A new medical school program aimed at addressing Maine’s physician shortage officially began yesterday.
Thirty-two students, including 20 from Maine, were inducted yesterday into the first class of the Maine Medical Center-Tufts University School of Medicine Medical School Program, according to a press release from the Portland hospital. The students will spend their first two years at Tufts before spending their entire third year and parts of their fourth year at Maine Medical Center. Students will also spend time doing clinical work at rural hospitals and medical offices in Maine, according to WCSH 6. Each year, 20 positions in the program will be reserved for Maine students. University and Maine Med officials are hoping that medical students educated in Maine will choose to stay, combating the state’s growing shortage of physicians in rural areas, according to the release.
The program is also aimed at making medical school more affordable for Maine residents, who receive scholarship assistance to reduce tuition to a level comparable to in-state tuition at a regional medical school at a public university, according to a statement from Tufts. The savings can equal roughly $100,000 over four years. Students will receive a combined degree from Maine Med and Tufts.
