Military Residency Quality

[KingSoloKing]

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I am a current 2026 cycle applicant. I received an II for USUHS and I know if I get accepted there, I’ll have to go through the military match. Initially, I didn’t mind the residency and service requirements. However, as I was doing more research into the residency match rates and other information, I keep on finding information about how military residencies often don’t provide as comprehensive/thorough of an education compared to civilian residencies because you are seeing less patients. This makes me worried that if I interview and get accepted to only USUHS, I would be receiving a lower quality education that will negatively affect me once I leave the military. I was wondering if anyone has insights into the military match education quality and civilian careers afterwards. I am trying to determine if I should withdraw from USUHS so I am not “turning down” a MD acceptance that might hurt me if I have to reapply next cycle.

 

[LizzyM]

Residency programs are accredited the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). Whether military or civilian, a residency has to meet the criteria for accreditation. Physicians coming out of the military are employed every day in civilian hospitals and in all my years, I've never heard any remarks that would suggest that they are less well trained or less competent than physicians who trained in civilian residencies.

 

[chilly_md]

There is a prior thread that goes into discussion about weighing USUHS's unique program vs a more traditional one, though it was a DO school:

B

Thread 'MD (USUHS) vs DO school (DMUCOM) with HPSP?'

Apr 1, 2024

Most ppl say to choose:
MD > DO
HPSP > USUHS (if I don't plan to make military medicine my entire career)

[TLDR] So... do I choose USUHS (MD) or DMUCOM (DO) with HPSP?

Some Context:

• I was Army ROTC in undergrad (but got disenrolled by third year due to medical stuff but im cleared now for HPSP and USUHS) and now planning on staying Army
• I am definitely doing HPSP or USUHS. I think it would be great to see what mil med is like. I don't think I'd want to stay in the military as a career though
• I am interested in Ortho, maybe Peds? General Surgery? Obgyn? Plastics...

• Basicblub
• Replies: 42
• Forum: Military Medicine

 

[FlowRate]

Are you wanting to be a surgeon? There's plenty of discussion regarding various programs--not just military programs--under preparing new surgeons for independent practice.

I'm of the opinion that clinical proficiency in any primarily cognitive (contrasting with procedural) specialty is as much about the effort that you put in to learning as it is about program quality.