New York University School of Medicine unveiled a new scholarship opportunity that will cover tuition for all of its current and future medical school students starting Aug. 16, according to CNN. The scholarship will be open to students of all academic and financial statuses.
Effective immediately, this scholarship will cover the tuition of $55,018, excluding room and board costs, according to CNN.
Although this initiative is intended to expand the medical school’s accessibility, the scholarship should not be implemented because it will not have the expected impact on society.
Rather than covering tuition for students that do not necessarily need financial aid, NYU should focus solely on those that come from lower-income backgrounds. Universities such as Duke University, Vanderbilt Medical School and Harvard Medical School currently provide need-based financial assistance for their students, according to Business Insider.
Harvard and many other medical schools already offer a surplus of programs that offer financial aid to students in need, which minimizes the effect that NYU’s scholarship would have on the medical field.
Similarly, in comparison to lower paying career paths, doctors and physicians do not stay in debt for long due to their six-figure salaries.
The average physician makes $196,380 yearly, according to U.S. News and World Report. In 2017, the average accumulated medical school debt equated to roughly $192,000, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. Even so, a medical student’s debt is unlikely to last long.
Additionally, there are government programs that offer loan forgiveness to doctors and physicians.
The National Health Services Corps provides loan forgiveness to medical professionals that are employed in areas lacking sufficient healthcare. Those that work for non-profit organizations can also receive loan forgiveness and scholarships via the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.
The funding for NYU’s scholarship could be efficiently spent elsewhere. Duke University School of Medicine Vice Dean for Education Dr. Edward Buckley believes that the money should go towards “cutting edge medical technology” to provide a more stimulating and educational environment for medical students and trainees, according to Business Insider.
One may argue that NYU’s free tuition will encourage medical students to pursue a lower-paying medical specialty without the fear of debt, but this is also doubtful.
Debt often does not influence which career path doctors choose, as shown in the minimal variety of debt amongst the different medical specialties, according to AAMC’s Director of Student Financial Services and Debt Management, Julie Fresne.
“If you had to find some cause to put tons of money behind, [the cost of medical school] strikes me as an odd one,” pediatrician Dr. Aaron Carroll said to NPR. There are a multitude of other ways the school could utilize the money, including more research opportunities and even more qualified staff.
Instead of minimizing debt for economically stable healthcare professionals, funding should go toward more serious matters at hand.
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