March 25, 2020 / BY KHALEDA RAHMAN
New York University’s medical school is offering its senior students the chance to graduate early so they can help combat the coronavirus pandemic.
The Grossman School of Medicine made the unprecedented offer to the class of 2020 in an email on Tuesday afternoon, medical news publication Brief19 first reported. Those who accept the offer would start working as soon as April, three months earlier than the usual July start date for graduates.
A spokesperson for the medical school, which suspended classes this month as the coronavirus outbreak worsened, confirmed to Newsweek that the offer was made “in response to Governor Cuomo’s directive to get more physicians into the health system more quickly.”
“In response to the growing spread of COVID-19, and in response to Governor Cuomo’s directive to get more physicians into the health system more quickly, NYU Grossman School of Medicine and NYU have agreed to permit early graduation for its medical students, pending approval from the New York State Department of Education, Middle States and the Liaison Committee on Medical Education,” the spokesperson said.
