NYU to open tuition-free medical school on Long Island

MINEOLA, N.Y. (AP) - New York University plans to open a new tuition-free medical school on Long Island focusing on training primary-care doctors.

Newsday reports that the NYU Long Island School of Medicine will offer a three-year study program instead of the standard four years of study.

Dr. Dean Shelov, the school's founding dean, says the school will open in July with 24 students. Tuition will be free, but students will be responsible for an estimated $26,000 a year for housing, books and other expenses.

NYU President Andrew Hamilton says most students at the university's Manhattan medical school pursue careers as specialists or researchers.

He says NYU Long Island's focus on primary care will fill a void. He says the school will train pediatricians, internal medicine doctors and obstetrician-gynecologists who will serve the community.