According to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), total medical school enrollment in the U.S. reached a new high of 99,562 students for the 2024-25 academic year. This is a 1.8% increase from the previous year. This growth has been steady over the last ten years. First-year students increased by 0.8%, reaching 23,048. This steady growth is important as healthcare systems try to handle doctor shortages expected in the future.
However, the overall increase in enrollment happened even though fewer people applied. The number of medical school applicants dropped by 1.2% for the 2024-25 cycle. This is the third year in a row that applications have decreased and is the lowest number since 2017-18. This drop is mainly because the number of applications returned to normal after a rise during the COVID-19 pandemic. Amy Addams, AAMC director for student affairs alignment and holistic review, said that these current patterns show a return to pre-pandemic levels. In the previous year (2023-24), applicants went down by 4.7%, but first-year enrollments and total student numbers still went up.
The situation of fewer applicants but higher enrollment can be partly explained by new medical schools opening and existing schools expanding their class sizes. For example, the Thomas F. Frist Jr. College of Medicine at Belmont University recently started accepting students. This added more spots and increased overall enrollment.
Diversity recruitment and keeping students from different backgrounds are still areas of concern in medical schools. The number of applicants from some underrepresented groups, like Black or African American and Hispanic or Latino individuals, has gone up slightly (+2.8% and +2.2%, respectively). But the number of students from these groups who actually enrolled has dropped noticeably. Specifically, Black enrollments fell by 11.6%, and Hispanic enrollments decreased by 10.8% in 2024-25. This makes it harder to increase representation in the doctor workforce.
On the other hand, Asian enrollments rose by about 8.4%, with applicants increasing by 3.8%. There is also a wider age range among students. More students over 30 are enrolling, including military veterans. For example, in the 2023-24 year, 171 veterans enrolled, which is 11% more than the year before. Also, 2,606 first-generation college students started medical school.
The number of women applying and enrolling remains steady. Women make up 56.6% of applicants and 54.6% of enrolled students recently. This matches wider trends where more women graduate from college than men.
Many factors affect why fewer people are applying to medical school even though enrollment goes up. One reason is that the total number of undergraduates is shrinking. Since fewer students go to four-year colleges, the number of those who can apply to medical school also goes down.
Other reasons may include the high cost of medical school, worries about work-life balance in medical jobs, and the difficult training. These things might stop some people from trying to become doctors.
On the positive side, programs aimed at K-12 students try to get young people interested in healthcare jobs early. These programs often focus on minority and underrepresented groups. The goal is to help students prepare and guide them toward health careers. This may help keep application numbers steady or raise them in the future.
Changes in medical school applications and enrollment affect how healthcare workers are planned for. Medical office managers and owners need to know about new doctors and their backgrounds. Seeing changes in diversity and applicant details helps make better hiring plans. It also guides training efforts for working well with different cultures in healthcare settings.
Healthcare IT managers will also feel these changes. They need to plan how technology will support staff, like using clinical decision tools and telehealth systems. Because some places expect doctor shortages, technology will be key to cutting down paperwork. It lets doctors spend more time caring for patients.
As medical school enrollment changes and healthcare needs shift, artificial intelligence (AI) and workflow automation become more important. AI tools can help healthcare groups run more smoothly, especially as patient loads grow or change.
For example, companies like Simbo AI provide phone automation and AI answering services just for healthcare providers. These services handle patient calls, scheduling, and triage. This helps reduce the load on front desk workers. This support is useful when hospitals and clinics have trouble finding enough staff because of doctor shortages caused by enrollment trends.
AI can also help manage staff by looking at how many appointments there are, predicting patient needs, and directing clinical resources better. Workflow automation can speed up tasks like insurance checks, referrals, and billing. This reduces mistakes and saves time for workers.
In bigger hospitals, AI is showing it can help with medical decisions. For instance, Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center uses AI to predict how aggressive colon cancer will be. This helps doctors make care plans that fit each patient. These examples show AI’s use beyond patient care to help overall health operations.
For healthcare leaders, using AI and automation fits with plans to keep patient care steady even when doctor numbers change. Using AI tools like Simbo AI lets organizations reduce the effects of fewer staff. This way, doctors can focus more on treating patients.
Although fewer people are applying to medical school, steady enrollment growth means healthcare systems might still get enough new doctors. But adjusting to changes in student backgrounds and improving diversity will be a challenge. Investing in technology and careful workforce planning will be important for medical offices to handle these shifts well.
Healthcare leaders should watch data from groups like the AAMC and medical schools to track doctor supply changes. This helps them plan and adjust how their practices work. The use of technology, including AI tools, is an important part of building a strong healthcare system for the future.
By understanding these trends and using new technologies, medical administrators, clinic owners, and IT staff can get ready for the demands of tomorrow’s healthcare workforce.
The meeting focused on several key agenda items including reports from the CEO, financial updates, and approvals for service contracts, expansions, and quality management plans.
The meeting highlighted the final stages of construction on the new Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Center (IHSC), aimed to enhance interprofessional health sciences education at Ohio State.
The financial report showed a total operating revenue of approximately $4.4 billion, a gain from operations of about $374 million, and an excess revenue over expense of $259 million.
The James Cancer Hospital piloted a remote patient monitoring (RPM) system for at-home cancer care, aimed at enhancing personalized care and early detection of side effects.
The report noted the 40th anniversary of the Bone Marrow Transplant program, the expansion of outpatient transplant strategies, and access to advanced robotic surgery technology.
The Wexner Medical Center was selected to partner with Hilliard and Upper Arlington for integrative health and wellness community centers, offering various comprehensive health programs.
Ohio State College of Medicine experienced a 6% increase in applications for 2024, contrasting with a national decline of 6% in MD applications since 2021.
AI tools were mentioned as being utilized to predict colon cancer aggressiveness to guide clinical decisions, illustrating Ohio’s leadership in integrating AI into healthcare.
The Healthy Community Center was co-designed through community engagement sessions with local organizations to promote healthy lifestyles and wellness education.
The board approved plans for clinical quality management, patient safety, and patient experience, reflecting the center’s commitment to high-quality healthcare services.
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