2 days ago
University Of Arizona To Offer A Three-Year MD Program
The University of Arizona is joining the ranks of institutions offering an accelerated three-year ... More medical degree.
The University of Arizona has become the latest institution in the nation to offer a three-year medical degree. The program, approved this month by the Arizona Board of Regents, is intended to address the shortage of primary care physicians in the state, particularly in its rural communities.
The new three-year medical degree program will be offered at both of the university's separately accredited medical schools in Tucson and Phoenix.
'We appreciate the Arizona Board of Regents' approval of this new medical degree pathway, which will allow us to leverage the strength of the University of Arizona's two medical schools to improve access to health care for all Arizonans,' said University of Arizona Provost Patricia Prelock, in a news release. 'We are committed to reducing the state's primary care physician shortage, and these new programs will allow us to move expeditiously to improve the well-being of all Arizona residents.'
More than 30 universities in the U.S. offer a three-year medical degree program. Most of them are members of the Consortium of Accelerated Medical Pathway Programs (CAMPP), an organization of medical schools in the United States and Canada that was formed in 2015 by an original consortium of eight institutions: New York University School of Medicine, McMaster University, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine, Mercer University School of Medicine, University of California Davis, Medical College of Wisconsin , University of Louisville and Penn State College of Medicine
Since then, more than two dozen other medical schools have joined the group with each of the member schools developing their own unique version of a three-year MD degree or other accelerated curricula leading to the MD.
All students in the University of Arizona's three-year program will be required to complete the same core coursework and clerkships as those in its four-year program. The accelerated pathway shaves time off the degree by eliminating some electives in the curriculum and the transition-to-residency coursework that's usually offered in the fourth year.
According to the news release, Arizona currently meets only 39.2% of its primary care physician needs and requires an additional 600 primary care physicians to satisfy that need. The university projects that 2,000 more physicians will be needed by 2030 to serve the state's growing population.
The College of Medicine – Tucson's program will focus on competency-based education and provide a pathway to a family medicine residency.
The College of Medicine – Phoenix will emphasize early immersion in clinical experiences during medical students' first and second years, providing direct interactions with faculty members from a primary care residency program.
The two medical schools hope to enroll a combined 36 medical students in the accelerated program across the next three years. The first cohort will begin this fall.
According to CAMPP, three-year MD programs have several advantages. They appeal to future doctors who may opt for primary care specialties like family medicine, internal medicine and pediatrics. They reduce the total cost of medical school and help minimize student debt loads. And, as in Arizona, they tackle the problem of doctor shortages, increasing the capacity of states to offer primary medical care, especially in underserved communities.
