We're doing reasonably well on the recruitment front with bringing people in to become medical technicians. I'm not as happy as I'd like to be with the retention piece. Some of that is demographics. We have physician assistants in the same demographic bulge as I am, who are looking for other opportunities.
The civilian sector has finally discovered physician assistants, so we now have a competitor. We are working very actively and aggressively with the civilian sector to make this a win-win for us and them. We think it can help the civilian health care system, as well as ourselves, if we approach it the right way.
The medical technicians are better trained. Again this is a direct result of the Rx2000 project that was put in place five years ago. We enhanced the training. They are very skilled PCP-trained medical technicians, which then again makes this competitive. Some of them have chosen to pursue employment opportunities outside of the uniform after their basic engagement.
I'm not as happy with the retention numbers as I would like; that is a challenge. Recently I was informed of what they actually are from the junior ranks, and I think we have some work to do to encourage them to stay and to challenge them with clinical activities, because that's what they joined to do. They joined our organization to be around patients, because that's their interest.