What Would a New Med School Offer?

Medical schools and clinical settings like hospitals provide significant economic stimulus, said Gerald Doeksen, head of the National Center for Rural Health Works at Oklahoma State University.

“It has an impact on the school, the state and region,” Doeksen said in a phone interview. “You have the impacts of hiring staffing and professors, and you would have the impact of those students moving into those communities. And eventually they will bring in visitors, alumni and the like.”

There also would be a notable financial impact during construction of a facility and related spending by those workers.

Doeksen said the long-term effect of any medical school is even greater when a significant portion of graduates establish practices in the region.

The national center, a federally funded economic research program, has developed a template to determine how hospitals, clinics and medical schools impact areas.

In 2007, the center prepared a study for a new medical school at Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tenn., where it opened for the 2007-08 school year. It showed the new school’s fiscal 2008 projected impact was 142 jobs through direct spending, a $13.4 million financial impact and the generation of more than $4 million in retail sales.

The average estimated annual impact of a typical graduating class of 100 students – assuming 35 remained in the state – was 3,675 jobs, $114.4 million and $35.5 million in retail sales.

The LMU model is for a medical school with 100 students and 52 new employees, but with less emphasis on research than is planned for the King College model.
King’s plan calls for initial classes of 50, with future expansion to 150.

Speaking with medical professionals across the country, Doeksen said all agree there is a current and growing need for more physicians within the next 10 years – especially in rural areas.

“Everyone I speak with talks about an extreme shortage. The problem is particularly acute in rural areas and expected to get worse in the next 10 years when a lot of these current doctors want to retire,” Doeksen said.

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