Recently, an article about a surge of enrollment in medical schools in the New York Times might bring concerns for students that are in the Health Profession program here in Juniata.. Medical schools were always hard to get in to, but with the increasing population in medical studies, people are now expecting an influx in these schools. Debra Kirchhof-Glazier explores the implications or the article for Juniatians.

What does this article means for health profession students?

It simply means that the number of medical schools in America would increase.

Will the health care bill affect medical schools in the US in any ways?

I’m not sure whether the health care bill will affect medical schools, but it will affect the insurance industry, and since a big proportion of physicians’ income comes from insurance companies, thereby physicians’ income maybe altered significantly. Also, more physicians will be needed to support the wide needs of medical treatment through the health care bill. Therefore medical school would need to expand their enrollment rate, or there would be more medical schools emerging.

Do the foreign-trained and foreign-born physicians working in American hospitals have an impact on the job opportunities for these students?

Not really. American hospitals’ accepting more foreign physicians doesn’t mean that they will bump out American physicians.

What advice would you give to students in health profession when they are selecting medical schools in the future?

When health profession student are selecting medical school, we encourage them to choose schools that best fits their interests. Students should not be blinded by the term “medical doctor.” Other degrees in the medical field such as DO also serve the same purpose, and may fit student interests even more.

-Helen Hu ’13, Juniata Online Journalist