News in brief - June 20, 2011

New N.J. medical school accredited by LCME - More general surgeons needed for rural practice

New N.J. medical school accredited by LCME

The first new medical school to open in New Jersey in 30 years has received preliminary accreditation by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, school officials announced June 9.

Cooper Medical School of Rowan University in Camden, N.J., can begin recruiting students to begin classes in the fall of 2012. The news comes about two years after the school's creation was announced as a partnership between Rowan University and Cooper University Hospital (www.rowan.edu/coopermed).

CMSRU has a goal of addressing physician shortages in the state. New Jersey ranks 33rd in the nation in the number of medical school graduates, according to the Assn. of American Medical Colleges.

"The official announcement of accreditation brings us one step closer to expanding the level of medical excellence in our region and creating the backbone for an industry sector in medicine, innovation and technology based in south Jersey," said George E. Norcross III, chair of the school's board.

More general surgeons needed for rural practice

The nation needs a strong strategy to address shortages of general surgeons in rural areas, say preliminary findings from University of Washington School of Medicine researchers.

The number of general surgeons in rural areas declined from six to five for every 100,000 residents from 1981 to 2005, according to an analysis of data from 629 hospitals in 24 states by the university's Washington-Wyoming-Alaska-Montana-Idaho Rural Health Research Center. The report was presented at the Assn. of American Medical Colleges Physician Workforce Conference in May (https://www.aamc.org/download/187444/data/2011_pwc_doescher.pdf).

A growing number of surgeons nearing retirement creates a pressing need to train surgeons with skills needed for rural practice. In 2005, 52% of general surgeons in rural areas were age 50 to 62.

More young general surgeons also are choosing to specialize in areas such as orthopedics and "may not be comfortable performing the broad range of procedures required of many rural surgeons," the report said.