Reflections on the Penn State-Jefferson Program

I was a member of the third class of the Penn State University-Jefferson University 5-year accelerated BS-MD program and graduated in 1970. I feel very fortunate to have participated in this program. Missing 3 years of formal schooling and the resulting financial savings were extremely worthwhile. There were no special activities at Penn State for participants of the program, though we did get first choice of classes because we needed to fit in all of our science classes. I found the coursework and instruction to be of a high quality. Socially, most of my friends were regular Penn State students. This was different at Jefferson where the majority of my close friends were from the accelerated program. I applied to this program because I knew I wanted to become a physician and that I had no difficulty achieving high grades academically. In my first year at Penn State, I took calculus 3, biology 3, physics 3, quantitative chemistry, organic chemistry, and genetics. I also had an opportunity to take some liberal arts classes, including English literature, philosophy, psychology, music history, rhetoric, etc. I had no difficulty with the basic science courses at Jefferson. We were all well prepared to study and learn the material. When I was in my internship and residency, no one was aware that I had only 1 year of college and graduated medical school when I was 22. The experience of being successful in medical school at a young age gave me confidence to seek out and succeed...
Source: Academic Medicine Blog - Category: Universities & Medical Training Authors: Tags: Featured Guest Perspective accelerated program BS/MD program medical school Source Type: blogs