By Michael McDaniel / Medical News NowOnlineDigital Medicine, an online learning company, is trying to change that.
The company is launching an online degree program that will pay for tuition at medical school online, and offer graduates a chance to work as doctors in a traditional office setting.
The company’s CEO and cofounder, David Parnell, says he’s excited to be launching a new degree program called MedEd that will give students the chance to study for their doctorate without needing to take classes in a medical setting.
It’s a concept he’s long dreamed about, and one that he’s been working on for the past two years.
The idea came from Parnelly’s own experience as a medical student, as he spent most of his time in an office setting, Parnello says.
He was not interested in the idea of a degree program with a medical component.
In the past, he says, people would only be able to enroll in a residency program through a doctor’s office.
But in the past few years, the number of residencies has increased exponentially.
Parnell’s goal is to help make medical schools more accessible to people who might otherwise be hesitant to study.
He’s partnered with a local hospital, where he is also a professor, to create an online, flexible degree program.
He says his goal is not to turn medical schools into a cash cow, but to help students get the medical training they need, without having to worry about how much money they’ll have to pay for the program.
While Parnells own practice is in New York City, he’s also working on a new startup, MedEd Health, that will provide online courses to medical students in the Bay Area, with plans to launch the program this fall.
MedEdHealth will focus on medical students who have a bachelor’s degree, but want to work in a clinical setting.
Parnett says the company is working with a number of hospitals to help provide the online degree, and he expects to have a full suite of courses by the fall.
The program will be funded through donations and Parnitts own savings.
MedDoc will also offer free tuition for anyone who chooses to enroll, and Pernitts says that this will be the first time in the history of medicine that anyone can receive a degree online.
He sees MedEd as an extension of the medical community, helping students learn the basics of medical science while at the same time making the medical world more accessible.
“MedEdHealth is the perfect example of what happens when people band together,” he says.
“The medical community has been a great partner in helping to build online learning platforms that allow students to pursue careers in medicine, but the medical school community has also been working hard to support them.
So we’re working together to provide the best education available to our patients, while also supporting our hospitals and our community.”
