The Air Force Medical Corps’ Status and How Its Physicians Respond to Multiyear Special Pay

Abstract

The United States Air Force's Medical Corps has declined in size in recent years. Although the medical corps' attrition rate has been near historic lows, the trend in medical corps accessions dating back to the early 1990s has been negative. Multiyear special pay (MSP) provides supplemental annual payments to qualifying physicians who make 2-, 3-, or 4-year commitments to additional service. Our analysis shows the majority of eligible physicians have refused MSP, but there have been increases in MSP acceptance rates as MSP levels have increased. Physicians who receive residency training at military medical centers are much more likely to accept MSP than those who receive residency training at civilian medical centers. While further MSP increases might yet further reduce medical corps attrition, the corps will grow increasingly senior unless accessions are increased.

An Analysis of the Populations of the Air Force's Medical and Professional Officer Corps

“…In fiscal year (FY) 2008, RAND conducted an analysis of the Air Force's Medical and Dental Corps, discussed in Keating et al (2009). In FY2009, the Air Force asked RAND to analyze all seven medical and professional officer corps.…”

“…Given the BSC's heterogeneity and the elevated level of challenges we find in the Nurse Corps, there is more depth presented in Appendix A (BSC) and in Appendix G (Nurse Corps) than is provided in the other five appendixes. (The Dental and Medical Corps were examined in our earlier publication, Keating et al, 2009. ) 3 ChAPter twO…”

“…The ways individuals access into these corps vary. As we discussed in Keating et al (2009), the Medical Corps and, starting in the 1990s, the Dental Corps get the majority of their acces- sions through the Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP). Under HPSP, the Air Force pays for an individual's medical or dental school in exchange for a one-for-one (postresidency, in the case of the Medical Corps) service obligation.…”

Operational Curriculum and Research Initiatives: Shaping the Future of Military Medicine

“…3,13 While some of this longevity may be attributed to the longer USU service contracts, military GME graduates were still noted to be 4 times more likely to commit to a multiyear service contract. 14 A RAND study on the retention of military physicians in the Army, Air Force, and Navy noted that overall retention increased throughout all the services for physicians who went through the military GME pipeline. 15 Conversely, civilian GME training was associated with a 45% chance in leaving active duty.…”

The Role of Special and Incentive Pays in Retaining Military Mental Health Care Providers

“…Keating et al (2009aKeating et al ( , 2009b document retention rates among Air Force physicians and show that annual attrition rates were around 12 percent between 1980 and 2000 and trended down from 2000 to 2006. They find that physicians who entered the Air Force after completing their residency exhibited high attrition rates at the third and fourth years of service, when they first became eligible to make a stay-leave decision.…”