Source: NorthJersey.com
In less than a week, nearly 1,000 people applied to the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine at Seton Hall University, New Jersey’s first new medical school in 50 years. By May 15, according to the school’s founding dean Bonita Stanton, officials expect to have several thousand applicants to choose from.
For 55 slots in the school’s first-ever class.
Additionally, the Hackensack Meridian Health board of trustees recently voted to establish a $100 million endowment fund for scholarships to the school. It will be used to offset all students’ medical school tuition, which is currently pegged at $65,000 annually, by at least 30 percent — more for those students with greater needs, school officials said.
Along with the opening of the medical school, Seton Hall University will relocate its College of Nursing and School of Health and Medical Sciences to the site, the former Hoffman-La Roche property on the border between Clifton and Nutley.
In addition, medical school students will train in a number of Hackensack Meridian Health’s 16 hospitals, including Hackensack University Medical Center. One major benefit of a new medical school that provides opportunities for residencies is that students who complete their residencies locally tend to stay in the region. This could go a long way to addressing New Jersey’s expected shortage of physicians.
The new school is also different in that it offers a three-year program, one of only a dozen or so in the nation to take this approach, which can significantly lower the cost of a medical education. Medical students can opt for the more traditional four-year program as well.
Prospective physicians will navigate major health care changes that are underway, including the transition to value-based care, in which physicians and hospitals are paid to keep people well. This is a shift from fee-for-service medicine, in which providers are paid for each treatment and procedure.
Given that the United States spends far more than virtually all nations but lags behind its peers in all major areas of health, including maternal and infant health and life expectancy, this approach aims to eliminate disparities in health outcomes by closely coordinating care and intervening earlier.
Admissions officers won’t have a lot of time for making their decisions: Medical School classes begin on July 9.
Click here for admissions information.