Military Medical Student Specialty Preferences During the DHA Transition: A Retrospective Analysis

Area of Science:

• Graduate Medical Education
• Military Health System
• Medical Student Education

Background:

• The Military Health System (MHS) has unique Graduate Medical Education (GME) incentives influencing specialty selection.
• The Defense Health Agency (DHA) shifted focus in 2017 towards training

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate military medical students' reactions to the 2017 DHA transition.
• To determine if specialty selection and satisfaction changed post-DHA.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of Uniformed Services University (USU) students (2015-2020).
• Utilized anonymized Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Graduation Questionnaire data.
• Compared pre-DHA (2015-2017) and post-DHA (2018-2020) groups.

Main Results:

• No statistically significant difference in intent to practice operational specialties between pre- and post-DHA groups.
• No statistically significant difference in satisfaction with medical school choice between groups.

Conclusions:

• USU medical students maintained similar preferences for operational specialties post-DHA transition.
• Student satisfaction with medical school remained consistent, suggesting the DHA transition did not significantly influence career preferences or commitment to military medicine.