Medical schools boast biggest enrollment
ever.
by Ault, Alicia
The number of students entering medical school this
fall--17,759--is the largest ever, according to the Association of
American Medical Colleges.
While that number represents only a 2.3% increase from the previous
year, there was an 8% increase in applicants, with 42,300 seeking to
enter medical school in 2007. It was the fourth consecutive year in
which the number of applicants was on the rise, after a 6-year decline.
In a briefing with reporters, AAMC President Darrell G. Kirch said
that the continuing increase in applicants and enrollees shows
"that the interest in medicine runs very strong in our
country."
Applicants and enrollees are more diverse than ever, according to
the AAMC. While the number of applicants who identified themselves as
white or white combined with another ethnicity--26,916--still dwarfs
other races, there was an increase in the number of minority applicants.
There were 2,999 applicants who identified themselves as Latino or
Hispanic alone or in combination with another race, 3,471 African
American/combination applicants, and 9,225 Asian/combination applicants.
The number of black and Hispanic male applicants rose by 9.2%,
which was larger than the growth of the overall applicant pool,
according to the AAMC. Ultimately, black male acceptance and enrollment
increased by 5.3%, and Hispanic male acceptance remained even with 2006
levels. There was an almost-even split among men and women applicants
and enrollees. Men slightly edged out women, accounting for 51% of
applicants and 51.7% of enrollees.
Eleven of the 126 medical schools increased class size by more than
10%: Michigan State University (47% increase), Texas A & M
University System (24%), University of Arizona (22%), Florida State
University (19%), Emory University (14%), Mount Sinai School of Medicine
(14%), University of California, Davis (13%), Joan C. Edwards School of
Medicine at Marshall University (12%), Drexel University (10%), and
Howard University and University of Minnesota (10%). Some of the
increase in enrollment came through added capacity--both Michigan State
and Arizona opened additional campuses. Six universities are currently
seeking accreditation for a medical school, Dr. Kirch said.
The rise in applicants and enrollment represents some light at the
end of the tunnel, he said. The AAMC and other organizations have warned
of looming physician shortages. Depending on the estimates used, there
will be a shortfall of 55,000-90,000 physicians across all specialties
by 2020.
The AAMC has pushed for a 30% increase in enrollment by 2015, Dr.
Kirch said. He acknowledged that it can be difficult to accurately
predict shortages, noting that medical school enrollment has waxed and
waned over the years.
Even so, despite the many current challenges of being a
physician--including a patchwork health care system and unpredictable
reimbursement picture--it's still seen as an attractive career
choice, Dr. Kirch said. "What I think is most striking here is to
see the draw that medicine still has despite those environmental
forces," he said. "I personally view this as a reflection that
there are few careers that can be as meaningful, as fulfilling as
pursuing medicine," he added.
BY ALICIA AULT
Associate Editor, Practice Trends
COPYRIGHT 2007 International Medical News
Group Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.
Copyright 2007 Gale, Cengage Learning. All rights
reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.
NOTE: All illustrations and photos have been removed from this article.