Army HPSP Advice
MS1
-In general, when in doubt check the https://education.mods.army.mil website for any updates or questions you may have.
-Should you have any further questions, contact your student service representative: Ms. Alta Wright (last names A-G) or Mr. Travis Kimble (last names H-O) or Miss Patricia Norman (last names P-Z), at 1-877-MED-ARMY, menu 1. You may also contact by email
-Learn how to get appropriate reimbursement for all of your medical supplies, books, etc. This can present substantial savings for you over the next four years.
-You have few responsibilities during your first year of medical school. Be sure to sign up for Officer’s Basic Leadership Course (OBLC) early, you should receive information via email about this as it becomes available. Know that you will spend 45 days of the summer following your first year of medical school doing the OBLC, so do not make other big plans for your summer before verifying the dates of your commitment. This is the largest single commitment to military during medical school, and your opportunity to really learn how to function in a military capacity. Make the most of the experience; it’s actually a pretty great time. It is generally held from mid-June to the end of July. You might want to drive down to Ft Bragg a month or so prior to leaving so that you can try on different aspects of the uniform prior to either purchasing them online (typically cheaper) or at the military stores. The packing list for OBLC is extensive, understand that you will rarely require two sets of boots nor will you need winter gear in the San Antonio summer.
-Do your best to acquire a CAC card during your 45 day OBLC course. This will save you much hassle in your subsequent years.
MS2
-You really have no military obligations during this year. As the school curriculum allows for little time off, and the end of the year will be dedicated to studying for Step I of the boards, you will not be required to attend training.
-Do not miss the opportunity to get active duty training (ADT) pay for 45 days during the MS2 year. Even though you’re not attending training it is standard procedure for students to request ADT at school during the period in which they are studying for boards. In essence, you are being paid to study for step I. Try to get the ADT period to cover the dates during which there are no classes, so as to maximize your financial benefit. Remember that Step I is reimbursable.
MS3
-The UNC SOM is pretty great about helping the military students to schedule their core clerkships early, so as to allow for possible elective time at the end of the third year. Since the military match is in mid-December, it behooves you to have your military and/or civilian acting internships (AIs) done early. On the civilian side, these are an opportunity for you to practice your skills in your chosen field with the hope of being able to secure a positive letter of recommendation by the end. Most residency programs require that you have at least 3 letters of recommendation- have them written mostly by physicians who are in your field of choice. Since the completed military application packet for the match is due by mid-October, you should ensure that you have secured these letters well in advance.
-Military AIs are also possible during your third year curriculum. If you are able to get a flexible period at the end of your third year you may consider rotating through one of the military hospitals. Know that if you take ADT for this rotation, however, you will be dipping into the available funds for your fourth-year AIs. At the time of the writing of this guide, the fiscal year changes over every October for Army HPSP students. If you take your ADT at the end of third year you may have difficulty securing further ADT for away rotations at the beginning of your fourth year. This can be a very expensive difference (upwards of 5k per rotation). If you would like to schedule an away rotation then you should contact the programs in which you are interested early (late fall) and often. The GME offices at various hospitals are varied in their responsiveness. Do not be discouraged, continue calling/emailing, and always maintain your professionalism.
-You can additionally take ADT at school again to study for step II of your board exams. In general, schedule Step II CK as early as you can after your MS3 curriculum. The shelf tests you have taken over the MS3 year have prepared you remarkably well for Step II, so don’t lose that knowledge. Additionally, the military will require you to turn in your results from Step II earlier than civilian programs require for the match process (CK completed by Sep 15, at the time of this writing). Since you schedule these exams in the spring of your third year, you should be keeping these dates in mind. CS generally has to be completed fairly early in the year as well. Both CS/CK are reimbursable- do not neglect this- it is the difference of about $1600 total.
-In the late winter/early spring of your third year you need to begin to set up your military AIs for your fourth year. Honestly, any time after December is an appropriate time to begin contacting residency/GME programs in order to secure spots. Competitive disciplines in the military fill remarkably quickly with rotating students, and you will need to do at least 1 military acting internship in your desired field. Do not miss the bus because you contacted programs too late. You can find contact information for all of the residency sites on the MODS website under Training Locations: First Year Post Grad. You will need to confirm availability of a rotation with the department in which you would like to rotate, after which point you may begin securing orders for that period (in order to get ADT). As previously mentioned, travel to away sites for ~30days (the typical length of these rotations) while not on orders can be remarkably expensive. Try to get all of your rotations paid for by the military. Additionally, ADT away rotations will require you to submit receipts in order to get reimbursed for your expenses. This means that even though you are on ADT orders you will likely still have to pay for the bulk of your rotation and await reimbursement (which can take up to 6 weeks for some people). Keep all of this in mind when scheduling and when doing financial planning in the spring of your third year. You may request to have your per diem paid up front, which can help with expenses, but you have to be proactive in order to secure this money.
-If you are not on ADT orders and would like to rotate at a military institution know that you must ensure that the hospital has a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with UNC. Most, if not all, do- since prior HPSP students have arranged these. However, these can take up to 6 weeks to process if there is no prior MOU, so you need to contact the GME office at your desired rotation location well in advance of your arranged rotation. Finding an economical place to live can be a big challenge for these rotations, so don’t schedule the most expensive locations (Hawaii, Bethesda) for periods during which you are not on orders.
MS4
-This is the absolute best part of medical school, so enjoy it. Do your military rotations earlier in the year, as most military residency programs actually have a good idea of the candidate pool by mid-October.
-Brush back up on your military etiquette prior to your away rotations. Get a haircut. You will typically interview at the end of your away rotation, and so you will need the appropriate uniform(s). This may require purchasing an Army Service Uniform (ASU) in addition to your fatigues. These are quite expensive ($500+) and are NOT reimbursed by the HPSP program. Furthermore they require some tailoring, so you should try and secure these uniforms prior to your rotations. Proper wear and set-up of these uniforms is very important, ensure that you have set them up appropriately. A good general guide for uniform wear can be found here: http://www.army.mil/asu/
-Check in procedures at most military hospitals can be fairly drawn-out and frustrating. Expect to lose at least one day of clinical work with every rotation, perhaps more. If you have any way of becoming trained in CHCS/AHLTA (military medical record systems) prior to your rotations you may save yourself a ton of grief in having to take classes when you’d rather be demonstrating your clinical skills. As mentioned previously, you will do well to acquire a CAC card prior to your arrival at a military hospital. All computers require them for logon, and so you will be extremely limited without one.
-Interviews can be done without rotating at a site. Contact the residency program in order to set up these interviews. It is possible to do them over the phone, though this clearly has its limitations.
-There is very limited opportunity for you to match in a residency program outside of the military as an Army HPSP student. You may try and achieve this, but understand that the odds are against you. Focus on your military rotations first and foremost.
-You will fill out the general ERAS application for residency as in the civilian world. Rules for ranking programs can be found on the MODs site. You’ll need most everything turned in by Oct 15, though you should aim to have a completed application by September.
-You’ll find out where you matched by mid-December…well in advance of your civilian classmates. Take the remainder of fourth year to explore and have fun!