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Originally Posted by blueash
(snipped) Deciding on medicine means giving up the ideal hedonistic years to spend that time in being taught. You had better have a high acceptance for delayed gratification.
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Two less years of schooling would help alleviate the above concern.
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Humanity. Decency. Cultural competence. Interpersonal skills. Wonder. All of these would be valuable assets for a doctor. And all would be enhanced by taking art appreciation, theater, and a wide range of what I think is still called a liberal arts education. Learning to write and speak well. Learning to organize thoughts, understand alternative points of view, learn how to learn.
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Yes, they would be valuable assets but we don't know how much more of those qualities they would have with 4 years of undergraduate study as opposed to 2 years.
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Medical school is to teach a body of information much of which is rapidly going to be outdated. Undergraduate education is to provide intellectual growth, how to delve deeply into material, how to think creatively and capture that creativity for positive goals. I wouldn't want my doctor missing those years.
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Then how about giving people a choice? I think a doctor might be better adjusted and more "well rounded" if he/she got out of school sooner. Especially due to the fact that a lot of college work requires memorizing rather than creativity.
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Getting a doctor up and running two years faster is not going to make any dent in the shortage of primary care providers. Instead consider ways to make practicing medicine more rewarding, or its flip side, less stressful. But that's another topic.
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What basis do you have for saying it won't make a dent? More people will be able to afford becoming a doctor. That alone may be a big incentive. Not to mention the fact that they wouldn't have to put off living their lives for as long. And that in itself would make life less stressful.