USUHS vs HPSP specialty options

[bedrock]

Question for the group.

When it comes to non primary care, selective medical specialities such as Ortho, ENT, optho, etc, is it easier to match into the specialty of your choice if you demonstrate your full throated embrace of military medicine by attending USUHS vs a more reluctant approach to the military if you do HPSP?

It seems I notice more people getting competive residencies such as orthopedics, neurosurgery, etc if they went USUHS vs HPSP, but I don't know for certain and so I wanted to ask what you thought about this?

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[DrMetal]

full throated embrace

Wow, what a visual.

Maybe in a sense, depends on where you go to medical school (DO vs MD) for HPSP, as just addressed in another thread. But overall, no, it doesn't matter. What matters is how well you do academically. Plenty from both pipelines (USU and HPSP) have matched into selective residency spots, no deep throating necessary.

 

[bedrock]

Wow, what a visual.

Maybe in a sense, depends on where you go to medical school (DO vs MD) for HPSP, as just addressed in another thread. But overall, no, it doesn't matter. What matters is how well you do academically. Plenty from both pipelines (USU and HPSP) have matched into selective residency spots, no deep throating necessary.

actually its a military reference.

Full throated acceptance of the military would be guys enthusiastically chanted songs as they march. Literally yelling using their full throat. Marines yelling as they storm a beach.

Not sure why your mind went elsewhere with that......

 

[DrMetal]

Not sure why your mind went elsewhere with that......

Old habits die hard.

 

[armytrainingsir]

HPSP is a ‘reluctant’ approach to military medicine?

lol, where do folks come up with this crap?

 

[pgg]

The Big Green Weenie doesn't care how full throated you are or aren't, it does what it does.


More seriously - the GME selection board point system has (or at least it used to have) a category called "future potential as military officer" or some such verbiage like that. It was widely regarded as the mechanism by which program directors could nudge the totally objective and impartial point ranking system to favor applicants they wanted.

To the extent that USUHS grads may have had more face time or exposure to military programs than HPSP'ers, that may be a small advantage.

Or a disadvantage, if you're unlikeable.

Many pros and cons to HPSP vs USUHS. I personally wouldn't lend much weight to this particular issue.

 

[backrow]

A good student from HPSP is going to score higher than a struggling student from USU. A good student from USU is going to outscore a struggling student from HPSP.

A competitive USU student is going to outscore an equally competitive student from HPSP.

One note: USU students are legally required to be offered a military internship. (It doesn’t have to be their desired specialty). HPSP students do not have this “protection”. So if two equal students go up against each other and there are deferred or outservice positions open they will put the USU in the military location and the HPSP will be sent into civilian.

Would I let this be the deciding factor in where I went to medical school: no.