Medical Schools

Three new medical schools get preliminary accreditation

California, Connecticut and Michigan are home to medical schools that recently have been granted preliminary accreditation by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME). This brings the number of such schools with this status to 10.

Out west, the University of California system is adding the sixth medical school program to its ranks with UC Riverside School of Medicine. The school is starting to recruit students for fall 2013, with plans for 50 spots per year. The Los Angeles Times reported that the school would not have its own hospital (unlike other UC system schools), "an arrangement that vastly reduces costs through partnerships with local hospitals and clinics."

Meanwhile, Quinnipiac University's Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine, in Hamden, Conn., has earned preliminary LCME accreditation as well. The school has begun recruiting its first class of 60 students for fall 2013, with plans to grow to 125 students per class by 2017.

The New Haven Register reports that the new school "aims to become a national model of interprofessional health care education, and to improve the way patient care is delivered." Medical students will learn alongside students from the School of Health Sciences and School of Nursing. The new medical school building will have space for nursing and physician assistant students.

Finally, the Western Michigan University School of Medicine in Kalamazoo has broken ground on its new $68 million campus, and will begin admitting students in fall 2014. "A new medical school will contribute to meeting the national and local need for physicians and also bring benefits to the state of Michigan and Kalamazoo community," WMU President John Dunn said at the university's groundbreaking ceremony in October.

In related news, the Indiana University School of Medicine-Evansville (one of eight regional medical schools operated by Indiana University) is exploring sites suitable for expansion of its program from two to four years of study, residency and training, reports the Evansville Courier Press.

Overall, as these news items indicate, the number of medical students is on the rise. New data from the Association of American Medical Colleges noted that "first-year [student] enrollment is up 1.5% from last year and 18.4% from 2002." Further, total applications topped 45,000 for the first time, versus just under 34,000 a decade ago.

The development of these new medical schools is positive, (today there are 141 LCME-accredited medical schools in the country), but will do little to improve the growing physician shortage without similar growth in graduate medical education. That's why the AMA supports legislative efforts such as a new bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives that would expand residency slots by 15,000.

Education, research on AMA med schools' meeting agenda

At its Nov. 9-10 meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii, the AMA Section on Medical Schools (SMS) meeting will highlight an educational session, "Medical student mistreatment: The graduate medical education connection." Also featured is a welcome and presentation from the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine, with a discussion of curricular innovations at the school as well as public health challenges the Hawaii faces with the diverse cultures on the islands.

Attendees also will participate in a discussion of the AMA's new strategic focus on accelerating change in medical education.

In addition, the SMS invites all AMA delegates and alternates with an academic appointment to attend the second meeting of the AMA Academic Medicine Caucus from 9:30 to 11 a.m. Nov. 12 in Room 320 of the Hawaii Convention Center.

Finally, SMS leaders will participate in the AMA's 10th Annual Research Symposium on Nov. 9. A record 600 medical students, international medical graduates and residents and fellows submitted abstracts of their original research for this year's event.

The SMS website features a copy of the meeting agenda book.

U. of Missouri, Kansas City wins AMA-MSS Event of the Month award

The University of Missouri School of Medicine, Kansas City, is the September winner of the AMA Medical Student Section's (MSS) new "Event of the Month" award, which showcases recruitment, community service, education and National Service Project events coordinated by local AMA medical student sections.

UMKC won for its Year 1 Recruitment Social that resulted in more than 20 students joining the AMA. The first day included a presentation on how to survive in medical school. The second day included an interactive Q&A session with upperclassmen students. The AMA provided food for the event. The Missouri State Medical Association attended and promoted joint AMA and MSMA involvement.

Local AMA medical student sections that request a grant through the AMA Section Involvement Grant (SIG) program can become eligible for the "Event of the Month" award. At the end of the school year, all monthly awards will be showcased in June at the AMA-MSS Annual Assembly Meeting and will be voted on by students for one "Event of the Year" winner.

Through the SIG program, the AMA-MSS provides an opportunity for local AMA medical student sections to:

• Educate students about the AMA and provide an opportunity for students to get more involved.
• Help put AMA policy into action by providing a service to medical school campuses or communities.
• Engage in activities that focus on AMA's top priorities.

News and notes

• Clinics run by medical students can improve student education along with community health (Wing of Zock).
• For medical students, does the ACA mean "Actually, Can't Articulate?" (Archives of Internal Medicine). 
• Work hard, pay hard: Educational costs, workload are big concerns for medical students (American Medical News).
• New data show that debt directs career choices (Medical Education).
• Getting into medical school may be more challenging for students who have attended multiple institutions, according to a newAnalysis in Brief by the Association of American Medical Colleges.