Are They Prepared? Comparing Intern Milestone Performance of Accelerated 3-Year and 4-Year Medical Graduates.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Graduate Medical Training

Background:

• Accelerated 3-year programs (A3YPs) were introduced to reduce medical student debt and address physician shortages.
• The length of medical school training (3 vs. 4 years) and its impact on early residency performance requires investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if graduates of A3YPs achieve comparable Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education Milestones (MS) to graduates of traditional 4-year programs (T4YPs).
• To assess early residency performance at 6 and 12 months post-internship entry.

Main Methods:

• A noninferiority study design was used, matching 182 A3YP graduates with 2,717 T4YP graduates from 6 major medical specialties.
• Data from U.S. medical students entering in 2021 and 2022 were analyzed.
• Cross-classified random-effects regression was employed to account for clustering effects and estimate group differences.

Main Results:

• No significant differences in mean Harmonized Milestones (MS) ratings were observed between A3YP and T4YP graduates at midyear and end-year reporting periods.
• Specific analysis within internal medicine and family medicine also showed no statistically significant performance differences between the two groups.
• The cross-classified coefficient for A3YP vs. T4YP was 0.01 (SE = 0.02, P = .77) for overall MS ratings.

Conclusions:

• Accelerated 3-year medical programs appear to be as effective as traditional 4-year programs in preparing graduates for residency.
• The findings suggest that A3YPs can successfully equip medical students with the necessary competencies for early postgraduate training.
• Further research may explore long-term residency outcomes and career trajectories.