Dive Brief:
- The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) reports the number of students entering U.S. medical schools has gone up 25% since 2002, resulting in an all-time high number of 20,630 this year.
- The group adds the total number of applicants to medical school is also up, having risen 6.2% to 52,550, which indicates growing interest in medicine.
- Classes at medical schools became further diversified in 2015 with increases in nearly every racial and ethnic category, the group says.
Dive Insight:
The growing interest in medicine indicates many of the concerns among today's senior physicians do not apply to those coming in, Dr. Darrell G. Kirch, president and CEO of the AAMC, told MedPage Today.
"These are students who aren't afraid of technology, like an [EHR], and they think being accountable to demonstrate quality is common sense. So that [goes beyond] the disillusionment loud and clear, and they continue to come to the profession. I think they've correctly assessed that for some more senior physicians, these are more stressful changes, but it doesn't concern them," Kirch said.
The group said it hopes to see the increases in enrollment and diversity continue as a trend, and credited medical schools for their work to diversify the applicant pool through pipeline programs and outreach efforts. However, it said that to enable these students to fulfill the country's coming needs, Congress will need to increase federal support for residency training.