among the specialties with the lowest Texas Specialty Ratio.
We also must look to the Texas of tomorrow to evaluate the kinds of physicians we will need the most. Texas ranks fourth among the six most- populous states in medical students and resident physicians per capita. Texas continues to be overly dependent on other states and countries for supplying new physicians. Last year, nearly 75 percent of newly licensed physicians graduated from medical schools outside of Texas.14
We are
thus subject to the vagaries of external forces that influence the numbers of physicians we can recruit. To meet future physician demands, Texas needs a stable, high-quality medical education system to produce homegrown physicians. Similarly, we must provide a reasonable opportunity for Texas medical school graduates to obtain their residency training in the state without being forced to leave home. Multiple studies confirm that physicians who complete both medical school and residency training in the state are three times more likely to practice here.
Because the human body is complex, the mastery of medical care is correspondingly complex, requiring a lengthy educational and training pipeline. Following college, physicians traditionally complete a four-year medical school education, followed by specialty training in residency programs for three to eight additional years, depending on the specialty.
The United States is in the midst of a medical education building campaign. Texas is among the leaders, with plans to increase enrollments to the nationally recommended 30-percent growth level by 2015. Texas is setting records in the number of medical school graduates, reaching 1,458 in 2011, a net gain of 80 (6 percent) from the preceding year.15
The number of graduates is forecasted to peak at more than 1,700 this decade.16
Texas needs continued and stable state support for both critical parts of a physician’s education and training to help cultivate future generations of
Adult Texans With Diabetes (in the millions)
8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
Texas physicians, ensuring stable access to health care for all Texans.
In 2011, almost half (48 percent) of Texas medical school graduates left the state for residency training.17
Texas invests almost $200,000 in a
medical student’s four years of education. Texas physicians are concerned about the state’s ability to protect that growing investment with enough
2005-07 2010 2020 2030 n Anglo n African American n
2040 Latino n Other
2011 Newly Licensed Texas Physicians by Medical School of Graduation
TEXAS 28%
Other
Country* 30%
Other State or Canada* 42%
*Total Outside Texas 72% July 2012 TEXAS MEDICINE 59
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