he might ultimately go after the military), so again, I think the location can definitely set you up for success later in your career if you take advantage of it.

5.) Cool facilities. I thought the 4 students/cadaver was nice, their library was awesome (bigger than the T20 I went to lol), gym access, proximity to metro was cool (though these are less important tangibles than the ones above).

In terms of what I stated before, I definitely came out of the interview believing that your 4 years at USUHS will be a strong educational experience; as a school, I think its definitely a solid mid-tier program, and you can get a lot of the experience (NIH, Walter Reed) if you really get after it. As a side note, I would choose USUHS over HPSP any day in my personal opinion for the reasons listed above (in addition to the leadership stuff unique to USUHS).

In the context of these strong attributes, let's not forget the fact that 1.) their Step 1 score is hovering/slightly below national average, and 2.) all of the uncertainties associated with military medicine (that you can find all over this forum). Those are definitely some cons that ought to be looked into, and weighed against your own options.

But again, all of the programs that I have been to have their own pros and cons, and this value judgement needs to take place for whatever program you choose. I went into the interview knowing about the uncertainty, but knowing that I want to serve at the end of the day. Even in this uncertainty, I still believe that USUHS can definitely set me up for success in terms of my residency options, in terms of my desired career trajectory given the attributes mentioned above. I just think that it is important to temper your expectations, and really understand the type of career that you are going for. I realize the irony of saying that given the issues associated with military medicine (and how its unclear what it will look like once we are out of residency), but hopefully my opinions and perspective address that uncertainty.

Here is a post that I think is useful and important. On page 6, further down, there is a post of the "Bucket 1" specialties, which as I understand, are part of the "war-time critical specialties" that won't be on the chopping block/in danger with changes in the DHA. Somewhere else in that post are Bucket 2 and 3, which some argue might be in danger of changes. Again, it's not entirely clear what this means for us (especially since we wont be at that stage for a few years), but maybe it will be useful for some current applicants/posterity who come to visit this forum.

forums.studentdoctor.net

Thinking about HPSP/USUHS? READ THIS.

*matched
forums.studentdoctor.net forums.studentdoctor.net
Click to expand...

That was a heck of a write up. Where else did you interview?
 
So, when checking the DoDMERB website, I can download a pdf saying I'm medically qualified. Do I need to send this letter to USUHS or do they already know? I'm reaching out to the commissioning coordinator as well...
 
AlphaNovember said:
So, when checking the DoDMERB website, I can download a pdf saying I'm medically qualified. Do I need to send this letter to USUHS or do they already know? I'm reaching out to the commissioning coordinator as well...
Click to expand...

I’m wondering the same thing! I was qualified right off the bat (no remedial appt or anything), but I haven’t sent the DoDMERB pdf to USUHS. Currently on the primary WL.
 
FlamingEagle said:
I’m wondering the same thing! I was qualified right off the bat (no remedial appt or anything), but I haven’t sent the DoDMERB pdf to USUHS. Currently on the primary WL.
Click to expand...
FlamingEagle said:
I’m wondering the same thing! I was qualified right off the bat (no remedial appt or anything), but I haven’t sent the DoDMERB pdf to USUHS. Currently on the primary WL.
Click to expand...
you don’t need to do anything, but it’s nice to have something in writing, isn’t it?!
 
I got an email today about having to do body fat composition before I can be considered for admission, other than the obvious that I have to get this test, do y'all think this means anything regarding admission?

I'll pass the body fat composition I hope, I just lift often so I weigh a few pounds over the weight standard for my height.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using SDN mobile
 
HopefulErDr said:
I got an email today about having to do body fat composition before I can be considered for admission, other than the obvious that I have to get this test, do y'all think this means anything regarding admission?

I'll pass the body fat composition I hope, I just lift often so I weigh a few pounds over the weight standard for my height.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using SDN mobile
Click to expand...

I got the same email and completed the test and sent it in. Not overthinking it.
 
Here’s a potentially neurotic question: I’ve read a few anecdotes about the USAF pulling everyone off the primary WL in years past, but on average, what percentage of the primary WL is exhausted for this branch?
 
FlamingEagle said:
Here’s a potentially neurotic question: I’ve read a few anecdotes about the USAF pulling everyone off the primary WL in years past, but on average, what percentage of the primary WL is exhausted for this branch?
Click to expand...

Honestly, I feel like as long as you're on the primary WL, you have a damn good shot at getting in (based on what @Matthew9Thirtyfive said about their WL movements in past years). I'm not really sure if anyone outside of admissions is privy to the numbers/percentages beyond that.

1581097689258.png


Another question: does anyone know how precise/accurate these dates are? Has the admissions committee generally abided by these deadlines to release decisions? Not looking forward to waiting 8-10 weeks now lol
 
Sic Parvis Magna said:
Honestly, I feel like as long as you're on the primary WL, you have a damn good shot at getting in (based on what @Matthew9Thirtyfive said about their WL movements in past years). I'm not really sure if anyone outside of admissions is privy to the numbers/percentages beyond that.

View attachment 294983

Another question: does anyone know how precise/accurate these dates are? Has the admissions committee generally abided by these deadlines to release decisions? Not looking forward to waiting 8-10 weeks now lol
Click to expand...

I interviewed 11/14, received my WL letter around 1/21. So a little more than 8 weeks (but probably around 8 business weeks given all the holidays).

Thanks for the reassuring thoughts! I appreciate it.
 
Just interview 2/6! Surprised that USUHS is still interviewing this late, but we were not the last interview date. There is one more after us.
 
My letter didn't say primary waitlist- just "waitlisted". It still included "recommended for acceptance." Do you think there's a difference?
 
Sic Parvis Magna said:
Honestly, I feel like as long as you're on the primary WL, you have a damn good shot at getting in (based on what @Matthew9Thirtyfive said about their WL movements in past years). I'm not really sure if anyone outside of admissions is privy to the numbers/percentages beyond that.

View attachment 294983

Another question: does anyone know how precise/accurate these dates are? Has the admissions committee generally abided by these deadlines to release decisions? Not looking forward to waiting 8-10 weeks now lol
Click to expand...
My time frame was correct too, similar to @FlamingEagle I interviewed in November and heard back in 8 weeks
 
waitlisted as of 02/06 Idk if its primary or not letter just said wait list but that it was different from being alternate
 
Hey, so apparently Step 1 is P/F now. How will this impact USUHS/ milmed?
 
AlphaNovember said:
What is CK?
Click to expand...

Refers to Step 2 CK (clinical knowledge), it's one of the board exams you take while in medical school. It will continue to have a numerical score result, so it could potentially substitute for the Step 1 score once that switches to P/F.

How this change will impact USU and milmed is pure speculation at this point, since there are still many unknowns and USMLE hasn't really provided any substantial information about the logistics of this change.

Regardless of what happens with Step 1 scoring, one of the nice things about going to USU is that you have more opportunities to network with military PDs, and PDs are better able to holistically evaluate your residency application. Not to mention that by being a USU grad, military PDs have a good idea of what they're getting (i.e., there is obviously "name recognition" of USU throughout MilMed and that provides an advantage when applying to military residencies compared to HPSP students who may have gone to a mid-to-low tier school with low name recognition). Although Step 1 scores carry a lot of weight in MilMed, it isn't the end all and be all of your app. From my understanding, other parts of your academic career get more consideration in the initial screening process than in the civilian world.
 
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