Panel Wants U. of Indiana to Increase Enrollment by 30 Per Cent

The Indiana University School of Medicine needs to take in 30 per cent more students over the coming decade to keep pace with the state's growing demand for medical professionals, a task force convened by the University says.

If the School does not increase its enrollment, Indiana residents will face a shortage of as many as 1,975 physicians by 2015, the task force said.

The IU School of Medicine is already one of the largest medical schools in the country, enrolling 280 new students each fall. Approximately half of the physicians who practice in Indiana either hold an M.D. from IU or have taken additional professional training there.

Source: "Task Force: IU Med School Should Boost Enrollment," Inside INdiana Business, December 20, 2006

Yale Considers Expansion to Palm Beach

The Yale School of Medicine is exploring the possibility of opening a new branch facility in Palm Beach, Florida.

If it materializes, the Palm Beach facility would represent Yale's first out-of-state expansion.

The facility would most likely be an outpatient clinic that also serves as a teaching center.

Source: "Yale Medical School Looks at Expansion Into County," by Patty Pansa, the Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, FL), December 15, 2006

U. of Kansas Tops Family Practitioners List

The University of Kansas School of Medicine places more M.D.s in family medicine residencies than any other medical school in the U.S., according to a recent survey by the American Academy of Family Physicians.

In recent years, over 1 in 5 Kansas graduates have chosen family medicine as their specialty. 39 of the School's 2005 graduates went into family medicine residencies.

The AAFP report also found that graduates of publicly-funded medical schools were more likely to go into family medicine than private medical school graduates are. 9.9 per cent of graduates from publicly-funded medical schools were in family medicine residencies in the fall of 2005, compared to 5.8 per cent of private school graduates.

The AAFP has previously reported that the number of M.D.s going into family medicine has fallen by more than half since 1997, contributing to a projected nationwide shortfall of family physicans by 2020.

Source: "KU School of Medicine Ranks #1 in Number of Graduates Choosing a Family Medicine Residency" - press release, the University of Kansas Medical Center (Kansas City, KS), December 11, 2006

Wake Forest Dean Elected to Lead Am College of Physicians

Wake Forest University School of Medicine Dean William B. Applegate, M.D., has been elected to head the Board of Regents of the American College of Physicians for 2007-2008.

The ACP is the leading national organization representing physicians working in internal medicine and its subspecialties. It has approximately 120,000 members, including medical students. Its activities include public policy advocacy, supporting continuing medical education, and publishing the Annals of Internal Medicine. The Board of Regents is the main policy-making body of the ACP and oversees its business operations.

Applegate was named Dean of the Wake Forest School of Medicine in 2002. He previously served as chair of the internal medicine department. He is nationally recognized as an outstanding clinician and for his research in managing hypertension in elderly patients.