Rise at Medical School

Medical school enrollment increases, underscoring need for more residency positions.

"Enrollment is increasing sharply at medical schools across the country, a trend that's expected to help the nation combat a worsening shortage of physicians." However, "it's also focusing attention on the need to expand the other half of the physician pipeline: residency programs."

"Though medical school enrollment is on the rise, increasing the number of residency positions is arguably more difficult." This is due mainly to the fact that "programs in most states depend largely on funding from the federal government through Medicare, and that funding has remained static for the past few years."

For instance, state funding in Texas in recent years has allowed the number of residency positions to increase, but this increase is likely to be offset by the influx of physicians to the state "because of new limits in medical malpractice lawsuits that make it more appealing for physicians to practice" there.

The ultimate outcome would be less IMG in USA.