<p>More comprehensive than the link in post #9 or brm’s treatise he wrote you in post #11? And the other posts in this thread? Sorry, but I can’t imagine what else you’d need.</p>
<p>The average age for 1st year medical students is usually 25 or 26 (varies from year to year). So you’re not “behind”. There are LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of medical students who are older than that when they start. So while you can go through undergrad in an abbreviated manner, there’s no way to speed up medical school, and really no need to, so forget even trying. It’s simply not a viable option.</p>
<p>You may think that it is not a viable option, but that still didn’t answer my question. Can you or can you not graduate medical school in 3 years? I just want to know if you can. That’s it.</p>
<p>But that question isn’t something that has an easy answer. And if you want the short answer it’d be no. You’ve already gotten the long answer multiple times by the people here who are trying to honestly help you.</p>
<p>You can pretty much consider it to be impossible.</p>
<p>CAN you!?! From merely a possibility standpoint, yes, the Texas Tech program discussed in the linked article provides that opportunity. However, there are severe limitations placed on that program - you have to go into family medicine and it has to be the residency program at Texas Tech. You can’t do any other field and you can’t go out into a family medicine residency program somewhere else. For all but the most diehard of West Texans, that’s probably a fate worse than death (have you ever been to Lubbock? Yuck). But it does provide the one opportunity to do what you’re asking.</p>
<p>So can you do it at ANY OTHER school? That’s the impossibility. What I outlined in my first response to this question are the barriers that would occur if a medical school as a whole wished to implement a program that condensed the standard 4 year curriculum into 3, while still allowing students the opportunity to go into their desired specialty field. The barriers are many, and the benefits are minimal, with outcomes that are more likely to be detrimental…in other words, a school would be out of their minds to attempt it in this day and age.</p>
<p>Can an individual accomplish it? No. Medical school is not like college where you create a schedule that works for you and some semesters you can take 15 credit hours and other semesters you can take 21 credits. Without that flexibility, there’s no way to condense it. Instead, medical school is very much like elementary school - the curriculum is set, and the class goes through everything together. There are no electives (until 4th year), there is what’s required, and maybe (depending on the school), you might get the option of taking histo lab either in the early or late timeslot…but all that probably means is that you’re taking clinical medicine while the other half of the class is in histo lab and when class is over, everyone just swaps places. At other schools (like mine) all 125 students are in the same room at the same time, every day for the first two years with the rare small group session thrown in. There is no unique schedule. There is no way to get ahead. In the third year, there’s relatively more flexibility, but really, everyone is still taking the same six “classes” over the course of the year. It’s just a matter of whether your pediatrics clerkship is during school physical season or bronchiolitis season, whether you’re on surgery clerkship and the sun is either rising when you get to the hospital at 5:30am or you never see the light of day because it comes up at 7:30 and sets at 4:45pm - and you’re in the OR the whole time, or whether you’re on OB/GYN delivering the spring babies or the fall babies.Eventually everyone in the class is going to complete the same clerkships during 3rd year. As for 4th year, as previously mentioned, there are professional pressures (ie the system of the Match) which prevents any expediting, as well as the whole “graduation ceremony” thing which is beyond your control. Nearly everyone finds out their residency location on the third Thursday in March, and most of the year is geared towards that date. So as an individual you have no power, you’re along for the ride. And because of that, it’s all but impossible.</p>
<p>touche, bigredmed :)</p>
<p>I’m a rising college freshman who is considering pursuing an MD/PhD and I have recently been doing a lot of reading about the different programs and tracks offered. Actually, a Google search will yield links to many “alternative” MD or MD/PhD programs offered by some of the top schools in the US. I have found that several medical schools are testing different formulas for reducing the length of medical school.</p>
<p>Duke Medical School is 3 years: 1 year of basic science and 2 years of clinical rotations with protected time for students to pursue research.
Columbia University Medical School is 3 years: 2 years of basic science and 1 year of clinical rotations. (While I am not as familiar with this program, they appear to use the summer between years 2 and 3 to allow students to get a head start on rotations if they wish so they can choose a specialty and prepare for Residency selection).</p>
<p>Texas Tech also has a program, though it has already been stated that this program is very restrictive in terms of specialty and residency. </p>
<p>If the programs at Duke and Columbia created competitiveness issues or failed to adequately prepare the students for a career in medicine, the schools would have discontinued the programs long ago. Obviously, these programs work for the universities, as both are highly competitive and well-respected medical schools. There are advantages and disadvantages each student must weigh - some students may want 2 years of basic science if they don’t think their undergraduate foundation was strong enough, while others may need 2 years of rotations because they don’t have a strong sense of what specialty they like - each of these programs successfully graduates nearly all of its students in 3 years. From what it sounds like, these programs have what you are looking for and may suit your goals and interests. There are undoubtedly others in the US (and there are several 3-year MD programs in Canada). Do a little research on the internet and see if any other medical schools offer comparable programs. </p>
<p>You could actually call Duke or Columbia, tell them you are interested in a 3-year MD program and ask if they know of any others (they would most likely know if other such programs exist).</p>
<p>Good Luck!</p>
<p>Well, the thing about Duke is that the “protected” research time is required. Thus, you do condense your preclinical training to 1 year, and you do have the traditional 2 years of clinicals, but you also have a research year.</p>
<p>While interviewing there, it was explained to me like this: say, during your preclinical years, you think you’re going to like cardiology. And then, on your medicine rotation, you realize that you do like medicine and specifically, cardiology. With the research year built in, you can then do a year of cards research to discover whether you like the research side of the specialty. Then, during your fourth year, you can focus on cards electives and sub-is.</p>
<p>In this way, by the time you’re applying to residencies, you’ve likely already done publishable research in your field and have had some extra time to explore whether that field is really for you.</p>
<p>If you don’t want to do research, you can also use that year to pursue another master’s degree, but since there aren’t many master’s programs that are only one year long, going that route will likely add on another year in addition to the year that’s already designed for it. </p>
<p>So, in effect, Duke’s program is still the traditional 4 year length.</p>
<p>This thread is almost 2 yrs old.</p>
<p>Please use old threads for information only, do not post on them and resurrect them.</p>
<p>If you think the topic is important, start a New Thread of your own.</p>