Canadian University proposes accelerated medical school

Program would be first of its kind in North America

If a proposed new program passes at Senate, select students could proceed to medical school at Queen’s after only two years of undergraduate education.  The program is the brainchild of Dr. Richard Reznick, dean of Health Sciences and director of the Queen’s School of Medicine.

“One of our strategic priorities in the School of Medicine is to explore innovative models of medical education,” Reznick told the Journal via email.

Under the proposal, 10 gifted high school students will be selected to take part in the Accelerated Pathway to Medical School at Queen’s each year. The program, which is slated to begin in 2013, will enable them to complete the degree requirements for a Doctor of Medicine, including undergraduate education, in six years, instead of the traditional eight.

“A review of the education of physicians in many other countries, including most of Europe and many parts of Asia suggested that a shorter time frame might be feasible,” Reznick said.  Queen’s will be the first university in Canada to implement such a program, Physiology professor Ken Rose said. Rose was responsible for proposing the motion at Faculty Board.

The program could also allow students to proceed to medical school without taking the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT.)  “Medical colleagues are becoming increasingly concerned about the closing of the socioeconomic gap of those taking the MCAT,” Rose said, adding that the test itself costs around $300 to 400, not including preparation courses.

To be considered for the program, students must be competitive candidates for the Chancellor’s scholarship, awarded to 50 new Queen’s students each year with an annual value of $9,000. Students must have an average of 90 per cent or above to be considered for the Chancellor’s Scholarship. High schools can nominate one to three students depending on the school. Around 50 to 60 students from the Chancellor scholarship candidate pool will be invited to Queen’s for an interview. Following the interview process, offers will be made to ten students.

“As far as I’m aware, there isn’t any evidence showing that these doctors are any worse than the rest of North American doctors, despite the fact that North American doctors probably have two to three years more undergraduate training on average,” Simpson said. “If this is true, then isn’t our system wasting money?”

Source: queensjounnal.ca, Rosie Hales, Assistant News Editor