SDNers, I'm considering going to USUHS. However, I'm not very clear how things work once you graduate and get your MD. I was under the impression that after you graduate you can get a residency somewhere in the US, just like a civilian graduate, and then after residency you pay back your 7 years. However, I talked with another applicant and he said that you give the military your top 3 specialty choices and then they assign you to wherever you want. This seems contradictory to what I thought before, so if someone could explain all this I would be grateful. Essentially:
1. Is residency different for USUHS than other med schools?
2. How do you choose your specialty with USUHS?
USUHS has a very different resident track. As was previously stated, you are required to do a military residency. HPSP students (for the most part) complete military residencies, but they can receive a deferral to train at a civillian institution for certain specialties if their branch of service deems that said specialty is needed and there are not enough spots in the military system. As far as the residency itself, it differs from civilian residencies in the same manner that civilian residencies differ from each other (with the exception of all the military stuff).
As far as choosing a specialty, it works much the same way the civilan realm works with some major exceptions. There are a limited number of spots for every specialty and that affects everything. If you are a super competitive applicant for competetive specilaties and would have no problem getting them in the civilian sector you may get screwed in the military because the other people that want that specialty are more competetive than you. Likewise, even for generally non-competetive residencies there are still a limited number of spots, so while everyone in the civilian world that wants medicine or FP gets it, you may not get it in the military. Due to this system, the obverse is often true as well. In my year, very few students wanted dermatology and the result was the spots going to students who would not have been deemed competetive in the civilian world. Also, what makes someone competetive in the military differs from the civilian world.
If you don't match in your desired specialty you have two options. You can train in another specialty ( I have known people that did not get radiology and opted for anesthesia). Otherwise, you can complete an intern year and serve as a GMO with the option of continuing to reapply for your desired specialty and accruing more time or serving your commitment and getting out (though the seven year commitment for USU grads impels most to reapply for a residency).
