PURPOSE
Approximately 3% of students who enter U.S. MD programs will not complete
them. It has been argued that medical educators have an ethical obligation to
create off-ramps that allow students to leave medical training with a
credential that allows them to transfer medical competencies to attractive
alternative careers (i.e., compassionate off-ramps). Our university gained
approval in 2018 for MD students to transfer their medical school credits to
the College of Graduate Studies and immediately earn a stop-out MS in Medical
Sciences degree (MSMS). This abstract describes the outcomes of this program
after seven years.
METHODS
Applicants to the MSMS stop-out degree program were required to sign an
agreement authorizing the release of their transcripts to the College of
Graduate Studies and to withdraw from the College of Medicine. Demographic
data on MSMS graduates were compiled from these application records. To
assess career outcomes, publicly available records, including LinkedIn and
PubMed, were systematically searched.
RESULTS
Since its inception, 35 individuals have earned the MS off-ramp degree at
MUSC. The average number of stop-out degrees conferred per year increased
over time. Twenty-eight graduates completed the preclerkship curriculum only,
while 7 completed the third year or more. Fourteen (40%) of graduates had a
current LinkedIn page that listed their MS degree, 7 (20%) had a LinkedIn
page that did not list the MS degree, and 14 (40%) did not have a LinkedIn
page. Career outcomes were patient care (6%), research/consulting (14%),
human resources/law (14%), other (11%), and unknown (51%).
CONCLUSION
The MUSC off-ramp degree seeks to provide a credential recognizing the
valuable skills and knowledge attained during medical training, hopefully
enabling transition into meaningful alternative careers in health, science,
education, or public service. Our results suggest that additional supports
may be needed for these graduates to achieve career success.