Medical school applications, enrollment hit new highs ...

A record number of students applied to and enrolled in the nation’s medical schools in 2013, according to data released today by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). The total number of applicants to medical school grew by 6.1%, to 48,014, surpassing the previous record set in 1996 by 1,049 students. First-time applicants, another important indicator of interest in medicine, increased by 5.8%, to 35,727. The number of students enrolled in their first year of medical school exceeded 20,000 for the first time (20,055), a 2.8% increase over 2012.

However, “unless Congress lifts the 16-year-old cap on federal support for residency training, we will still face a shortfall of physicians across dozens of specialties,” said AAMC President and CEO Darrell G. Kirch, MD. “Students are … applying to medical school in record numbers. Medical schools are … expanding enrollment. Now Congress needs to do its part and act without delay to expand residency training to ensure that everyone who needs a doctor has access to one.”