Kaiser Permanente will open a new medical school in 2020 that, at least initially, could save prospective doctors boatloads of cash.
The health care company announced that students entering its first five classes between 2020 and 2024 will have their tuition and fees, as well as health insurance, waived for the four years while attending classes at the Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine. The company estimates that the total savings per year could exceed $60,000, for a total savings of more than $240,000 over the four-year study period.
Kaiser is pitching its new school as a “forward-thinking education for tomorrow’s doctors.” The students will be educated both on addressing health issues as well as patient advocacy in their communities, according to the company’s website. Kaiser also anticipates using technology to boost the education quality.
Actually getting into Kaiser’s school might be the hardest part. Each class will have just 48 students, and Kaiser has an outline on its website describing ideal candidates. Ultimately, Kaiser says it will choose students who want “to rethink how medical science can improve the health and well-being of both individual patients and communities at large.”
Students interested in joining the Kaiser School of Medicine should be ready to start the application process in early May. Classes will begin in the summer of 2020.