Three-Year MD Programs: Perspectives From the Consortium of Accelerated Medical Pathway Programs (CAMPP)

Abstract

In the last decade, there has been renewed interest in three-year MD pathway programs. In 2015, with support from the Josiah Macy Jr., Foundation, eight North American medical schools with three-year accelerated medical pathway programs formed the Consortium of Accelerated Medical Pathway Programs (CAMPP). The schools are two campuses of the Medical College of Wisconsin; McMaster University Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine; Mercer University School of Medicine; New York University School of Medicine; Penn State College of Medicine; Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine; University of California, Davis School of Medicine; and University of Louisville School of Medicine. These programs vary in size and medical specialty focus but all include the reduction of student debt from savings in tuition costs. Each school's mission to create a three-year pathway program differs; common themes include the ability to train physicians to practice in underserved areas or to allow students for whom the choice of specialty is known to progress more quickly. Compared with McMaster, these programs are small, but most capitalize on training and assessing competency across the undergraduate medical education-graduate medical education continuum and include conditional acceptance into an affiliated residency program. This article includes an overview of each CAMPP school with attention to admissions, curriculum, financial support, and regulatory challenges associated with the design of an accelerated pathway program. These programs are relatively new, with a small number of graduates; this article outlines opportunities and challenges for schools considering the development of accelerated programs.

Comprehensive history of 3-year and accelerated US medical school programs: a century in review

“…Figure 2 documents the rise in total medical students from 1930 to 2017 juxtaposed against percentages of accredited allopathic medical schools with 3-year curriculum over the same period [9,12,20,22–38]. As can be seen in Figure 2, the greatest percentage of medical schools with a 3-year program occurred in the WWII era (≈90%) followed by the 1970s (≈40%).…”

“…At Ohio State, the mean satisfaction score of faculty participating in the 3-year curriculum was 60.5 out of 100 (range of 34–93), with 50% of faculty favored returning to a 4-year MD program [20]. Although studies showed no major difference in performance between 3-year and 4-year students, as measured by USMLE scores and residency match results, by the end of the 1970s most 3-year MD programs were discontinued in favor of 4-year curricula [13,17,21,22]. Indeed, after the 1973–1974 academic year, a persistent decline in enrollment in these programs occurred, with 2,434 3-year MD students in 1974–1975 declining to 1,455 in 1978–1979 [23].…”

“…Indeed, after the 1973–1974 academic year, a persistent decline in enrollment in these programs occurred, with 2,434 3-year MD students in 1974–1975 declining to 1,455 in 1978–1979 [23]. Overall reasons given for ending 3-year MD programs included discontinuation of federal funding that eliminated financial incentives, declining physician shortages, and overall dissatisfaction with the accelerated time frame [22]. …”

“…Interestingly, family medicine 3 + 3 graduates were more likely to be chosen as chief residents than traditional (4 + 3) graduates. Most of these 3 + 3 programs ended, however, primarily due to GME accreditation issues [22]. …”

“…In fact, some 3-year medical schools charge the same tuition as 4-year schools [28,36]. This is because currently the US LCME requires 130 weeks for a MD degree, which is achieved in 3-year programs by adding classes during summers and by decreasing both vacation time and residency interview time [22,37]. From an institutional perspective, such restructuring often requires a new set of teachers and other expenses.…”