Research for Applicants

This study estimates the impact of increasing the active duty obligation (ADO) for the Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship Program (AFHPSP). We found that the amount by which accession requirements could decrease depends on the size of the graduate medical education (GME) program. Specifically, accession requirements and costs are less if the GME program were optimized than if it were fixed at current levels. If GME is fixed, many AFHPSP accessions are needed, not to fill billets, but simply to support the GME program. We find that increasing the ADO from 4 to 5 years for 4 years of subsidization is supportable. We based this finding on (1) recruiters’ perception that they could still meet the recruiting mission with a 5-year ADO, (2) the willingness of current AFHPSP students to consider and accept AFHPSP with a 5-year ADO, (3) the downward pressure on the medical billet file, and (4) the Services’ success in meeting recruiting goals that vary substantially from year to year. We find that increasing the AFHPSP ADO beyond 5 years is not warranted because it is not supportable from a recruiting standpoint and most AFHPSP students didn’t express a willingness to accept an obligation beyond 5 years.