Psychiatry in the Air Force

[flako]

Please help,

I'm an AF HPSP currently on my 3rd year and just have a few questions.
How competitive is to match into psych in the AF?
Is there any way to find out where is a good base to do a rotation during my first year for psych?

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[J-Rad]

Every specialty in each service can have some fluctuation in "competitiveness" based on numbers of applicants and number of slots (2 cycles ago Peds got very competitive in the Navy). My guess is that, per year, the number of Psych slots changes little, but one never knows how many are interested in those slots in a given cycle. That being said, I don't think psych is that competetive on the whole in the AF. In my 3rd yr I was interested in psych and talked to some people out at Wright Patt while doing a neuro rotation. Nobody was saying I needed to be a superstar to get psych in the AF. As for places to rotate, there are only two USAF training locations (Wright-Patt & San Antonio) so that might help you choose.

 

[flako]

Thanks alot J-Rad.

 

[RugbyJC]

As for places to rotate, there are only two USAF training locations (Wright-Patt & San Antonio) so that might help you choose.

I thought DC's program included AF too for psych?

 

[J-Rad]

http://airforcemedicine.afms.mil/afphysiciangme

I think that there used to be a Psych-FP residency that you could do in the AF (mainly at Malcolm Grow), but I think this may have ended (I can only find a glancing reference to it on the usu psych page).

 

[AFDuck]

Does anyone wish to comment of the relative strengths and weaknesses of the 2 AF psych training locations? Any current or former AF psychiatrists out there wish to comment on their opinion of their job? Thanks!

 

[AFDuck]

Bump, any Military psychiatrists out there wish to comment on there experiences to a hpsp student considering the field?

 

[NavyFP]

Bump, any Military psychiatrists out there wish to comment on there experiences to a hpsp student considering the field?

IgD is our resident psychiatrist. If you want more info you could PM him. But he was Navy.

 

[laughandatear]

I'm an AF staff psychiatrist, a few yrs out of residency. The 2 AD training programs have some differences. The San Antonio program is at Wilford Hall, which despite cutbacks in services there remains the flagship AF hospital. Networking, etc might be a bit easier there. If you have any interest in getting flight surgeon wings (a good idea if you plan on staying in the AF long term), the San Antonio program used to let its 4th year residents do the 6 week aerospace medicine primary course as an elective which could not be done at WP. However, in 2011, it looks like the School of aerospace medicine will be leaving San Antonio (ironically for Wright-Patt) so that advantage could switch. WP is a more community-based program and emphasizes psychotherapy to a degree more than San Antonio (probably more than most psych residencies nationwide), so you may want to take that into account.

Overall, you'll get fine training at either. You'll be competent and pass your boards with the training you get at both of these sites. How high you "soar" beyond that level really depends a lot more on the kind of student/doc you are than on the program you train at.