Canisius University opens new doors for pre-medical students

By Javohir Aminov, Asst. News Editor 

Canisius is partnering up with Western Atlantic University School of Medicine (WAUSM) to give students a chance to earn their Doctor of Medicine (MD) within six years instead of the traditional eight years. The BS/MD Accelerated Pathway to MD (APMD) offers students the opportunity to follow a path of being physicians, medical researchers or surgeons while shortening the rigorous pathway from four years in medical school to three years. 

Students start off at Canisius University where they study chemistry, biology, physics and mathematics for two years. After, they transfer to WAUSM to earn their dual credit for their accepted course work and complete the first two terms of their MD. This allows them to first earn their bachelors degree from Canisius, then go on to pursue their MD and are able to apply for residency training programs in Canada or the United States. APMD members can also complete their pre-clinical rotation in Freeport or Grand Bahama, where WAUSM is located, where they then partner with hospitals in Chicago to complete their clerkship.

WAUSM has helped students get their MD for over 30 years and has allowed students from the Bahamas and Canada to earn it. With their dedication for students, the outcome showed to be consistent in their results, where students got 100% success on the first step, pass-fail, of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) and the second step, clinical knowledge.

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), accelerated MD paths benefit students by reducing medical education costs with the lessened years they have to take in medical school, thus giving them a year earlier to start the path for their residency. Additionally, they held a study where they compared the Fully Integrated Readiness for Service Training (FIRST), another three year accelerated program, to the traditional four year MD students. In this study, they found that FIRST students scored lower on step two for their USMLE, yet achieved equivalent clinical performance ratings, proving that accelerated programs can effectively contribute to students’ clinical experiences and ensuring that they are prepared for residency.