Preparing for the MD: How Long, at What Cost, and With What Outcomes?

Purpose To assess educational and professional outcomes of an accelerated combined bachelor of science–doctor of medicine (BS–MD) program using data collected from 1968 through 2018. Method Participants of this longitudinal study included 2,235 students who entered medical school between 1968 and 2014: 1,134 in the accelerated program and 1,101 in the regular curriculum (control group)—matched by year of entrance to medical school, gender, and Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) scores. Outcome measures included performance on medical licensing examinations, academic progress, satisfaction with medical school, educational debt, first-year residency program directors’ ratings on clinical competence, specialty choice, board certification, and faculty appointments. Results The authors found no practically important differences between students in the accelerated program and those in the control group on licensing examination performance, academic progress, specialty choice, board certification, and faculty appointments. Accelerated students had lower mean educational debt (P
Source: Academic Medicine - Category: Universities & Medical Training Tags: Research Reports Source Type: research