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May 21, 2012
Mark Clayton: Cybersecurity: How US utilities passed up chance to protect their networks
Howard LaFranchi: NATO summit: Who will foot the bill for long-term Afghanistan security?
Chris Farrell : Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Stephen Whiteside, Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: Social anxiety disorder --- or just shy?
Guy Jackson : Victim's father regrets death of Lockerbie bomber
The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: Famed chef's veal shoulder farsumagru: A festive meat course for late spring
May 18, 2012
Rabbi Berel Wein: Striving: The People of the Book's Book for (All of) the People
Steven Goldberg: 5 Great Stock Picks and the Exchange-Traded Fund that Owns Them
Mary Pickett, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Don't be forced into gluten-free lifestyle based merely on a doctor's false-positive test
The Kosher Gourmet by Carolyn Malcoun: DIY healthy lunchbox treats: HOMEMADE FRUIT BARS for kids and brown-bagging adults alike
May 17, 2012
Warren Richey: Teacher fired for being unwed and pregnant can sue religious school, court rules
Josh Mitnick: Netanyahu's 'centrist' coalition is already proving it's anything but
Steven Goldberg: Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Amina Khan: Research links coffee to lower death rates
The Kosher Gourmet by Faith Duran : Cheesy Potato Breakfast Casserole with Cheddar and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
May 16, 2012
Carmen Terzic, M.D., Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: A variety of exercises can help improve balance
Melissa Healy: National strategy on Alzheimer's disease aims to halt it by 2025
The Kosher Gourmet by Joyce White : GOODNESS GRACIOUS: GREENS! 4 winning recipes that are no longer just for down-home folks (Includes expert tips & techniques)
May 15, 2012
Kristen Chick: Obama administration resumes arms sales to Bahrain despite serious unresolved human rights issues. Activists feel abandoned
Pat Mertz Esswein: Homes are now affordable again and mortgage rates are low. What you need to know before you buy
Kathy Kristof: Our Practical Investor Fights Inflation with These 6 Investments
Sue Hubbard, M.D.: The Kid's Doctor: Lactose intolerant young child? Check again
The Kosher Gourmet by Kathy Hunt: Spread a Little Excitement with EXOTIC CONDIMENTS (4 RECIPES)
May 14, 2012
Lisa Gerstner: How to Protect Your Identity, Finances If You Lose Your Phone
Harvard Health Letters: Heart disease and dementia
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: MANGO COCONUT OAT MORNING MUFFINS are a bright but hearty delight
May 11, 2012
Jessica L. Anderson: Get the Best Deal on a Used Car
Jett Stone: Forget face-lifts and fake knees. Scientists have seen the fountain of youth --- and it's broccoli
The Kosher Gourmet by Chef Mario Batali: The famed chef's vegetable dish that tastes true to the season: FAVAS AND SUGAR SNAP PEAS WITH POTATOES AND TARRAGON
May 10, 2012
Sergei L. Loiko: Putin sends warning to U.S., NATO in Victory Day speech at Red Square
Mary Rourke: How being a 'mentch' got Vidal Sasoon his start and fighting in Israel's War of Independence provided him with confidence and a strong sense of his own identity
Jeff Bertolucci: Get Home Phone Service for Less Than $10 a Month
The Kosher Gourmet by Betty Rosbottom: Gleaming with its golden, crimson, and snowy white hues, this silken smooth and creamy STRAWBERRY ORANGE TRIFLE looks impressive, but is easy to prepare
May 9, 2012
Sharon Palmer, R.D. How you can reduce your risk -- or delay -- chronic diseases associated with aging
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Jewish World Review
How to Go to Medical School for Free
By
Menachem Wecker
Here's how to become a doctor without going bankrupt
JewishWorldReview.com | (USNWR)
Peter Bach, of the Memorial Sloan--Kettering Cancer Center
, and Robert Kocher, of the
Brookings Institution
, argue that medical school should be free. In a column, the two doctors said M.D. programs could be free if they suspended stipends for students in specialty training programs. Since a specialist can earn $325,000 annually compared to a primary care doctor's $190,000, Bach and Kocher said specialists could forgo their stipends without too much pain.
"Our approach has no strings and does not require any decisions about future career be made in advance of medical school," Bach and Kocher--who have received calls from Capitol Hill staffers, current administration, and a Republican candidate's team wanting to help implement their plan--said in an E-mail.
But for now, medical school isn't free for the overwhelming majority of students in the United States, and aspiring M.D.'s can expect to pay more on average than their predecessors, according to a recent Association of American Medical Colleges report. Nonresident students at public schools--the subset with the highest tuition costs, according to the report--will pay about $188,000 over a four-year period, on average, not including room and board.
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Primary care doctors earn an average annual salary of $186,582, according to a a study in Health Affairs, which means medical school costs remain a challenge for those who aren't destined to host Extreme Makeover or Dr. 90210. Luckily, there are some ways to earn an M.D. without taking out huge loans.
WHERE TO APPLY
For example, Vanderbilt University's School of Medicine offers eight non-need-based scholarships, according to its website. Carla Valenzuela, a second-year student at Vanderbilt, holds one of the school's Cornelius Vanderbilt Scholarships, which covers 75 percent of her tuition.
Though an "incredible honor," Valenzuela says the scholarship didn't affect her choice of schools. "I know it sounds crazy, but I seriously wanted to go to a school that 'fit' and didn't care about the cost," she says.
According to its website, Washington University in St. Louis's School of Medicine is "among a small number of medical schools which offer merit-based scholarships," all of them full tuition, as well as a scholarship for women studying at the school. University of Virginia's School of Medicine also offers merit scholarships--some of them a full ride.
Eve Privman, a third-year medical student at UVA, has her tuition and fees waived as part of the National Institutes of Health's Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP), which also pays stipends to 933 budding researchers in joint M.D.-Ph.D. programs at 45 institutions. Privman, who had been torn between pursuing a research career and an M.D., says she was "ecstatic" to learn of the combined program.
But she stresses that the seven- or eight-year program isn't really a free M.D., and students who treat it that way might be getting free classes but, for the doctoral half of the program, are "essentially losing four years of doctor's salary."
Myles Akabas, who directs the MSTP at Yeshiva University's
Albert Einstein College of Medicine, says Einstein's admissions committee is "very concerned" about students--generally those from lower income backgrounds who can't imagine receiving a $250,000 loan--mistaking the program for a free M.D. Einstein spends "a lot of time" trying to identify their applications and direct them elsewhere, says Akabas, who was involved in a 2010 study of 24 M.D.-Ph.D. programs nationwide.
Like MSTP in general, Case Western Reserve University's
College of Medicine
offers full scholarships that cover tuition and fees for "physician investigators," in response to the fact that "less than two percent of active physicians [are] pursuing careers involving research."
Aspiring M.D.'s who don't want doctorates might consider loan repayment plans such as the
National Health Service Corps
, which repays up to $60,000 in loans for awardees who commit to working in "Health Professional Shortage Areas" for two years. Another option is the military-sponsored Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP).
According to Christopher Dillon, a physician recruiting liaison for the Army Medical Command's Medical Recruiting Brigade, the Army represents the largest portion of HPSP: more than 1,100 students at more than 150 medical schools. HPSP pays full tuition, supplies, and fees for any accredited U.S. or Puerto Rican medical school, as well as a monthly stipend of $2,088 for 10 and a half months and a second lieutenant's salary--roughly double the stipend--for the other six weeks.
"If the school requires it to attend, then the scholarship will pay for it," says Dillon, an HPSP recipient in 1985.
Eric Ness, whose studies at UVA are funded by the Air Force, says it's "a very generous deal," though HPSP comes with strings attached. He needs to apply for an Air Force residency after medical school, and he owes the Air Force three years of service to repay the three years of his scholarship.
Dillon, who never expected he'd practice medicine in the Army two decades ago, says the commitment is a good trade. The Army is "very family friendly," and all service members get 30 days of paid vacation per year, he says. "It provides the balance that many young professionals desire in their lives."
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© 2012, U.S.News & World Report LP All rights reserved. Distributed by Tribune Media Services
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