Articles related to MEDICAL SCHOOL

The prevalence of neurologic illness in the United States is increasing. In 2019, there were approximately 12,000 neurologists practicing in the United States, which was insufficient to meet the needs of the aging population. Furthermore, many neurologists are subspecialized, and their care may be limited to specific disease states. General neurologists, as defined by the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) as “neurologists who are comfortable evaluating and treating patients across the broad spectrum of neurological diseases and do not limit their practice to a specific subspecialty,” are becoming increasingly scarce.

There were 55,188 applicants to US medical schools for the 2022-2023 admissions cycle, according to data from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). Each of these applicants applied to 18 different medical schools, for a total of over 990,000 applications across all schools. In-state applicants outnumber out-of-state applicants. Among the 55,188 applicants, 24.6% enrolled in a medical school in their home state; 16.5% enrolled out of state. The remaining 59% were either rejected or chose not to enroll. Male medical students are now outnumbered by female students. There were 55% females and 45% males among the 22,692 first-year enrollees. Repeat applicants made up a sizable 30% of matriculants in the 2022-2023 admissions cycle.

The 2022 Physician Specialty Data Report from the Association of American Medical Colleges is now available. It tracks practicing physicians by specialty and compares the numbers to a five-year-ago report to calculate a percentage change within each specialty. When the top ten specialties with the most active physicians are compared to the top ten specialties with the fewest, it is clear that the least populated are growing the fastest.

Kathryn Hufmyer, MD, and Linda Suleiman, MD, will focus on incorporating artificial intelligence, creative education models, and interprofessional education and continue to focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Today’s understanding is that “pimping” on rounds and similar tactics tend to inhibit rather than promote learning. Yet residents and fellows, and to a lesser extent medical students, continue to complain of demeaning interactions in medical learning environments. Icahn School of Medicine instituted a system to take in reports of such behavior in an attempt to improve the educational environment there. In their model, the instructor is informed that an individual perceived a degrading interaction. The purpose is to allow the instructor to be aware and make changes as needed. But institutions who want to follow the example of the school need to be prepared to allocate the needed resources to do this follow up if the system is to have any benefit.

The amount owed on medical student loans keeps growing. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the average debt held by 2019 graduates, which includes loans for both medical school and undergraduate study, is a staggering $201,490. In 1978, the average debt for medical school was $13,500, which is equivalent to $54,000 now.