A few medical schools are trying a new model of medical education, allowing students to complete their education in three years. The impetus for this is obvious: it saves students thousands of dollars and produces doctors faster than the current model allows. Less student debt also encourages med school graduates to pursue primary care fields such as internal medicine and pediatrics. Currently only three medical schools are implementing this option:  NYU, Texas Tech, and Mercer. But more medical schools are considering this option; a recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine states that LSU, Indiana University, East Tennessee State and the University of Kentucky are weighing this model of medical education.

Of the three schools which currently offer the three-year track only a small portion of the students participate: 16 students at NYU, 9 at Texas Tech, and less than that at Mercer (the exact number has not been divulged). Dr. Steven Abramson, vice dean for education, faculty and academic affairs at NYU School of Medicine predicts that this is the wave of the future.

–Liza Thompson, Expert Medical School Admissions Consulting