Non-prior service HPSPers at a disadvantage?

[blackajack]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Hi y'all,

I'm thinking about applying for AF or Navy HPSP this upcoming year (assuming an acceptance to med school, of course.)

However, I'm wondering how much of a disadvantage non-prior service HPSPers are when they're applying for a military residency. From reading other threads in this forum, it appears that many prior enlisted members and academy graduates sign up for HPSP. Do prior enlisted med students get favored for more of the competitive specialties while non-prior service get stuck with the least competitive residencies and GMO tours? Is prior service weighed more than higher grades, board scores, or research?

Let's say there are two applicants applying for the same residency spot:

1) non-prior service, good grades, good board scores

2) prior enlisted, same grades, lower board scores

Will the prior enlisted beat out the non prior because of his prior experience? Even though prior enlisted has a lower board score (assuming this score is lower but not extremely low for the specialty)?

I have no prior military experience myself, so that's why I'm asking.

 

[delicatefade]

Prior service really has nothing to do with it. The chances you will match to a residency are inversely proportional to how much of a tool you are. That's a better indicator to go by.

 

[colbgw02]

FWIW, the Army does consider prior-service as a factor in its point system at the board, but it's just one component given equal weight among several things. It helps, in the same way good grades, high board scores, and research help, but it doesn't guarantee anything.

That is in contradistinction - again in the Army - to doing a GMO tour. The system awards so much weight to having been a GMO that it essentially trumps all the other differences between two applicants.

 

[Droopy Snoopy]

Attached is what the JSGMESB grades you on. As you can see, prior service + 'potential as career officer' scores you more points than having excellent vs. decent boards. That said, if you're going for a spot in IM that has say 25 spots, not anywhere close to that many of your competition are former military, so you still stand a good chance of matching if you do your bizness during med school. How I understand it anyway.

BTW it says 2005 version at the top, does anyone know if it's been revised in the last 3 years?

 

[AF M4]

Good for you for thinking so far ahead. I barely knew what the match was when I entered med school.

The short answer is yes, prior service definitely influences residency selection, almost to the point where the attributes of an individual application and interview are moot. The scoring system always leaves enough room for some good old-fashioned fudge factor in deciding who's going to get a residency and who does a GMO.

Here's the thing. You probably don't know what you want to do in 4+ years, and even if you have your heart set on something now it could change dramatically during your exposure to med school. Happens all the time. And if you join the military now, there's a chance - and this could be a very strong chance if you want to do a competitive residency and don't have friends in high places - that you would simply have to serve out your time as a GMO before you could do your residency. That's a big chance to take with your life and your career, and it will be painful to have what you worked so hard for taken out of your hands because of your HPSP commitment.

I know the loans are big and scary, but take them. If you're still interested in the military after med school, look into the FAP. Go into the residency you want, become the kind of doctor you want to be. If you still want to go AF/Navy/Army, good for you, go for it. You can even get a large portion of your loans repaid via the reserves for the above for somewhat less of a commitment. Or you can work on-base as a civilian contractor with no deployment commitment. In the end you'll have a ton of options available to you, and less of the monetary pressure you feel now, and you'll just be able to make better decisions in that situation. Good luck.

 

[edmadison]

I can't speak for the other branches, but the Army doesn't use Board scoring for most residencies. It IS used for PGY-2 and fellowship applications. If you are applying for a continuous contract program in the Army, the match is very different. It is much more like the civilian match with a little political intrtigue added in.

Ed

 

[NavyFP]

I can't speak for the other branches, but the Army doesn't use Board scoring for most residencies. It IS used for PGY-2 and fellowship applications. If you are applying for a continuous contract program in the Army, the match is very different. It is much more like the civilian match with a little political intrtigue added in.

Ed

Navy is also headed in that direction.

 

[blackajack]

thanks for the replies everyone. seems to me that the better option for non-prior service is FAP. i may consider going that route instead of HPSP.

also, does anyone know the typical percentage of HPSPers each year that are non-prior service? or does it vary too greatly from year to year?

 

[BlueIsis]

Navy is also headed in that direction.

When are the Navy Powers-That-Be thinking of moving away from the joint "scorecard" format?

 

[NavyFP]

When are the Navy Powers-That-Be thinking of moving away from the joint "scorecard" format?

Once the intern match takes over most of the PGY2 selections.

 

[narcusprince]

Hey blajack as long as you go to a good med school. Bust ur butt get a good board score you will match in the Navy gme residency you want. I can honestly say I have not been dissapointed with hpsp. Just be proactive talk directly to the specialty advisors. Listen to navFP and ur golden.