HPSP Military vs Civilian Residency

[WAgirl94]

I have been accepted to medical school next year and am trying to decide if the HPSP is for me. The part I am confused about is residency and the emphasis on "deployable residencies" (EM, surgery, family care, etc) . From what I understand, the military fluctuates on how much they emphasis this, but there are times when they significantly focus residency slots to within these specialties. This may change, but I am currently interested in OB/GYN. If I enter a residency during a period when deployable specialties are highly prioritized, and there are few military OB/GYN residencies available, will this make it more difficult for me to become an OB/GYN? I would be okay entering a civilian OB/GYN residency as my second choice, but the amount that "few residency spots for specialties" is talked about as a con of HPSP makes me wonder if I am missing something? If I feel comfortable entering a military residency as my first choice or a civilian residency as my second, is there any reason HPSP would limit the specialty I go into?
Sorry for the long Q, any insight is appreciated!

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[deleted889094]

Sounds like a question for @Matthew9Thirtyfive

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Yes, if the branch you join decides they don’t want to train any active duty [insert specialty here] the year you apply to the match, then you’re SOL (edit: for that year—if you do a TY year or something and they decide to train some the next year, you can then apply). OB/GYN is probably safe from being completely eliminated since military members are so good at having babies. That doesn’t mean they won’t shrink the number of active duty OB/GYNs, in which case yes it would be more competitive. But they also said they were going to do that this year, and they didn’t. In fact I think they may have added a spot or two (at least in the Navy).