quote:
I believe this is what the Rural Scholars program is at LSUMC. 3rd and 4th year is more focused on IM or Family Practice instead or the normal rotations.

This is very untrue. They still do every rotation that everyone else does. The one difference is that one half-day per week, they are in a continuity clinic. They still meet the requirements of every rotation and still take 4 years to complete training. Their 3rd year just contains a "rural" setting or a continuity clinic.
I put quotations around the word rural because it actually does not require them to be rural- just in an underserved area. Many rural scholars actually stay in New Orleans and work in an underserved clinic there.
In repayment of a tuition waiver, they must promise to complete 4 years of primary care in a medically underserved area in Louisiana, and they owe tuition back at an increased rate if they do not.

There was, at one time, talks of opening a 3-year "fast track" medical school focused on primary care in Lafayette. This never came to fruition, and I do not understand all the details of the curriculum that was to have been. The current system in place in New Orleans in the 4 year program currently has a few "breaks" in it that would not be given to them (there are 6-8 weeks between the first and second years. There is a two week break between 3rd and 4th years. There are 3 months which may be used for interviews, studying for board exams, or just vacation which would also be removed). I do not know what other requirements would be different, but they would still rotate through essentially all the fields of medicine (no one can make it through literally every one of them in the current state, there are requirements set by the ACGME to be approved, and requirements differ school to school anyway. For instance- when I was there, we did 6 weeks of Psych and 2 weeks of Neuro. They've changed it around and lengthened Neuro. Psych remains the same. In other medical schools, they do as little as a few weeks of Psychiatry.). In any instance, they may reduce some of the rotation lengths to make it "fit" better, but they would still be required to meet ACGME accreditation standards and fit most of what happens in 4 years a few hours East of them into the shortened time span.