The Doctor Can See You Now

The United States is facing a primary care physician shortage. Family medicine physicians receive less pay than those in specialized medicine, yet still build the high debt that four years of medical school brings. The first class of medical students from an innovative program were introduced and began their first week of a program that hopes to change how medical schools will train and educate future primary care physicians.

In an effort to address the shortage, the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) School of Medicine recently announced the three-year medical degree approved by the nationally recognized accrediting authority for medical education. The new Family Medicine Accelerated Track (FMAT) program will allow primary care students at the TTUHSC School of Medicine to complete their degree in three years at about half of the cost of the standard four-year program.

Steven Berk, M.D., TTUHSC executive vice president, provost and dean of the School of Medicine, said with the baby boomer generation growing older and the increased demand for primary care with the new federal health care law, this program will address the need for more family medicine doctors.

“This is a program of national importance as we work to ensure that all Americans will have access to a primary care physician,” Berk said. “We are committed to taking the first steps in changing how medical schools attract and educate future family medicine doctors. This program demonstrates that the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine is contributing to health care education nationally as well as locally.”

According to the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), since 1997, U.S. medical school graduate matches in family medicine and general internal medicine programs have fallen by nearly 50 percent. A 2006 AAFP Workforce Study estimated that the U.S. would need approximately 39,000 more family physicians by 2020.

Ronald L. Cook, D.O., chair of the TTUHSC Department of Family and Community Medicine, said the new program would enable outstanding family medicine students to reduce the length of medical school by 25 percent and cut their debt in half.

“The high cost of medical school and resulting debt are major challenges for many prospective medical students,” Cook said. “Our program addresses debt on two levels, first by shortening the program from four to three years, and second, by providing scholarships to all qualifying students. With programs such as this, we can double the number of primary care physicians available to care for the U.S. population.”

The first FMAT class includes nine students who entered the TTUHSC School of Medicine in the fall of 2010. The FMAT program accelerates medical training through the creation of three new curricular initiatives in addition to the regular medical school courses that students take in their first three years.

The School of Medicine FMAT program at TTUHSC was approved by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), the nationally recognized accrediting authority for medical education programs leading to the medical degree in U.S. and Canadian medical schools. The Association of American Medical Colleges and the American Medical Association sponsor the LCME.

The TTUHSC School of Medicine has presented its approved program to the national Council of Deans and other medical schools are expected to pursue similar programs in the future

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