Could California medical students get three-year degrees?
Could California’s medical school students soon have the chance to complete a Doctor of Medicine degree in three years instead of four? Inside Higher Ed reports that Texas Tech University has just approved a three-year medical school program at half the cost of a traditional four-year program. University officials there described the program as a way to address a shortage of primary care physicians. “This is a program of national importance as we work to ensure that all Americans will have access to a primary care physician,” said Dr. Steven Berk, dean of the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine. The idea of an expedited medical degree could get a boost from a forthcoming study on medical education by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, which is expected to recommend that all medical schools consider offering three-year programs. David Irby, vice dean of education at the UC San Francisco School of Medicine and a senior scholar on the Carn
