Where to Start?

The thought of now being a 4th year and preparing for residency is a daunting one. Knowing where you want to end up may be easy, but figuring out how to get there may prove to be a little more difficult. Here are a few pearls on where to begin.

The Navy has 3 programs, the Air Force has 5 programs, and the Army has 6. There is also one TRI-service program. That number may fluctuate in the coming years, but what you need to figure out right now as a 3rd year medical student is which 2 are your top choices. Those two top choices will ideally be the places you go for your away/audition/sub-I (ADT) rotations. 

No matter where you go you will hear this same saying that "you'll get good residency training at any of the X locations". That said, they are all very different programs with their own unique flavors. Figuring out how to differentiate the programs will be key in figuring how where you will be rotating and how you will be ranking them.

How many programs can I rotate at?

Technically it is possible to rotate at every base by scheduling Non-ADTs, but that becomes costly and most students stick to the two funded ADTs. Again, this means you need to figure out where your top two choices and schedule/set-up a rotation there. 

How do I set-up these ADT rotations?

Good question. Each program has their own Medical Student Coordinator. You can find their contact information on the individual pages throughout this website, through our developing Excel POC list, or on the USAFP website. Often times if lost, asking via the Facebook groups can also help you find your POC. While going through all these webpages you may notice the contact info may be listed a little bit differently. That's because the people in these positions are usually in flux as they rotate in and out so updating all these pages with the proper changes takes some time. Generally we will try and do a good job of keeping the most updated contact information here. 

Start reaching out to these programs around November/December-ish asking if you can set up a 4th year ADT rotation there. The individual programs you apply to will send you some forms you will have to fill out specifically for their base. From there, the Medical Student Coordinator will assist with submitting paperwork. When it is all said and done, you will send you confirmation emails with the dates you have requested.

Residency stuff

A couple of important dates to take note of:

• 01 JUL: MODS/DoD Application Opens

  • Rank list is due with the submission of MODS/DoD application with the caveat that you can still change your rank list via email until the 15 Oct deadline.

• 15 October: MODS due

• Mid-December: Military match results released!

Note: These dates may slightly vary from year to year. Please refer to the official application checklist for the exact dates.

Other pearls

Work on your CV and Personal Statements as soon as you can. Get those really polished. Some programs may ask you to submit those when you request/apply to rotate through their program. Others might ask for them right around the time you head to their base for an ADT. In any case, having both of those well refined in advance will only help make things easier for you.

For more information regarding ADTs, you can check out the FAQs page.