MD Accelerated Programs
Psychiatry 3+ Accelerated Pathway
The 3+ Psychiatry Accelerated Pathway (Psy-APPS) is a three-year accelerated MD specialty pathway with directed pathway to the Psychiatry Residency at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. Students will complete the medical degree in three years, followed by residency training.
The benefits of the Psy-APPS program include:
Reduction of the cost of medical education and travel expenses for residency application
Earlier career entry
Linked undergraduate and graduate medical education, which optimizes opportunities for continuity of patient care, mentoring and advising
Students accepted into this pathway will receive mentoring and support throughout their medical education with the goal that graduates of the Psy-APPS program will be prepared to assume the responsibilities of residency in Psychiatry.
By the end of this pathway, the student will:
Accomplish all graduation requirements in three-year time frame
Identify longitudinal career mentors in the Department of Psychiatry as part of the process of identifying with their chosen specialty
Be prepared to engage in scholarly activity during residency through deliberate and intentional research activities during the Medical Student Research project phase of the Psy-APPS curriculum
Application Process
Students may apply for entry into the Psy-APPS pathway at two points – after acceptance into the at Penn State College of Medicine and before matriculation and during Year 1 of medical school. Once accepted into the College of Medicine, students may submit a secondary application to Psy-APPS to register interest in the program. Depending on the availability of positions, students may also have the opportunity to apply for Psy-APPS in the fall of their first year of study.
The ideal student candidate:
Demonstrates a strong interest in psychiatry.
Is a self-directed learner with a strong academic background.
Possesses good organizational skills.
A selection committee composed of psychiatry faculty who teach medical students and residents will review applications, interview applicants and make the final selection for Psy-APPS.
Students in the Psy-APPS track must maintain good academic standing. A student who fails to meet expectations in any courses or subcompetencies will re-enter the four-year program with earned course credits carried over to the four-year program.
Curriculum
The program is divided into phases:
Phase I, Foundations of Medicine (pre-clerkship)
Phase I will be the same for students in Psy-APPS as students in the four-year curriculum, except certain Phase II courses and electives are offered early to permit acceleration.
In the spring of the first year, students will enroll in a career confirmation elective (CCE) similar to other 3+ track early residency curricula currently in place at the College of Medicine. CCE will be held during afternoon hours to avoid conflict with other Phase I curricular requirements.
Students will also enroll in electives and clerkships during the summer between the first and second academic year.
Phase II, Clinical Core Clerkships
During Phase II, Psy-APPS students will complete the Emergency Medicine Acting Internship (AI) and the remainder of the usual Phase II clerkships in the block model.
Phase III, Transition to Residency
During Phase III, Psy-APPS students will
Take and pass USMLE Step I and 2 exams.
Participate in the Psychiatry Acting Internship.
Participate in additional coursework, including Translating Health Systems Science to the Clinical Setting, electives, Humanities Selective, and Transition to Internship, will provide students with the requisite courses to meet graduation coursework requirements.
Frequently Asked Questions
The 3+4 Psy-APPS pathway is designed for students to complete their medical degree in three years, followed by psychiatry residency training at Penn State Health. The Penn State Psychiatry Residency is a four-year-long categorical program.
Applicants in this pathway have been offered acceptance to Penn State College of Medicine and demonstrated strong academic performance at the time of application. Students in the Psy-APPS program will complete core requirements and achieve school-wide competencies within three years of matriculation.
Because the 3+ Psy-APPS pathway is an immersive experience in students’ psychiatry professional development, it will contribute to advancing students' career paths in psychiatry. Since students will receive longitudinal mentoring and guidance in their identity formation by dedicated faculty and acculturation during medical school into the Department of Psychiatry, it is anticipated that students will possess strong readiness to enter their psychiatry residency program.
The Psy-APPS pathway accepts up to two students per year.
Students matriculate with the incoming medical school class in the summer. The 3+3 programming begins in the fall of the first year of medical school, with an early introduction of clinical rotations.
In order to complete the graduation requirements in a compressed time frame, students in the 3+3 program do not get a full summer break after the first year. Students are enrolled in a combination of rotations during this time and continue to work on their medical student research project.
Students will be expected to take and pass USMLE Step 1 and Step 2, a Penn State College of Medicine requirement before graduation. Students will have preparation time to successfully complete these requirements.
Students will participate in commencement from medical school in May of their third year. Participating 3+3 students will begin three years of residency training in June, at what would be the start of their fourth year in a traditional MD pathway.
Yes. The Penn State Health Psychiatry Residency can accept students through the match only. Therefore, you must enter the NRMP matching process.
Upon meeting the academic and professional standards for graduation from medical school, students are ranked to match into a Penn State Health Psychiatry residency program through the National Resident Matching Program®. Should students choose to rank Penn State, they would match into a Psychiatry residency position at Penn State Health.
Students in all 3+ tracks, including Psy-APPS, must meet the same educational objectives/subcompetencies and graduation requirements as the four-year program. However, in the 3+ tracks, career exploration electives in Phase II and certain electives are waived.
All students in 3+ tracks must complete a minimum of eight weeks of electives and a medical student research project.
The methods of assessment in the Psy-APPS track will be identical to those of the main four-year program, including completion of a portfolio to provide documentation of meeting subcompetencies.
Students may opt out of the Psy-APPS track and re-enter the regular curriculum at any time.
If you have academic difficulties or fail to progress as expected, you would revert to the traditional four-year program and enter the match as usual.
If you complete the pathway as designed, you will receive a scholarship equal to one year of . Thus, you’ll pay the equivalent of three years’ tuition, saving on a full year tuition. If you revert out of the pathway for any reason, any scholarship funds provided as a part of the pathway would convert to a loan.
Pathway Leadership and Faculty
Director: Usman Hameed, MD
Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health
Additional Faculty
Contact Us
Usman Hameed, MD, director
Phone: 717-531-1016
Email: uhameed@pennstatehealth.psu.edu
Michele Morgan, program coordinator
Phone: 717-531-1016
Email: PSYAPPS@pennstatehealth.psu.edu