Medical school enrollment up 25% since 2002

First-year enrollment at U.S. medical schools has increased by 25%, or 4,143 students, since 2002, according to the latest annual survey by the Association of American Medical Colleges. The schools have been ramping up enrollment to address a projected shortage of up to 94,700 physicians by 2025. Twenty new schools have received full, provisional or preliminary accreditation since 2002, and seven more are awaiting accreditation. According to the report, schools are increasingly concerned about the availability of graduate medical education opportunities for their incoming students. “This growth is naturally going to put a strain on limited clinical resources and residency positions, which is a problem not only for the nation’s future doctors but for the nation’s future patients,” said AAMC President and CEO Darrell Kirch, M.D. The AHA supports the Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act (S. 1148/H.R. 2124), legislation that would end the 19-year freeze on Medicare-funded residency positions.