Medical school enrollment is not only up, but it has surpassed growth benchmarks set by the Association of American Medical Colleges, according to the results of the AAMC’s 2018 Medical School Enrollment Survey.

In 2006, the AAMC called for a 30% increase in medical school enrollment to help alleviate growing concerns regarding the long-predicted physician shortage. Medical school enrollment has now grown by 31% since 2002, just above the mark, and when combined with schools of osteopathic medicine, enrollment is now 52% higher than it was in 2002. The AAMC ties this growth to a number of factors, including increases in class sizes and the creation of 29 new medical schools.

Though the numbers are promising, concerns still remain high—particularly those regarding the availability of graduate medical education opportunities on state and national levels, as well as the number of clinical training sites and available preceptors. The AAMC is now seeking a shift of focus to increase the number of graduate medical education slots available, as well as calling on Congress to pass the bipartisan Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act.

The full results of the survey can be found here.

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