Special Programs: Tulane accelerated physician training program (TAP-TP)
Woodson, MJ, et. al. The Tulane accelerated physician training program (TAP-TP): A novel combination of scholarship and service. Medical Teacher. Nov 2020
There have been several approaches to shortening training times for physicians in order to meet the projected physician shortage. Shortening duration also lowers cost of training and might encourage more graduates to provide primary care and serve to diversity the workforce. The 6 year model of physician training is common abroad in Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and South America.
Tulane developed the Tulane accelerated physician training program (TAP-TP) and implemented the first class during the 2009-2010 academic year. Technically it is a 6 year BS/MD program similar to University of Missouri Kansas City and Northeastern Ohio, the difference is that this program incorporates a mandatory year of public service in a collaboration between Tulane’s Center for Public Service and AmeriCorps VISTA. The aim of this additional year is to increase student maturity and readiness and is consistent with Tulane School of Medicine’s mission to serve their under-resourced community of New Orleans.
Students complete two years of undergraduate studies at Tulane’s School of Science and Engineering (SSE), followed by a full year of public service, and then enters a typical four year curriculum at the Tulane School of Medicine (SOM). Students graduate with a BS degree in Cell and Molecular Biology at the end of the first year of medical school. This requires that a student enter with advanced placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) credit in Biology.
Students apply to the TAP-TP program as freshman after being admitted to the Tulane Honor’s Program. Students are required to have a score of 5 on the Biology AP Exam or a 7 on the IB Biology exam and to have at least 12 AP credits in order to complete 90-credit hours of undergraduate work in two years. Once enrolled in the program students must maintain a GPA of 3.5 or higher. If they do not they are given one semester probation and them must leave the program to complete the typical 4- year undergraduate degree program. Students are paid a stipend of approximately $10,000 and provided free housing during their public service year. Public service experiences are completed in the New Orleans area.
48 students have jointed TAP-TP since 2009. 16 students have completed the program. 8 students withdrew during the premedical phase of the program (3 continued on to medical school, two changed from MD to PhD path, 3 did not meet GPA requirements).
This publication summarized the outcomes so far. They calculated a total savings to the student of $167,579 including lost salary during the service year. In the discussion they address some concerns such as missing out on the college experience and reinforce that this is a program for very gifted and goal-directed students and is not for everyone. In general, a BA/MD program requires a highly motivated high school student. You can read one student’s experience here. They also noted that the cost savings did not ultimately translate into an increased match rate in primary care.
The remaining six-year BS/MD Programs are:
Seven-year Programs:
Florida State University College of Medicine (not specifically a seven-year program but can be completed as such)
Rutgers New Jersey Medical School (Undergrad portions offered through eight different colleges, all of which feed into the Rutgers program for medical school. Admissions are through the individual undergraduate institutions. Read more about each.)
Eight-year Programs:
St. Bonaventure University / George Washington University School of Medicine
St. Bonaventure / SUNY (open to NY residents only)
University of Southern Indiana (open to IN residents only)
