Bill Aims to Encourage Doctors to Try Rural Colorado

A bill making its way through the legislature this year aims to encourage doctors to give rural Colorado a try. Senator Aguilar's bill, Senate Bill 14-144, would require the state to study how rural residency programs aid rural communities in recruiting and retaining doctors, what effect massive medical school loans have on physician retention, and investigate possible future funding options from federal, state or private sources. Read the full bill here, and check out the rest of the article here at Colorado Public Radio.

Interest in Accelerated Medical School Programs Growing

In an article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2012, University of Pennsylvania Vice Provost Ezekiel Emanuel and Stanford economist Victor Fuchs proposed that a year of medical school could be eliminated "without adversely affecting academic performance." The overall time it takes to train physicians, they wrote, is an example of waste in medical education and could be shortened without affecting patient care or eroding clinical skills; students could be assessed on "core competencies rather than on time served." 

Some experts are raising questions about the length of medical school in part because much of the fourth year is devoted to electives and applying for a residency. If the fourth year were to be eliminated, it could cut the amount of student loan debt for students and get them into the workforce faster. Read the rest of the article here.