Unfilled Med School Slots

[The White Coat Investor]

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[pgg]

He said that only 160 of the 200 slots at USUHS were filled this year. I had a hard time buying that

I don't buy it either, (a) USUHS doesn't have 200 slots in the first place, and (b) I have no doubt that there are many, many premed hopefuls out there that shotgun their AMCAS and would be ecstatic with any acceptance, anywhere. USUHS is an accredited allopathic medical school in the United States; it'll always fill its seats ... though the quality of matriculants in coming years is another issue altogether.

 

[Bubblehead-to-MD]

pgg beat me to it.

The typical med school class at USUHS has 165 - 170 students. I have no idea where the 200 comes from. However, if USUHS did allow a class size of 200, it most certainly would not have difficulty filling it - there are people that are not offered admission at USUHS, whether they are waitlisted or rejected.

The fact that a high powered medical officer does not have his facts straight is somewhat concerning...

 

[R-Me-Doc]

The fact that a high powered medical officer does not have his facts straight is somewhat concerning...

But not at all surprising!!!!


X-RMD

 

[i want out]

I participated in a meeting today with a relatively high-powered military medical officer in which he indicated that recruiting was a problem. He said that only 160 of the 200 slots at USUHS were filled this year. I had a hard time buying that and was wondering if any of you USUHS students can substantiate that. Perhaps he was mistakenly using HPSP numbers.

He also noted that while the Air Force was still meeting its recruiting goals, and the Army was barely missing theirs, the Navy was falling far short of its goals.

He also noted that Navy deployments certainly weren't going to be shortened to 4 months in the future and that some of them would likely be going to twelve months.

He also discussed why he thought it was important for the Navy to maintain its GME program...essentially it boiled down to maintaining good quality of care that could not be assured by using contracting civilians (who trained "who knows where". Interesting perspective I thought.

Sounds like he was talking about HPSP, and even then, he doesn't have the numbers quite right.

I am going from memory, so my numbers may not be exact either, but I read an article in Stars and Stripes of all places last fall that said that Navy filled only 56% of their HPSP slots, Army Filled 86% and 115% of their slots.

For the Navy, that translates to about 160 of the 290 some 4 year slots they were trying to fill.

As above posters have mentioned, I can't imagine any medical school in the US with unfilled spots. Now, how far down the wait list you have to go to fill spots may be another matter, but unfilled slots sounds a little funny.

i want out

 

[NavyFP]

Sounds like he was talking about HPSP, and even then, he doesn't have the numbers quite right.

I am going from memory, so my numbers may not be exact either, but I read an article in Stars and Stripes of all places last fall that said that Navy filled only 56% of their HPSP slots, Army Filled 86% and 115% of their slots.

For the Navy, that translates to about 160 of the 290 some 4 year slots they were trying to fill.

As above posters have mentioned, I can't imagine any medical school in the US with unfilled spots. Now, how far down the wait list you have to go to fill spots may be another matter, but unfilled slots sounds a little funny.

i want out

Your refering to 2005 numbers, last year (2006) was about 66% goal.

Last I heard, USU was still turning qualified applicants away due to lack of space. They continue to have 4-5 applications for every slot.

 

[The White Coat Investor]

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[paradude]

I participated in a meeting today with a relatively high-powered military medical officer in which he indicated that recruiting was a problem. He said that only 160 of the 200 slots at USUHS were filled this year. I had a hard time buying that and was wondering if any of you USUHS students can substantiate that. Perhaps he was mistakenly using HPSP numbers.

Interesting topic, so I asked the Dean here at USU about it today. According to Dr. Laughlin, the application numbers were actually up 12% this year over last year. He stated to me that in the 35 year history of the university there has never been an application cycle that did not have at least 10 applicants for each qualified applicant selected. So the metrics are still solid and qualified doctors are being produced at USU.

Clearly, there is a problem with the HPSP numbers but in my humble opinion that problem could be quickly solved by increasing the stipend to a more realistic number and giving HPSP students credit for their time in school.

Incidentally, 8 months into this adventure at USU and still lovin it.

 

[resxn]

Interesting topic, so I asked the Dean here at USU about it today. According to Dr. Laughlin, the application numbers were actually up 12% this year over last year. He stated to me that in the 35 year history of the university there has never been an application cycle that did not have at least 10 applicants for each qualified applicant selected. So the metrics are still solid and qualified doctors are being produced at USU.

Clearly, there is a problem with the HPSP numbers but in my humble opinion that problem could be quickly solved by increasing the stipend to a more realistic number and giving HPSP students credit for their time in school.

Incidentally, 8 months into this adventure at USU and still lovin it.

I believe you are correct that by increasing the money, the HPSP numbers will increase, but unfortunately it won't change the current conditions that plague the practice of medicine. Hopefully, somebody will come along who cares more about improving the system than about getting that next bigger command role.