The number of students applying to medical school hit an all-time high this year, according to figures from the Association of American Medical Colleges.
More than 48,000 students applied to enter U.S. medical schools in 2013, a jump of 6% from the previous year. Most of the aspiring doctors – more than 35,000 – are first-time applicants.
"We haven’t seen a level like this since 1996," said Dr. Darrell G. Kirch, president and CEO of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC).
First-time medical school enrollment also set records this year. More than 20,000 students enrolled in their first year of medical school, a nearly 3% rise over the 2012 figures.
Dr. Kirch said college students are "voting with their feet" because they view medicine as an attractive career choice.
Medical schools have been able to accommodate this renewed interested in medicine because existing programs have expanded and some new medical schools have opened. This year, 14 medical schools increased their class sizes by more than 10% and four new medical schools opened their doors, according to the AAMC.
Dr. Darrell Kirch
The enrollment and application numbers are good news as the nation faces a shortage of physicians, Dr. Kirch said. But the surge in students entering medical school won’t mean anything if they don’t have residency programs to go to after graduation, he said.
The problem is that residency training programs aren’t growing because Congress capped federal funding for residency training back in 1997. The funding restrictions severely limit the number of new slots that academic medical centers can afford to support, he said.
Dr. Kirch called on lawmakers to pass federal legislation that would lift the funding caps.
"If they don’t do it, we could face a serious shortage of physicians across the board," he said.
mschneider@frontlinemedcom.com
On Twitter @MaryEllenNY