Fact sheet on Georgia's medical schools [Feb. 2010]

Georgia Board for Physician Workforce Fact Sheet on Georgia's Medical Schools
February 2010
This fact sheet highlights key elements related to Georgia's medical schools and provides answers to the following questions:
What are Georgia's medical schools doing to help meet the need for more physicians? How does the number of medical students being trained in Georgia compare to the southeast and
national averages? How many more students would Georgia have to add to meet these targets?
How much does it cost to attend medical school in Georgia today compared to five years ago? What
proportion of medical students are Georgia residents?
Are the graduates of Georgia's medical schools entering needed specialties? Do Georgia's medical school graduates stay in state to do their residency (GME) training? Are graduates of Georgia's medical schools practicing in Georgia? What impact will medical school expansion have on Georgia's physician workforce and where should the
state focus its energy and resources in the future?

What are Georgia's medical schools doing to help meet the need for more physicians?

The Medical College of Georgia (MCG), Emory University School of Medicine, Mercer University School of Medicine, and Morehouse School of Medicine are all increasing medical student enrollment in response to the need for more physicians. Georgia will also benefit from the new osteopathic medical school, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM), Georgia Campus, which graduated its first class in May 2009.
Existing expansion plans by the private medical schools, as well as the partnership between MCG and UGA to establish a medical school campus in Athens, will significantly improve Georgia's undergraduate medical education training capacity.

Medical School

Georgia's Medical Schools Past, Current, & Projected Enrollment
2000-2020

Past

Past

Enrollment: Enrollment:

2000/2001 2006/2007

Current Enrollment: 2009/2010

Projected Enrollment:
2020

Emory

439

455

517

528

MCG (and new partnership campus at UGA)

711

734

762

1200

Mercer

212

246

311

366

Morehouse

153

210

213

300

Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Georgia Campus (PCOM)
TOTAL ENROLLMENT(1) Percentage Growth/Increase in Enrollment over the Previous Period
(1) Enrollment figures provided by the medical schools.

0 1515

168 1813 20%

341 2144 18%

360 2754 28.5%

How does the number of medical students being trained in Georgia compare to the southeast and national averages? How many more students would Georgia have to add to meet these targets?

Tennessee is the only surrounding state that has a
medical student to population ratio higher than Georgia's.
To reach the southeast average of 22.8 medical
students per 100,000 population, Georgia would have to add approximately 45 medical students.
Nationally, Georgia ranks 30th among the 50 states
in medical students per 100,000 population. Georgia's rate of 22.3 medical students per 100,000 population is below the national average of 30.1 medical students per 100,000.
To meet the national average of 30.1 medical
students per 100,000 population, Georgia would still have to increase total medical school enrollment by 750 students.
Even with MCG's planned expansion and expansion
efforts already underway at Georgia's private medical schools, the state will remain below the national average. If all plans are fully implemented, Georgia's ratio should improve to an estimated 25 medical students per 100,000 population.

Comparison of Georgia's UME Capacity Students Enrolled in LCME or AOA Accredited
Medical Schools per 100,000 Population

Rate per

Rank

100,000

U.S.

30.1

Southeast TN GA SC AL NC FL

22.8

33.8

17th

22.3

30th

21.9

31st

21.8

34th

21.7

35th

20.5

36th

Source: AAMC Center for Workforce Studies; 2009 State Physician Workforce
Data Book; November 2009.

How much does it cost to attend medical school in Georgia today compared to five years ago? What proportion of medical students are Georgia residents?
The cost to obtain a medical education continues to rise.

Medical School

Tuition Only For Incoming Freshman
Academic Year 2004-2005

Tuition Only For Incoming Freshmen
Academic Year 2009-2010

% of Current Students who
are GA Residents

Emory Univ. School of Medicine

$34,205

$42,000 (22.8% increase)

31.7%

Medical College of Georgia (MCG)

$10,772

$21,408 (98.7% increase)

98.8%

Mercer Univ. School of Medicine

$27,876

$38,885 (39.5% increase)

100.0%

Morehouse School of Medicine

$22,500

$29,484 (31.0% increase)

60.6%

Philadelphia College of Osteopathic

Not Applicable

$38,100

48.4%

Medicine (GA Campus)

Sources: Total enrollment and number of Georgia residents provided by the medical schools. Tuition for Georgia residents obtained from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Tuition and Student Fees Reports 2009-2010 and 2004-2005; fees are not included in the tuition totals. PCOM tuition figures were provided by the school.

Are the graduates of Georgia's medical schools entering needed specialties?
Georgia's medical schools are producing graduates who enter primary care and other needed core specialties
such as Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, and General Surgery. However, the number of graduates entering these specialties is declining both in Georgia and nationally. Factors such as rising medical education debt continue to present a financial burden and may be prompting medical students to select subspecialties with higher incomes rather than a primary care field.
The state has partnered with Mercer University School of Medicine and Morehouse School of Medicine as a
cost effective way to train primary care physicians.

Do Georgia's medical school graduates stay in state to do their residency (GME) training?

A collective average of 29.5% of graduates from MCG, Emory, Mercer, and Morehouse selected a Georgia

residency training program over the last five years, even though a large portion of the medical students were

Georgia residents.

Medical School Graduates Remaining in Georgia for

Residency (GME) Training by Medical School

Mercer has the highest rate of graduates

Fiscal Years 2005-2009

remaining in Georgia for residency training at 34.2% followed by Emory (32.3%), MCG (27.0%), and Morehouse (26.4%).

Medical School

% of Graduates Selecting a GA Residency Training Site

Emory

32.3%

Further study is needed to identify why MCG
nearly 2/3 of the state's medical school Mercer graduates go elsewhere for residency Morehouse

27.0% 34.2% 26.4%

training. Reasons may include a lack of available residency positions in the graduates' desired specialty.

Source: As reported by the medical schools; reflects selection for 1st year of residency training for those graduates entering GME.

Are graduates of Georgia's medical schools practicing in Georgia?

The Association of American Medical
Colleges (AAMC) reported in its November 2009 State Physician Workforce Data Book that the average national retention rate for medical school graduates was 39%.
Georgia's medical schools have a
collective average retention rate of 49.0%. Retention rates by medical school are shown in the table.
Mercer has the highest retention rate
of graduates practicing in Georgia at 59.8% followed by MCG (52.0%), Morehouse (46.8%), and Emory (37.3%).

Physician Retention by Georgia Medical School

as of July 2009

Medical School

% of M.D.

% of M.D.

Graduates

Graduates

Practicing in Practicing in the

GA

Contiguous* States

Emory

37.3%

24.5%

MCG

52.0%

25.6%

Mercer

59.8%

24.1%

Morehouse

46.8%

18.1%

Source: AMA Directory of Physicians in the United States: 2009 CD-ROM. Contiguous states North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, & Florida

What impact will medical school expansion have on Georgia's physician workforce and where should the state focus its energy and resources in the future?

Expansion of undergraduate medical education (medical school enrollment) is needed and justified; however,
the collective contributions of all the medical schools to Georgia's physician workforce must be considered in evaluating impact.

The expansion efforts already underway at existing, established medical schools are of significant
importance. Should these efforts be discontinued, there would be a serious long-term negative effect on the state's medical education infrastructure and Georgia's physician workforce.

It is important for the state to maintain the commitment to undergraduate medical education.

Expanding medical school enrollment alone will not meet Georgia's need for physicians.
Georgia must also invest in expanding graduate medical education capacity (residency training positions).
Research has shown that residency location may have a greater influence on a physician's choice of practice location (more than where they attended medical school). Source: National Conference of State Legislatures Physician
Workforce Institute for Primary Care and Workforce Analysis. January 2003 report "Practice Location of Physician Graduates".

Georgia Board for Physician Workforce 1718 Peachtree St., N.W., Suite 683, Atlanta, Georgia 30309, (404) 206-5420 www.gbpw.georgia.gov Cherri Tucker, Executive Director. Colette Caldwell, Carla Graves, Kelly McNamara, and G.E. Alan Dever, M.D., Ph.D., contributors.