Giving hope to the state's underserved rural areas, Alabama's leading school of medicine has posted a substantial 10 percent increase in enrollment this academic year. This is a step, for Alabama, toward meeting the Association of American Medical Colleges' ambitious goal of 30 percent growth in total medical school enrollment over the next decade. This growth in enrollment, which took place at the University of Birmingham's School of Medicine, puts the school in the top nine in the nation for growth. While this isn't a huge gain in real terms--enrollment is up from 160 to 176--it's still a positive development for the state's rural population. The school's programs include subsections requiring that students have lived in a rural area for at least eight years and have a desire to practice in rural areas.
For more information on this trend:
- read this article in The Birmingham News