Six year med school?

Question

I do not know if this is true or not, but i recall seeing an answer on Y!A that medical school in the United States may be extended to 6years because 4years is not enough time to learn all the material? Is this true? Anybody know?

Answer 1

Dear dundokid-

Not all answers on ANSWERS are accurate.  NO, medical schools are not about to go beyond 4 years, as the high costs of two more years would be incredibly expensive.  In fact, there is some movement in the opposite direction.  Normally after high school, to become an MD you need to go 4 years to an undergraduate college to get a baccalauriate degree (BS or BA) and then 4 years to a medical school for an MD degress.  It then takes an additional 3 to 5 years of medical training to become a specialist.  A couple of medical schools have a combined BA/MD program to allow a student to complete both in 6 years instead of 8.  As for "learning all the material"  that is always impossible.  A physician constantly and eternally has new, developing material that needs to be learned and mastered; learning becomes a never-ending lifetime need of every physician who wants to remain current.