World medical schools: The sum also rises.

Area of Science:

• Global Health
• Medical Education
• Healthcare Workforce Analysis

Background:

• A worldwide shortage of physicians exists across most continents.
• Increasing the supply of doctors is crucial for broadening healthcare delivery.
• Understanding trends in medical school numbers is essential for addressing physician shortages.

Purpose of the Study:

• To enumerate the number of medical schools globally at two distinct time points.
• To analyze trends in medical school establishment and their relation to population.
• To identify geographic regions with significant increases in medical schools.

Main Methods:

• Data on medical schools were collected and analyzed using information from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Foundation for the Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (FAIMER).
• Geographic and regional distributions of medical schools were examined.
• Physician-to-patient ratios and growth kinetics were considered.

Main Results:

• The global count of medical schools has been consistently rising.
• Eight countries house 40% of all medical schools, but growth rates vary significantly by region.
• Sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean, South Asia, and South America show the most substantial recent percentage increases in medical schools, though not uniformly.

Conclusions:

• The increasing number of medical schools worldwide is a positive trend for physician supply.
• Identifying rapidly growing regions is valuable for healthcare planning and comparative analysis.
• New medical schools face challenges related to Graduate Medical Education, funding, faculty, accreditation, quality, and regional considerations.