Medical Degree in 6 Years is Goal of LSU-S

              THE SHREVEPORT TIMES Sunday, April 18, 1971 3-C
Medical Degree in 6 Years Is Goal of LSU-S
By Margaret Martin
Times Education Writer
Presently it takes at least
eight years for a student to
fulfill the basic medical school
education requirements, "but
brighter, better dedicated stu-dents
can do the same thing in
six years and they deserve the
medical degree in that length of
time," says Dr. Edgar Hull,
dean of Louisiana State Univer-sity
Medical School at Shreve-port.
The medical school with a
$40,000 federal grant and coop-eration
from LSU-Shreveport is
doing something about shorten-ing
the time span — for some
students — with a six-year
program. Dean Hull contends
that the short-term program
isn't feasible for everyone.
Presently the p r o g r a m —
which will start this summer
with students entering LSU at
Shreveport — provides for a
maximum of eight students now
but will grow to between 20 to 25
when the medical school is in
full operation.
While the pilot project seek?
to cut down on the mediral
school training from eight to six
years, this does not include the
year of internship which is
expected to be abolished soon,
anyway— or the varied number
of years required for the many
specialities.
Under the program, students
will enter LSU and will ulti-mately
receive both the bache-lor
of science and the medical
doctor degrees.
The program will lake a total
of three years of college and
two years and three summers of
medical school, Dean Hull said.
Heading the program is Dr.
Charles Black, prominent
Shreveport surgeon, who has
been named associate dean in
charge of special projects.
Hired on a part-time basis,
Black's salary is $16,800 a year,
Hull said.
Black, who is also a member
of the Confederate Memorial
Medical Center Board of Direc-tors,
accepted the post after the
dean appealed to "his mission-ary
zeal."
Dr. Hull said the program is
Dr. Charles Black
designed for "exceptional and
academically superior high
school seniors."
Students are selected before
they 'ever graduate from high
school, and are simultaneously'
admitted to the School of
Medicine and LSU-Shreveporl.
"To be able to participate in
the program," Ihe dean said, "a
student has to know or thinks he
knows that he wants to be a
doctor. Although he can later
change his mind, of course, we
are committed to carry him
through on the program once he
is selected — provided he keeps
up his grades." And, the dean
emphasized, students are get-ting
the same medical education
as the regular term students -
there are no short cuts on their
education.
The students must successful-ly
complete requirements for
the B.S. degree — although they
will be attending medical school
part of the time — and after his
second year at the School of
Medi ine, the student may ap-ply
for and receive the degree
of' bachelor of science and
medicine.
"Another a d v a n t a g e to the
short-term program is that the
cost is less, Hull said.
The Carneige Commission has
r e c o m m e n d e d duplicity in
courses between medical
schools and the undergraduate
school — such as certain
science classes — be cut out,
but the dean said, "We aren't
doing that — yet."
"This program is just a
matter of compressing medical
education," he explained, "for
bright, highly motivated young-si
ers."
"We've come full circle in
medical education," Hull!
mused. "Back at the turn of the
century, it was two years for
premedicirte, then three years
then four and now . . . "
To be admitted to the pro-gram,
a student must:
Submit a completed appli-cation
for the special program
and a completed high school
transcript — through the first
semester of his senior year —
and the scores from the Ameri-can
College Test no later than
Feb. 15.
Final selection for enrollment
will be made by March 15, and
then the applicant must meet
these additional requirements:
1. Prospective candidates
must possess an outstanding
academic record and intellec-tural
achievement.
2. Candidates must be highly
motivated toward the field of
medicine.
3. An over-all grade point
average of 3.20 must be main-tained
by the students at LSU-S
in a'.l work except physical
education.
4. The Medical ("allege Apti-tude
Test must be taken at the
end of the second year at
LSU-S.
5. Each candidate should have
a well-rounded personality that
illustrates an interest in fields
other than the sciences so that
as a professional medical doctor
"he can better associate with
j his fellow man."
Suggested curriculum in sci-ence
and medicine will provide
for 87 to 90 hours as partial
requirements for the B.S. and
M.D. degrees. Courses will
include biology, mathematics,
physical education, chemistry,
physics and approved science
electives.