About half of the 16 students who have enrolled at Union for the
seven-year accelerated medical program are expected to opt for the new eight-year
Leadership in Medicine Program, said Robert Baker, professor of philosophy and chair of
the committee that revised the program.
Faculty voted recently, 74 to 4, in favor of replacing the current joint
degree program with one that offers B.S., M.S. in healthcare management, and M.D. degrees.
Approval from the state Education Department is pending.
“The students I have talked to are ecstatic,” Baker said.
“They like the challenge and the idea of being part of a program that answers a
national need: How do you educate doctors to cope with managed care?”
Students who entered the seven-year joint program in 1996 and 1997 also
will have the option of switching to the new eight-year program.
In the new program, students will earn their B.S. and M.S. after
completing their first year at Albany Medical College (in year five); they can earn an MBA
degree by taking five additional courses (receiving the degree in the sixth year); and
earn their M.D. degree from AMC in year 8.
“We see this as a paradigm shift, a fundamental new way of
educating doctors,” said Baker. “There's a problem in medicine and
we're facing it.”