Recommendation: The Secretary of the Army should develop targeted strategies for using its recruitment, training, and retention programs collectively to address key military physician gaps in a coordinated manner, and metrics that would monitor the effectiveness of its programs collectively in reducing gaps. (Recommendation 1)
Agency: Department of Defense
Status: Open
Comments: Army concurred with this recommendation. In October 2019, the Army reported that several steps have been taken, including creating a 6-year health professions officer retention bonus for critically short physician specialties; increased the number of Health Professions Scholarship Program scholarships to help decrease the overall physician shortfalls; and added a recruiting mission using Financial Assistance Program (FAP) scholarships to help decrease the physician shortfall in critical specialties. The FAP mission is to begin in fiscal year 2020. While the steps Army reported demonstrate progress toward fully implementing our recommendation, we believe that this recommendation should remain open until more progress is made.
Recommendation: The Secretary of the Navy should develop targeted strategies for using its recruitment, training, and retention programs collectively to address key military physician gaps in a coordinated manner, and metrics that would monitor the effectiveness of its programs collectively in reducing gaps. (Recommendation 2)
Agency: Department of Defense
Status: Open
Comments: Navy concurred with this recommendation. In October 2019, Navy officials stated that several steps have been taken, including exploring policy changes that would assist in meeting requirements. According to Navy officials, a working group has been formed which will address recruitment and retention of all critical specialties and plan to issue an end product by June 2020.
Recommendation: The Secretary of the Air Force should develop targeted strategies for using its recruitment, training, and retention programs collectively to address key military physician gaps in a coordinated manner, and metrics that would monitor the effectiveness of its programs collectively in reducing gaps. (Recommendation 3)
Agency: Department of Defense
Status: Open
Comments: Air Force concurred with our recommendation. In October 2019, the Air Force reported that several steps have been taken; including developing a sustainable process for improved marketing of key specialties to students and increasing the number of Health Professions Scholarship Program scholarships. While the steps Air Force reported demonstrate progress toward fully implementing our recommendation, we believe that this recommendation should remain open until more progress is made.
Recommendation: The Secretary of the Navy should track complete, accurate, and accessible information on the qualifications, performance, and progress of Navy AFHPSP medical students. (Recommendation 5)
Agency: Department of Defense
Status: Open
Comments: Navy concurred with this recommendation. In November 2018, the Navy changed its Navy Standard Integrated Personnel System (NSIPS) to allow tracking of qualification data fields. As of October 2019, the Navy reported it is taking steps to update NSIPS to track the complete performance and progress of AFHPSP medical students. While the steps Navy reported demonstrate progress toward fully implementing our recommendation, we believe that this recommendation should remain open until more progress is made.
Recommendation: The Secretary of the Air Force should track complete, accurate, and accessible information on the qualifications, performance, and progress of Air Force AFHPSP medical students. (Recommendation 6)
Agency: Department of Defense
Status: Open
Comments: Air Force concurred with this recommendation. In August 2018, the Air Force updated guidance to emphasize the requirement for accurate and complete reporting of qualification data of AFHPSP medical students. As of October 2019, the Air Force reported that it is partnering with the Army and Navy to secure a tri-service database to track students' performance across the continuum of learning. While the steps Air Force reported demonstrate progress toward fully implementing our recommendation, we believe that this recommendation should remain open until more progress is made.
Recommendation: The President of Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) should track complete, accurate, and accessible information on the performance and progress of USUHS medical students. (Recommendation 7)
Agency: Department of Defense
Status: Open
Comments: Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences concurred with our recommendation. In October 2019, the University reported that issues relevant to tracking its students continue to be researched and have offered to collaborate with the military departments. While the steps the University reported demonstrate progress toward fully implementing our recommendation, we believe that this recommendation should remain open until more progress is made.
Recommendation: The Secretary of the Navy should use information on medical student performance to evaluate Navy accession programs. (Recommendation 8)
Agency: Department of Defense
Status: Open
Comments: Navy concurred with this recommendation. In October 2019, the Navy reported that the Navy Standard Integrated Personnel System (NSIPS) now contains qualification data of AFHPSP medical students and also has some performance data of these students as they compete their post graduate training. NPSIS is capable of being queried and this data, according to the Navy, can be used to evaluate its accession programs. While the steps Navy reported demonstrate progress toward fully implementing our recommendation, we believe that this recommendation should remain open until more progress is made.
Recommendation: The Secretary of the Air Force should use information on medical student performance to evaluate Air Force accession programs. (Recommendation 9)
Agency: Department of Defense
Status: Open
Comments: Air Force concurred with our recommendation. In October 2019, the Air Force reported it plans to annually track and analyze information regarding its AFHPSP medical students and it is in the process of performing its annual review. While the steps Air Force reported demonstrate progress toward fully implementing our recommendation, we believe that this recommendation should remain open until more progress is made.
