
English: Looking northeast from Queens Boulevard at Langone Medical office, NYU Columbus, on a sunny afternoon. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The educators argue that for highly qualified applicants, the three-year degree can be an effective counterbalance to ever more extensive training periods
Academic medical centers can help adapt to dramatic changes in health care by offering accelerated study to selected students so that they receive a doctor of medicine degree (MD) in three years rather than the traditional four, according to educational leaders at NYU School of Medicine.
In a Perspective essay in this week’s New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), the educators describe how a three-year medical degree, a radical rethinking of medical education, can increase the number of productive years clinicians and physician scientists spend in the workforce, as well as reduce student debt.
The educators argue that for highly qualified applicants, the three-year degree can be an effective counterbalance to ever more extensive training periods, which now average 10 years for some subspecialties, without sacrificing quality. NYU School of Medicine began offering a three-year medical degree pathway for selected students this year.
“This article presents a compelling argument that a more effective medical education process is needed,” said lead author Steven B. Abramson, MD, vice dean for education, faculty, and academic affairs and chair of the Department of Medicine at NYU School of Medicine. “We are hopeful that this article will encourage continued discussions focused on restructuring medical education to meet the changing health care needs of the population.” In addition to Dr. Abramson, authors include Robert I. Grossman, MD, dean and CEO, NYU Langone Medical Center, and Dianna Jacob, RPA, MBA, vice president, Faculty and Academic Affairs.
“A four-year program for all graduates made sense when postgraduate training lasted two or three years. Now, residencies and fellowships routinely extend the postgraduate period to six years or more, which means that many physicians don’t enter practice until their early or mid-30s,” says Dr. Abramson. “Indeed, data from the American Medical Association show that since 1975, the percentage of physicians under the age of 35 has decreased from 28 percent to 15 percent.”
The essay describes how it has been more than 100 years since Abraham Flexner proposed the current model for medical education in North America—two years of basic science instruction followed by two years of clinical experience. Cutting the average duration of medical training, they note, by approximately 30 percent — partly by eliminating one year of medical school — can be accomplished without compromising physicians’ competence or the quality of care provided. While the three-year pathway can also reduce student debt by 25 percent, the educators acknowledge the challenges that a three-year pathway poses and say that shortening medical school education is “just one approach to address the need for change in the Post-Flexnerian era.”
The Latest Bing News on:
Rethinking Medical Education
- Rethinking, resilience, and perseverance at the workplaceon September 27, 2023 at 1:39 pm
If people want to work diligently towards organizational goals, then leadership and HR must provide them with advancement opportunities, be very open communicative, and consultative in their ...
- Rethinking artificial intelligence through a relational lenson September 27, 2023 at 12:24 am
Artificial intelligence (AI) prompts an existential crisis for universities (Bearman et al., 2022), stoking concerns that we may lose the human touch or that teachers and institutions may ...
- Young must learn to confront disagreeable ideason September 25, 2023 at 1:00 pm
A decade ago, “safe spaces” began appearing on American college campuses. Initially rough-and-ready places set aside for students from minority groups, they rap ...
- Rethinking Evidence in the Time of Pandemicson September 24, 2023 at 4:28 am
Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, Vol. 29, Issue. 3, p. 430. Tretter, Felix and Marcum, James 2023. ‘Medical Corona Science’: Philosophical and systemic issues: Re‐thinking medicine? On the ...
- Rethinking educationon September 23, 2023 at 6:07 pm
he news of students aspiring to become doctors using spy gadgets to pass the college admission examination is a symptom that our education has failed to inculcate moral values in young minds.
- COLUMN: Advice on rethinking your drinkon September 16, 2023 at 3:00 pm
Rethink your drink and make smart beverage choices to stay hydrated and healthy. Oklahoma is one of the most obese states in the nation. Oklahoma ranks fourth worst in the nation for obesity, with an ...
- Rethinking pedagogy of architectural instituteon September 9, 2023 at 3:12 am
Rethinking the pedagogy of an architectural institute can be a valuable exercise to ensure that architectural education remains relevant and prepares students for the evolving challenges of the ...
- Elon Musk's Wake-Up Call: Rethinking Education vs. Intelligenceon September 8, 2023 at 11:35 am
Elon Musk, a stalwart in the tech industry and CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, has often challenged conventional narratives surrounding education and intelligence. One of his notable statements ...
- Rethinking menopause: Experts call for individualized treatment and more researchon September 6, 2023 at 5:00 pm
In a review article published in the journal Cell, renowned experts have provided a detailed overview of menopause biology, clinical outcomes, therapeutic options, and supportive care. “The road ...
- Medical Education in Americaon August 18, 2020 at 2:46 pm
This organic connection guaranteed certain standards and ideals, modest enough at that time, but destined to a development which medical education could, as experience proved, ill afford to forego.
The Latest Google Headlines on:
Rethinking Medical Education
[google_news title=”” keyword=”Rethinking Medical Education” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
The Latest Bing News on:
Medical training
- St. Francis Medical Center nurses, workers to strike Oct. 9-13on September 28, 2023 at 11:41 pm
Nurses note that St. Francis is one of the busiest hospitals in Los Angeles County, with the only Level II trauma, stroke, and heart attack response center for miles around.
- AMA Funds Standardized BP Training for Medical, PA, and Nursing Schoolson September 28, 2023 at 9:34 am
Med students and other healthcare workers, including physician assistants and nurses, don't receive enough BP training. The AMA wants to change that to help reduce cardiovascular disease and stroke.
- Dalhousie prepares to add a year to family doctor training to meet new national policyon September 28, 2023 at 2:00 am
Dalhousie Medical School has started the massive job of lengthening its residency program for family physicians, and is trying to do so without interrupting delivery of new doctors to the province’s strained medical system.
- Program finds purpose, vision at community-based medical training center in Northwest Detroiton September 28, 2023 at 1:15 am
DETROIT – Some community members are finding new purpose and new vision at a community-based medical training center in Northwest Detroit. Phlebotomy Express Training Centers is housed in a former church on Wyoming Avenue. Its staff said the place is ...
- Silverton rescue combines medical training with elite athleticismon September 25, 2023 at 4:00 am
Famed Colorado mountaineer Gerry Roach remembers the relief he felt last month when members of the Silverton Medical Rescue team reached him after he fell about 100 feet down a scraggly
- Medical Education and Training Newson September 18, 2023 at 5:00 pm
Aug. 6, 2023 — The success of artificial intelligence technologies depends largely on how physicians interpret and act upon a tool's risk predictions -- and that requires a unique set of skills ...
- A Dirty Secret About Medical Device Trainingon September 17, 2023 at 5:00 pm
There’s a good chance that critical aspects of your care were performed by your surgeon using specialized tools for the very first time, and were directed from someone like me, in real time, with no special medical training, and with maybe a week of ...
- Physicians and medical students delay childbearing, family building due to medical trainingon September 15, 2023 at 7:06 am
More than 60% of physicians and medical students reported delaying having children or building a family due to medical training, with half also having regretted doing so, according to recent survey findings published in JAMA Internal Medicine.
The Latest Google Headlines on:
Medical training
[google_news title=”” keyword=”medical training” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]