From the Wall Street Journal Health Blog
After 25 years without much growth, the U.S. is about to start cranking out lots more young MDs. The number of first-year med students will grow 20% between 2002 and 2012, according to a report out this week (online here) from the Association of American Medical Colleges.
As new schools open and existing schools expand, the number of first-year students will be 20,000 by 2012, according to the report. During the same period, the number of first-year students at osteopathic med schools (which grant the DO degree) is expected to grow from about 2,000 to a little over 5,000.
Expanding med schools here will be good news for all those nervous pre-meds fighting for scarce slots, but it may not do much to ease what many believe is a looming physician shortage.
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