A recent study published online on October 15 in the journal Academic Medicine reveals that graduates from a three-year medical school program performed on par with their four-year counterparts in terms of skill and knowledge assessments.
The accelerated MD pathway, initiated by NYU Grossman School of Medicine in 2013, was designed to help students earn their medical degrees more quickly and with reduced debt, which can average around $250,000 by graduation. NYU was the first in the U.S. to offer this three-year program, allowing students a direct route to all 21 of its residency training programs, including specialties such as internal medicine and emergency medicine.
The study, described as the largest evaluation of accelerated medical programs in the past decade, involved 136 graduates from the three-year program and 681 graduates from the traditional four-year track. Findings showed that both groups achieved comparable scores on various assessments. For instance, three-year students scored an average of 84% on preclerkship exams, while four-year students averaged 83%. Both groups also had similar results on medical knowledge, clinical skills exams, and tests evaluating critical thinking and communication.