Since these will determine the availability of residency programs does the army post or make public its "needs" every year before the match? In other words, if the big green god predicts it will need 10 general surgeons, 10 orthopods, 10 ob/gyn, 20 family practioners will they tell the upcoming match applicants these numbers? If so, where can you find this? I looked around on mods and couldn't find it. I read, on a thread here, that the air force posts these numbers, just wondering if the army did the same.
The Needs of the Army
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Nope. About the best you can hope for is the "if you're interested in one of these fields, you must also apply to the NRMP...for everyone else, that's optional" email that comes out early-ish in the applicaiton cycle. This year, it was OB/Gyn and Neurosurgery. For what its worth, for the specialties and programs I've looked at, the class sizes don't seem to vary hugely each year. So, if you total up the number of residents in a given class at each program for a given specialty, you can get an idea of the usual yearly demand.
I was under the impression that the Army had a fixed number of spots in each specialty every year. And this is the number of spots they offer each year in each specialty as they know they are not likely to need more or less than that. At least this is what they told us at a recent HPSP recruiting tour at BAMC. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
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But you have to factor all points in the pipeline into that number.
if you have a number of general surgeons that went to USUHS, and as such have a longer time to payback, then you will need a smaller number of surgeons for a few years.
Guessing what will happen is like guessing whether or not the IRS will audit you. There are some things you can do to improve your odds, or hurt you, but you can never have a sure thing, with any branch of the government.
i want out (of IRR)
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Nah, the number of spots changes. Maybe not year-to-year, but it's certainly not fixed. Take my specialty, for example. A few years ago the Army said it was going to take 5 residents per program every year; end of story. Well, that lasted for precisely 4 years, and now they're down to 4 residents per program because they've decided to decrease the total number of active duty docs in my specialty. In a few years, they'll realize that they will be incredibly under-staffed, and then they'll probably boost the residency numbers up to 6 per year as well as defer a bunch of folks to civilian training. And the cycle continues...
The army has a fixed number of slots for in-service residency training. I was looking for something along the lines of what psychbender posted. If you're looking in some specialties you should also apply to the regular match, ie there will positions for deferments in whichever fields.
thanks psych, not that it really matters, since I'm going to USUHS.....just curious. So if a USUHS student wanted a field that the army suggested should apply to the regular match would they be allowed to apply for a deferment? I've posted something similar to that before and got a bit of conflicting information.
I'm confused, so are you saying the total number of spots changes, including the number of in-service spots and deferments granted? This is what the person above states. Or are you saying that the in-service number of spots changes? For example, they offer 26 in-service Emergency Med spots each year. So if they decided they might need 40 EM docs for the current matching class, but only 30 for the next class, then they are going to change the amount of deferments each year. Am I understanding this correctly? Or, are you saying that if they decide they might only need 22 EM docs for a current class, then they are going to eliminate all deferments as well as 4 in-service spots? What I'm asking is do they eliminate in-service residency spots, or do the number of in-service spots remain the same each year? I'm speaking of the Army for clarification.
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The number of in-service spots can and does change, at least in my specialty.
You would think that they would drop the civilian deferments before cutting back on active duty slots, but these folks aren't really using logic. There's no particular rhyme or reason to what they do or why they do it; my guess is that it's all about funding.
What is your specialty if you don't mind my asking?
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The slots for residency are fairly consistent for most fields with small changes annually, and can be seen on MODS. The lower density programs are the ones with higher variability. The number the Army wants to train may change a lot and the make up is made with civilian deferrment, which the USAF does much more. This year, I don't think there were any Army deferrments, but I know EM went up with the Army paying for 2 additional slots at MCG.
The number of slots has to be approved by the appropriate civilian accreditation association. E.g., the Army cannot just decide to train 25 FP at a program approved for only 8. But it can allot more HPSP to civilian deferrment for FP.
The number of slots has to be approved by the appropriate civilian accreditation association. E.g., the Army cannot just decide to train 25 FP at a program approved for only 8. But it can allot more HPSP to civilian deferrment for FP.
But do they ever decrease the number of in-service spots? Also, do USUHS grads get preference for the Army residency spots, is this why you said they can allot more HPSP to civilian deferment? Said another way, does someone from USUHS have a better chance of matching than an HPSP? Or are USUHS grads just required to do a military program and aren't allowed to defer?
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1. Yes they can decrease spots, and have done so for some of the lower demand residencies. They do not for EM because it is high demand in the field.
2. THe official word is USUHS does not get special consideration, but if you are interviewing with a USUHS grad and you are one, then go ahead and knock your ring on the table : )
3. USUHS and HPSP must apply for military match, but can request deferrment like anyone else. No deferments in the Army, but plenty in the USAF depending on field.
4. There have been different official rules for USUHS vs HPSP in the past, but are no longer used for the match or assignments. Still, connections and old boys networks are worth a lot in any business/profession.
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You sure about that one? I'm fairly certain that USUHS students cannot apply for civilian residencies (at least, that's what has always been told to me).
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You are right that no one in the Army was allowed to apply for civilian deferrment this year, HPSP or USUHS. In years when there is more applicants than slots, then they have been allowed. I know several who were. There are always exceptions, each year the rules are a bit different, and I'm not in charge.
---------------- Listening to: Bent - Moonbeams via FoxyTunes
The number of spots in certain residency does change year to year depending on the need of the Army. I know for a fact it's that way with fellowships. The fellowship that I matched in this year had 2 fewer spots than last year but 75% more applicants. Similarly for residency, last year when I was a senior resident, my PG told us that our program was getting one fewer available slot compared to last year, reasons unknown.
The number of spots in certain residency does change year to year depending on the need of the Army. I know for a fact it's that way with fellowships. The fellowship that I matched in this year had 2 fewer spots than last year but 75% more applicants. Similarly for residency, last year when I was a senior resident, my PG told us that our program was getting one fewer available slot compared to last year, reasons unknown.
