Some medical students in California will be able to complete their medical studies in three years instead of the traditional four year track.
The University of California at Davis has received a $1 million, five year grant from the American Medical Association.
Additionally, students can shave up to $60,000 off of their educational debt from medical school.
A current student at the school, Ngabo Nzigira, said he was initially hesitant about the program.
"I thought, 'Oh man, you want me to put the intensity and stress that is medical school in four years, you want me to condense it down to three years. I'm not sure about that,'" Nzigira said.
But he said he became convinced that it was a good path for him to take. He's already interacting with patients in his sixth week into the program - something most medical students don't do until their third or fourth years.
The program is designed to help primary care physicians into the field faster said Dr. Tonya Fancher, director of the Accelerated Competency-based Education in Primary Care program.
"There's a huge problem, a huge shortage of primary care physicians," Fancher said.
Besides California, Texas, Georgia and New York have similar programs designed to get doctors in the field quicker. This method cuts out summer vacation, electives and residency searches.
Medical schools don't produce many primary care doctors. Students end up opting for specialties with higher salaries and fewer hours.
With the Affordable Care Act, more people are gaining health insurance and more primary care physicians are needed to keep up with the demand.
"Students come into medical school, they're passionate about patients, passionate about primary care, and then that wanes over time," Fancher said. "Part of it is probably the debt that they accrue in school, and parts of it are the models of primary care that they're traditionally exposed to."
UC Davis is trying to make the decision to go into primary care a lasting one.
The three year program can also be done without compromising the quality of care, and most people say as long as the standards don't change, they wouldn't see a difference between three years of study and four years of study.
New doctors, even with four years, still have trouble treating patients and must learn a lot during residency.
The students at UC Davis are guaranteed a residency in primary care.
