Miller School Leads Nation in Dual-Degree Program Enrollment
Article Summary
- The University of Miami Miller School of Medicine enrolls the greatest average number of dual-degree graduates among medical schools in the U.S.
- Dual-degree programs acknowledge the complexity of practicing medicine.
- The Miller School adjusts the timelines and offers avenues support, so dual-degree students can complete their studies in four years.
Dual M.D. and master’s degree programs may be more challenging for medical students, faculty and staff, but they are imminently more practical in a world where physicians are charged with clinical care, public health awareness, business acumen and many other modern tasks associated with optimal patient care and professional success.
The University of Miami Miller School of Medicine continues to enroll the greatest average number of dual-degree graduates among medical schools nationwide, according to survey data published in BMC Medical Education.
The Complex Practice of Medicine
For students who seek dual degrees, it’s about acknowledging how complex the practice of medicine has become and will continue to be moving forward.
“We’re developing physicians who are adopting the skill sets of another discipline beyond their medical degree in order to hopefully solve some of the more challenging problems of our time,” said Gauri Agarwal, M.D., associate professor of clinical medicine and associate dean of curriculum at the Miller School.
It’s a transdisciplinary approach to medical education, not to be confused with multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary strategies. Transdisciplinary education fuses perspectives from different disciplines, giving graduates a wider lens on the realities of professional practice. In contrast, multidisciplinary collaboration hinges on experts with different backgrounds contributing their own distinct recommendations. Interdisciplinary cooperation centers on different experts contributing recommendations to achieve consensus.
“If you have an M.D. and an M.P.H., you not only have your physician lens but you also have the public health lens to think about huge problems in health care disparities,” Dr. Agarwal said. “Or if you have a medical degree and an M.B.A., you can think about our health system in a very different way and how to improve its efficiency and outcomes.”
Medical School Motivations
The survey report from lead author Dr. Agarwal and her colleagues includes feedback from 17 of 19 institutions nationwide with at least 10 dual-degree graduates each year, including the Miller School. When asked why they offer dual degrees:
• 73% of schools said to expand skill sets
• 67% to offer an opportunity for interdisciplinary collaboration
• 60% to expand physician career interests and goals
• 53% to develop leaders
• 47% to enhance residency applications
• 45% to further their vision and mission
Helping Dual-degree Students
The Miller School is among the minority of medical schools that offers dual degrees in four years.
Dr. Agarwal said, “We really feel that students — without incurring an extra year of their time and an inordinate amount of tuition — should be able to graduate in four years, with not only a medical degree but with an additional specialization.”
Dedicated faculty members mentor students through the more rigorous curriculum. The timeline also is adjusted to minimize stress and promote healthy time management, with some courses starting the summer before the first semester of medical school. One afternoon a week also is blocked off from instruction to give first year students an opportunity to complete coursework. There is also extra time in the third and fourth years of medical school to fit in the additional coursework for the other degrees.
“We give them the space and time to focus on their second degree so that they’re not competing directly with the M.D. coursework,” Dr. Agarwal said.
Approximately 40% of Miller School medical students opt for this dual-degree experience. TThose who don’t are exposed to other disciplines through the school’s Pathways of Emphasis track, which is less formal than getting a dual degree.
An Increasing Dual-degree Trend
A movement toward incorporating dual-degree curricula into medical schools is growing, Dr. Agarwal said. She suggested a consortium of medical schools to track and encourage these offerings, as well as long-term research to show the real-world effects of physicians graduating with two degrees.
“We want to make sure that it’s actually bearing fruit for the students,” Dr. Agarwal said.
Unanswered questions include:
• Do these students struggle more during medical school?
• What are the outcomes on a national level?
• What do dual-degree graduates go on to do in their careers?
• What is the return on investment financially?
• Is this helping our society in some significant way?
Although more research is needed, Dr. Agarwal and team studied five-year outcomes for graduates of the Miller School M.D./M.P.H. program. The results of that previous survey revealed that almost half went on to serve as chief residents, “which is an extraordinary number,” she said, “and many of them continued to be engaged in public health research or held leadership positions.”
“The health care system is incredibly complex,” Dr. Agarwal added. “Beyond being good doctors who take good care of patients, we really have to be able to cope with all of these multiple facets of the system, including the business side, the public health side and the policy side.”
Tags: Dr. Gauri Agarwal, dual degrees, M.D./M.B.A. program, M.D./M.P.H. Program, medical education