Med school enrollment grows 1.5%

But officials warn that a cap on federally funded residencies could slow the number of doctors coming into the system.

Kaiser Health News: Next Generation Of Doctors Will Face Training Challenges
Things are looking good for medical schools this year, with a record number of students in the 2012 class and the most diverse cohort yet. But a government freeze on residency training positions may stop that momentum in its tracks. With the nation facing a projected shortage of as many as 90,000 doctors in the next decade, the past year's 1.5 percent spike in medical students is a hopeful indicator, according to a report released by the Association of American Medical Colleges Tuesday (Rao, 10/23).

CQ HealthBeat: Medical School Enrollment Grows, But What About Residencies?
The good news for medical schools is that aspiring doctors are applying at a robust pace. More than 45,000 U.S. students applied for the fall 2012 class; that included a record number of black and Hispanic students, and both minority groups achieved new highs in enrollment, according to a report released Tuesday. The bad news is that a funding cap on federally funded residencies that Congress imposed as part of the 1997 Budget Control Act remains, and leaders of medical colleges continue to warn that, without some action, a major problem looms by the end of the decade (Norman, 10/23).