Fact sheet on Georgia's medical schools [Feb. 2006]

Georgia Board for Physician Workforce Fact Sheet on Georgia's Medical Schools
February 2006

How does Georgia compare to other states in terms of the number of medical students per capita?
Georgia ranks 34th among the 46 states that have a medical school in the number of medical
students per 100,000 population. (Source: Health Resources and Services Administration, 2000)

Even counting the students at the new osteopathic medical school (Philadelphia College of
Osteopathic Medicine, Georgia Campus), Georgia's medical student to population ratio of 19 per 100,000 is significantly below the national average of 28 per 100,000. However, as the osteopathic school builds to a total enrollment of approximately 400 students, Georgia should see its ratio improve to an estimated 22 medical students per capita.

Is Georgia facing a physician shortage?
Georgia ranks 9th in population, but 37th in physician supply (down from 35th four years ago, but up
from 38th two years ago). Georgia's estimated population as of July 1, 2005 was 9,072,576.
Georgia's rate of population increase during the 1990's was two times the national rate. The U.S. Census Bureau currently ranks Georgia as the 6th fastest growing state.

Georgia's physician workforce is aging and changing. Baby boomers are nearing retirement and
new physicians entering the workforce are choosing to work fewer hours and to spend more time with family than did their counterparts. Accordingly, the productive capacity of practicing physicians is changing.

Profile of Georgia's Medical Schools

Medical School
Medical College of Georgia (MCG) Emory Univ. School of Medicine Mercer Univ. School of Medicine1 Morehouse School of Medicine Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (GA Campus)2

Total Enrollment 2005-2006
711 462 239 196 84

% of Students who are GA Residents
100% 33% 100% 51% 36%

Tuition Only1 For Incoming Freshmen Academic Year 2005-2006
$11,850 $36,000 $30,220 $24,000 $33,587

1 As reported by the medical schools. Figures reflect tuition only, EXCEPT in the case of Mercer. Mercer University sets an annual rate, which includes both tuition and fees.
2 Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Georgia Campus, accepted its first medical school class in August 2005.

The rate of tuition increase has leveled off for the 2005-2006 academic year. Georgia medical
schools reported tuition increases of approximately 2% or less for the current year, compared to double-digit increases the previous academic year.

Georgia's four medical schools graduated 374 physicians in 2005, compared to 364 physicians in
1995. This negligible increase illustrates the capacity of Georgia's medical education system has not kept pace with demand for physicians, given the state's rate of population growth was twice the national average during this same time period.

On average, about 1/3 of Georgia's medical school graduates stay in Georgia to complete their
residency training.
Mercer only accepts Georgia residents and historically, approximately 65% of Mercer's graduates
remained in Georgia to practice medicine upon completion of their training.
Morehouse is one of four predominately black medical schools in the nation. Historically,
approximately 48% of Morehouse graduates remained in Georgia to practice medicine upon completion of their training.

Morehouse School of Medicine Graduate Practice Location (all specialties)
As of June 30, 2005

11

1

Total Graduates = 436 Total In-State = 207 (47%) Total Out-of-State =229 (53%)

2

1

1

12

24 9

1 3
5

52 55 4 5
51
1

1 1

5

1

1

3

21

1

1

2 4
1

1

1

1

4

4

1

1 1 1

2

Mercer University School of Medicine Graduate Practice Location (all specialties)
As of June 30, 2004

1 4

31

Total Graduates = 507

2

3

1

3

34

1 8

1

Total In-State = 331 (65%) Total Out-of-State = 173 (34%) Unknown = 3 (1%)

15 5

1

1

1 1
6

7

11

3

19 7

1 1

1

1

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2 6

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5 11

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3 2 1 41 1

4
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2

59
41 84

4 1
9

5

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7

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1

2

2

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25

1

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1 14

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36 2 2

8

1

Why does Georgia provide funding to private medical schools? Of the 10 largest states, all but Georgia have at least three public medical schools. Georgia is the largest state in the country with only one public medical school. In FY 2005, Emory, Morehouse, and Mercer trained 54% of the medical graduates and over 50%
entered primary care specialties. Nearly 55% of students currently enrolled in these medical schools are Georgia residents.
The cost to the state = $31,531,197 (represents combined funding to Mercer, Morehouse, and
Emory in the FY 2006 budget).
The average cost of operating a medical school is over $90,000,000 per year. The public/private partnerships with Emory, Morehouse, and Mercer have been cost effective,
utilizing public funds to leverage private resources to provide outstanding value for taxpayers.
Why don't the private medical schools increase tuition instead of relying on public funds? Many medical students from these schools graduate with educational loan debt of $100,000 or
more. In fact, the average debt of graduating medical students increased by 5.3% in 2004. (Source:
Association of American Medical Colleges)
Students would have to pay tuition of approximately $90,000 per year if public funding was
withdrawn, further increasing student debt and making the field of medicine less attractive.
For more information, please contact the Georgia Board for Physician Workforce at (404) 206-5420 or 1718 Peachtree St, NW, Suite 683, Atlanta, Georgia 30309.