Flexible Med School is growing strong

With a shortage of doctors looming in Minnesota and nationwide, the state's largest medical school has attracted its biggest class of aspiring physicians in a decade.

Applications to the University of Minnesota Medical School jumped 22 percent, and 182 students -- 17 more than usual -- have enrolled in the first-year class.

The increase mirrors a rise in medical school enrollment across the country, after a quarter century of stagnation. Once concerned about a surplus in doctors, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) last year called for an expansion of medical schools, because a growing population and more physicians reaching retirement age have raised fears of a deficit of doctors.

Leaders at the U Medical School think its popularity may have more to do with a change in philosophy -- away from the traditional lock-step path of doctor training and toward a more flexible regimen that even allows students to take a semester or a year off if they choose.

"What we want to do is offer them a menu rather than just a set curriculum, and we're trying to do it by building the competencies we expect them to have at graduation," said Dr. Deborah Powell, the Medical School's dean. "The pathway to get there might not be the same for every student.

"There are multiple ways to skin a cat or, in this case, create a doctor."

More individual ways

Traditionally, a medical school class has traveled through its education like a herd. Courses were taught in the same order, and change was both rare and difficult.

Emphasizing a more individualized approach, the university's new MED 2010 educational strategy reflects the increase in both teamwork and technology in medicine -- along with the fact that today's students have had experiences different from med students of decades ago.

Part of MED 2010 is a Flexible MD program, which allows a student to take time off to do research or intern or to simply go a little slower through the science courses without having to pay higher tuition.

"I can't tell you how many phone calls and e-mails I get from people wanting to know about the Flexible MD," Medical School admissions director Paul White said.

Juggling college and a career as a biathlete that led to a berth in the 2006 Olympics, first-year medical student Carolyn Bramante spent six years as an undergraduate at Dartmouth College.

"The idea of being locked into four years is pretty foreign," Bramante said. "I'd feel trapped if I didn't have that option. I've never done the traditional student timeline."

Benefits for Minnesota

Eighty-two percent of first-year students are from Minnesota, and Medical School officials hope that many of them will remain in the state as primary care physicians.

Nicole Gergen, a Hastings native, was attracted to the U by the opportunities in rural medicine. Being eligible for in-state tuition was also a factor.

"You don't see that in a lot of places," Gergen said of rural medicine. "It's something I'm really interested in and something I think is important. I wanted that to really be integrated into my curriculum like it is here."

The university found itself in an interesting spot with this class of first-year medical students. A little fewer than 3,100 students applied for admission, the largest applicant pool since 1994 and much larger than the recent average of about 2,000 per year, according to White.

In addition to receiving significantly more applications, the university also saw a greater percentage of students choosing Minnesota rather than another school.

"If they turned us down, they turned us down for some darn good medical schools," said White. "They didn't turn us down to go to Podunk. I'm pretty happy. You always want to compete with the big boys and girls."

Bobby Steffen is one of the students who had options. A Burnsville native who graduated from Northwestern University last spring had a scholarship on the table at the University of Southern California that would have paid half his tuition.

But instead he's paying full tuition at Minnesota.

"A lot of it was the community; the doctors at Minnesota have been very helpful throughout my medical education as a pre-med," Steffen said. "The ability to talk to doctors, shadow them, see if you like it is really a valuable asset. There have just been a ton of doctors who have been willing to open up their clinics, their surgery rooms to help me see what I like, see what I find interesting."

More students in the future?

Even though the AAMC has called for medical school enrollment growth, Minnesota didn't plan on necessarily adding bodies in this class. The target remained 165 students. And as summer progressed and students didn't go elsewhere, White was apologetic.

"I said, 'Why would you apologize? These are great students,'" Powell said. "'Their numbers are great, they have all these great experiences, it's a very diverse class, don't apologize.'"

Early indications are that the university can handle the larger class, so it's possible that Minnesota will teach even more aspiring doctors a year from now.

"We have to decide what would be the right size," Powell said. "If 10 percent is OK, would another 5 percent be OK. We have to make sure we're aiming for a number we could live with."

This year's entering class averaged 32.2 on the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) and a 3.71 grade-point average as undergraduates. The 2006 class averaged 31.3 on the MCAT and graduated with a 3.67 GPA.

Regardless of the individual reasons, attending medical school is a hot choice across the nation.

"We think -- at least we'd like to hope -- that word's getting out and folks that may have gone to other career paths are considering medicine at this point," said Gwen Garrison, assistant vice president of medical school services and studies for the AAMC.

Jeff Shelman • 612-673-7478

Jeff Shelman • jshelman@startribune.com