Update on residency

JB spoke today with the woman in charge of the residency application process for the Air Force. He told her our entire situation and asked her for her advice. Here is what we learned:

The Air Force's FIRST responsibility is to fill every single one of their Family Medicine spots with an Air Force doctor.

If there are 30 spots to fill and 35 applicants, than 5 people will be given a "civilian deferment" which is what JB wants.

She said that JB should easily be at the front of the list IF there is an overflow of physicians. She said that our reason for wanting to stay (infertility, frozen embryos, no reproductive endocrinologist on any of the bases we can go) is extremely valid and would be seen as worth staying. She also said we would need a letter from our doctor explaining why we want to stay.

They also talked about a new program they have recently implemented which doesn't apply to John but forces doctors to work two years in the Air Force before completing their residency. She said that this new program is encouraging more doctors to choose family practice which should help John's cause.

So to make a long story short, if there is an overflow of doctors, we should be able to stay at Mayo. If there is a shortage, we cannot. She won't know that for a few months. So we will just continue to wait.

That's the update as it stands.