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Three Year California Medical School Pilot Program Set to Begin

The California State Capitol Building in Sacramento (file photo)
Andrew Nixon
/
Capital Public Radio
The California State Capitol Building in Sacramento (file photo)

Students in a pilot accelerated medical school program at UC Davis will begin classes this summer. A bill in the California legislature would allow them to obtain licenses in less than four years. Capital Public Radio’s Max Pringle reports.

The program was set up to address a growing problem in California.

Bonilla: “We have far more patients than we have doctors.”

That’s Democratic Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla. She says her bill would ensure that students who complete medical school in the accelerated program would have the opportunity to start practicing.

Bonilla: “We’re not talking about a program that in any way cuts corners, or in any way shortens the material that is covered.”

Doctor Mark Henderson with UC Davis Medical School says some parts of California have a much greater need for primary care doctors.

Henderson: “The rural areas of California and the Central Valley are the most underserved.”

The Assembly has approved the Bonilla bill. The Senate will take it up next.

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