University of Michigan. Integrated Premedical-Medical Program.

Please consult the history found in the Integrated Premedical-Medical Program records finding aid.

Inteflex, or the Integrated Premedical-Medical Program, began as an alternative to the traditional path of obtaining a medical degree: four years of premedical education focusing on the sciences and matriculation to medical school. Inteflex combined and accelerated these into one program. Inteflex aimed to produce a more caring and humane, rather than what was seen as a disease-oriented, physician. One of the original pushes to start the program was a national concern over a shortage of doctors. There was also a widely held perception that doctors were not overly compassionate. Due to these reasons, there was ample funding to start a program that would focus on creating humane doctors at an accelerated rate. It was decided to test the theory that an education based on the arts, social sciences, and ethics would produce a more caring doctor.

Inteflex distinguished itself by becoming an exclusive program offering openings for a limited number of LS&A students, 50 or fewer per year. Although acceptance to the program and the course-load was intense, "flexies" had a supportive atmosphere. Many of the students lived together in East Quad, a move that staff hoped would foster cooperation rather than competition. Inteflex also had specialized premedical counselors to help with academic or personal issues. Students also did not have to compete for entrance into medical school since they were guaranteed entrance with their Inteflex status.

Classes in the Inteflex program included a combination of standard LS&A courses and smaller classes only for Inteflex students. The program attempted to reduce the redundancy between premedical preparation and medical school while offering an introduction to the arts and social sciences. The original six-year program contained 24 months of concentrated undergraduate education, two years of basic medical sciences in small Inteflex classes, and two years of clinical clerkship with standard medical students.

One of the key Inteflex courses was Introduction to Patient Care, or the "preceptorship." This was a summer course that featured one-on-one work in a medical setting. The student was placed with a mentor doctor and worked along with him or her for two months. This took place the first summer at the university, exposing the students to patient care early in their medical training.

Since the program began as an experiment, the program was constantly being evaluated. Students were questioned, tested, and evaluated with regularity. The curriculum changed with the results of the studies. Inteflex was also continually making adjustments to conform to curriculum changes and standards set by the Medical School and LS&A. Inteflex leader made several adjustments to courses, requirements, length of study, and admissions over the years.

The program became a total of seven years in 1982. The undergraduate portion lengthened to three years. Inteflex students studied basic sciences with standard medical students, however they used different schedules. Yearly class size also decreased from fifty incoming students to forty. These adjustments were made due to a number of factors. The intense six year program made it difficult for students to finish their requirements within the required time span. LS&A required foreign language proficiency. It was often difficult for "flexies" to meet this requirement without previous instruction or advanced placement in high school. The initial national fervor to educate more doctors also declined. Funding for Inteflex also lessened at this time.

Inteflex expanded program length again in 1994 following massive curriculum changes within the Medical School the previous year. The new medical curriculum was too different to accommodate the former Inteflex structure and as a result, it became an eight year program. The undergraduate portion became four years long. Admissions were lowered again, from 40 to 35 incoming students per year. Also, Inteflex students were now required to pass the MCAT medical school examination and have a combined MCAT/GPA score of a certain level before entrance into the Medical School. This was a first for the program since previously students, once admitted into Inteflex, moved right into Medical School without separate applications, assessment, or testing. This move was initiated by the Medical School after finding that Inteflex students generally had more difficulty in Medical School than students taking the standard path. At this time, Inteflex changed focus slightly to accommodate and support more minorities and students from rural areas. Attention was given to producing primary care physicians, a continuation of the hope for more compassionate doctors. The program now also allowed students a non-M.D. degree option.

The program underwent close scrutiny in 1997. Reviewers included the Medical School, LS&A, and Inteflex faculty as well as Inteflex students, counselors, alumni, and staff. After much consideration, it was determined that Inteflex was no longer making an enduring contribution to either LS&A or the Medical School. The review committee decided that the curriculum was no longer innovative, the community was too stifling for the "real world" of medical school, and that Inteflex students were generally not academically better than regular medical students. Even though it was studied thoroughly, there was no final way of determining if the Inteflex program, with its small classes, individualized attention and focus on humanities, created a more compassionate doctor than students going through a traditional path. If they were using the family practice doctor as a resulting factor, then this did not prove to be the case. Most doctors who were "flexies" specialized in a particular branch as did most traditional students. The program accepted the last entering class in 1998, and Inteflex offices closed in 2002. The last group of "flexies" was scheduled to graduate Medical School in 2006.