3-Year MD: Primary Care Accelerated Program (PCAP) - FAQ for the Class of 2030 and Beyond

The 3-year MD Primary Care Accelerated Program (PCAP) is designed for students interested in practicing Primary Care in Arizona. This 3-year accelerated medical school curriculum is focused on rural, Tribal and Underserved communities in Arizona and will be coupled with existing residency programs throughout Arizona. So, three years for medical school and three years for residency, a “3+3” model. 

The 3-year MD program is part of the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix (UACOMP) program that is LCME accredited, and, as such, the requirements and prerequisites for application are the same as for the 4-year MD program.

We are thrilled to share that UACOMP now has a new regional branch in Yuma, Arizona in Collaboration with Onvida Health. This development marks a historic milestone, making us the first state medical school with a regional branch located in rural Arizona. Years-in-the-making, the Yuma Branch will welcome its first cohort of 3-year PCAP students with the class matriculating class in July 2026. 

Admission Requirements

Students express interest in PCAP during the medical school application process by specifically applying to the 3-year PCAP program option via AMCAS or letter of interest, as determined by office of admissions. They will automatically be considered simultaneously for the traditional 4-year MD program as well but can select to opt out of this 4-year option.  A select cohort will be accepted to matriculate directly into the 3-year program with a guaranteed PCAP seat. These students will be part of one of the two University of Arizona College of Medicine Pheonix’s branch campuses. 

This Yuma or Gila River Branch PCAP cohorts will receive guaranteed full tuition scholarship funding. The program structure is to complete the foundational basic science curriculum at the UACOMP campus (first 18 months) and then transition to the Yuma or Gila River Branch for their clinical rotations (last 18 months). This exciting option is available and approved for the class matriculating in July 2026 and future University of Arizona College of Medicine Phoenix classes.

Students accepted into the 4-year MD program but not into the 3-year MD program at matriculation may have ability to apply for admission to the 3-year MD Primary Care PCAP program during the foundational sciences portion of the curriculum (first 18 months) as spots and opportunity arise. Post-matriculation admission to the 3-year PCAP curriculum will depend on site capacity and is not guaranteed at this time. Scholarship availability post matriculation is also dependent on resource availability and is not guaranteed
 

A Primary Care Physician (PCP) practices in the community and is the first contact for patients. They care for patients over their lifespans (longitudinal care). A Primary Care physician evaluates, diagnoses, and treats patients presenting with symptoms, provides preventive care (mammograms, pap smears, vaccines), manages chronic disease management (such as diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma, etc.), and manages acute illnesses. Community advocacy is part of the core values of PCPs, who support their patients on a wide variety of issues that affect their overall health and access to healthcare.

The difference between Primary Care and sub-specialty care can best be thought of using the framework of the “4 Cardinal Cs of Primary Care” coined by Dr. Barbara Starfield, Primary Care Pediatrician. Those include Comprehensiveness, Continuity, Coordination and first Contact. An optional 5th could be Community. Contrast that to sub-specialty care which focuses on a specific health issue or a specific system/part of the body (Eg: Endocrinology, orthopedic surgery, cardiology, psychiatry, etc.).

The traditional Primary Care specialties include Family Medicine, General Internal Medicine, and General Pediatrics. All three of these Primary Care specialties will be offered in the UACOMP 3-year MD curriculum.

Primary Care physicians primarily provide comprehensive, longitudinal care for patients in the outpatient/continuity clinic but can also care for patients in other settings, such as the hospital, when appropriate. Physicians in any of the primary care specialties who practice exclusively in the hospital are then more commonly referred to as hospitalist physicians, not general primary care, as hospital-based medicine focuses on acute illness rather than prevention, chronic disease management, and continuity of care. 

Arizona has a significant Primary Care shortage. It currently ranks 43rd for Primary Care adequacy, one of the worst states for Primary Care physician shortage. With the current rapid population growth in Arizona, this situation is only expected to worsen.

We need over 600 Primary Care doctors across our state today to address this crisis and will need over 2000 by 2030 given our current trajectory. To make matters worse, 25% of PCPs in Arizona are age 65 and older, expecting to retire soon.

Beyond addressing current workforce shortages, communities are healthier when they have sufficient numbers of PCPs caring for their community members. Research consistently shows that robust Primary Care access improves population health outcomes, including increased life expectancy.

Yes. This program reduces the total cost of medical school by one full year of tuition and living expenses while allowing graduates to begin earning a physician salary earlier! 
Travel and housing costs for required rural rotations away from the primary campus sites are covered to eliminate financial barriers. In addition, students selected for the PCAP 3-Year Regional Campus track receive full tuition for the entirety of their 3-year MD degree. For some students who enroll in PCAP after matriculation, full tuition scholarship for the extent of their enrollment in the program may also be available. We estimate a total financial advantage of up to $400,000 in direct savings and significantly more in opportunity costs depending on 1st year’s earning potential.

Students who indicate interest during the medical school application process and are selected for the 3-year PCAP program will matriculate directly into this track with a guaranteed full-tuition scholarship and placement at the UACOMP–Yuma or Gila River Indian Community  Branch Campuses for their clinical training (the final 18 months of the curriculum) and ultimately prioritized for residency position placement throughout the state. 

Students from the area of a regional branch wishing to return to practice in the same community will have preferential placement there if available. 

Students selected for the 3-Year PACP Branch Campus program are expected to complete their clinical training at that campus. Routine requests to switch to Phoenix or other Arizona sites will not be considered, as the program’s success depends on sustained, longitudinal engagement between students, faculty, and the local community.
 

If a site or student determines early in the training period (within the first 18 months of the foundational curriculum and before starting the clinical rotations) that the regional campus or site placement is not a good fit, a reassignment may be possible depending on availability and capacity. However, if concerns arise later in training, the student may need to transition (off-ramp) into the traditional 4-year UACOMP curriculum. These students may still pursue Primary Care alongside other Primary-Care–bound students who are not part of the accelerated track.

Yes. Students may choose to “off-ramp” from the 3-year MD track into the traditional 4-year curriculum if they change their mind within the first year. A transition may also be required if a student experiences delays such as a Step 1 delay, a need to remediate a course in the first or second year, or a significant life circumstance that impacts timely progression. 

Students enrolled in a regional branch campus may still be required to complete their 3^rd and, if necessary, 4^th year clinical rotations at the regional campus despite transition to the 4-year curriculum, depending on availability and curricular requirements.
 

We have LCME (our accrediting body of medical schools, Liaison Committee on Medical Education) endorsement and Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) approval for this innovative curriculum. It is made possible with careful planning at specific sites where there is need and we have the capacity to provide excellent training to medical students in this model. The 3-year curriculum is focused on Primary Care specialties at this point because this is Arizona’s biggest need.

The infrastructure required for a hyper-focused, accelerated curriculum in non-Primary Care Specialties has not yet been developed across the College of Medicine–Phoenix. Building these pathways requires stable clinical partnerships, dedicated residency alignment, and robust assessment systems. As those elements grow, additional accelerated options for other MD graduates bound for other specialties may become feasible in the future.

Students accepted into the pre-matriculation PCAP program who transition out to the 4-year curriculum based on specialty change will continue to receive full college of medicine support in new specialty choice, however, may lose tuition funding for year four. 

Scholarship support for those who are enrolled in PCAP post matriculation, when available, is typically funded through grants that may carry specific eligibility requirements. In general, if you complete your 3-year MD program and remain Primary Care bound, you will not be required to repay any scholarship funds that were awarded. The same is true if you transition to complete a 4-year traditional curriculum, provided you continue to pursue a Primary Care specialty.

The expectation, if you receive scholarship funding, is you will serve in Arizona for each year of scholarship you received post residency.  Some scholarships include a very specific post-residency service commitment in Arizona. If you received funding tied to such a commitment and later choose a non–Primary Care specialty, the scholarship will end and may convert to an interest-bearing loan depending on the terms of the award. These stipulations ensure that limited scholarship resources remain available to students committed to practicing Primary Care in areas of greatest need.

No. The 3-year accelerated program is designed to pair our amazing students with the extraordinary Primary Care residency programs in our state, allow the students to reach the workforce earlier, and address Arizona’s physician workforce needs.

There may be available space after year 1 but before the start of clinical rotations a student decides they would like to pursue Primary Care in Arizona. This will depend on the number of students enrolled in the 3-year program and residency slot availability from one year to the next. Any students who determine they are interested in Primary Care before the end of their first year should reach out to the 3-year curriculum team to determine what options may be available.

Yes! There are approximately thirty (30) medical schools doing this, along with the University of Arizona Colleges of Medicine in Phoenix and Tucson, and several have had successful 3-year programs in Primary Care and other specialties for many years. The national support organization/network for the 3-year medical school curriculum is the Colleges of Accelerated Medical Pathway Programs (CAMPP). The University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix is part of this collaborative. See link to the bibliography/research this group has published to date.