The path to becoming a doctor is already a lengthy process, but the School of Medicine is now actively encouraging students to devote a fifth year to medical training. The additional year of study would supplement pre-clinical and post-clinical programs, the dual two-year focuses that form the basis of medical school.

“The bread and butter of what you need to become a doctor will still take four years,” said Charles Prober, senior associate dean of medical education. “But we want students well-placed to not only become the best doctors, but to acquire additional skills to prepare them for future leadership positions, and the fifth year can be very helpful for that.

The additional year works well with the medical school’s cornerstone program of scholarly concentrations. These courses of study, mandatory for every student and roughly equivalent to an undergraduate major, have a heavy research component, which the fifth year could accommodate.

“The program provides tools that then allow students to capitalize as they go on past medical school, and maybe even become leaders in their area,” Prober said. “But there’s a concern that a scholarly concentration and an M.D. is too stressful for four years, and there’s no chance to enjoy the process.”

“We want students to stop and smell the roses,” he added.

David Craig, a first-year medical student, agreed that an extra year of medical school could be beneficial.

“A lot of people use the fifth year as a way to do scholarly concentrations and find it useful for that,” he said.

Although the Medical School administration encourages students to consider the “Flexible Five-Year Plan,” the policy is not mandatory.

Prober acknowledged that some students may come in with advanced degrees or at an older age.

“An extra year may not be right for them,” he said. “That’s fine, and we want to still have students who anticipate graduating in four years.”

The administration also wants to avoid discouraging applicants who are not comfortable with the idea of five years of study.

“Students entering medical school who have come [from] socio-economically deprived backgrounds or from various underrepresented minorities may view medical school as simply a route to becoming a doctor in the traditional sense,” Medical School Dean Philip Pizzo wrote in an email to The Daily. “As such, they may not view a school that emphasizes academic training as compatible with their own personal goals.

“And yet,” he added, “as they get into the school and begin to experience new vistas, their plans may change and previously undiscovered career paths may become more attractive.”

Above all, administrators hope that the option of the fifth year will only provide benefits to medical students, helping them to appreciate the academic experience of medical study.

“Medical education involves lifetime learning,” Pizzo said. “It is best to view this phase of the process as the beginning, not the end.”

“I’d hate for this to be misperceived as more pressure: more things to do, more things to do better,” Prober said. “The reason to do this, of course, is to lower stress.”

The idea of a fifth year is already becoming a standard part of student culture on campus.

“The fifth year is certainly a de-stressing experience,” Craig said.

First-year medical student Jonathan Kleinman agreed.

“It’s behind the times to force four years,” he said. “The fact that it’s supported by the administration to stay for five years is great.”

“It’s a good thing,” Kleinman added, “and I think most of my class is going to be here for five years.”