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Haven't seen this up here yet, and I know us Florida residents need all the help we can get!
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/state/content/state/epaper/2005/07/21/a6a_medskuls_0721.html
Fla. board weighs need for more medical schools
By Kimberly Miller
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 21, 2005
MIAMI Whether two new medical schools will be added to Florida's university system was left undecided Wednesday as members of the Board of Governors debated the cost and need for the new programs and whether politics was playing a role in their creation.
Florida International University and the University of Central Florida are asking for four-year medical schools, which would increase the number of programs in the state to six, including the University of Miami's.
But a report released last year recommended that residency spots for doctors be increased before the state starts paying up to $100 million in start-up costs for each new medical school.
Florida ranks 46th in the nation in the number of residency spots available, and, possibly for that reason, fewer than half of the state's medical students stay here to practice.
Board member Zachariah P. Zachariah, a physician, opposed creating the new schools, saying the board should not yield to political pressure.
"Anytime a university wants a medical school, they create a crisis," Zachariah said during a board committee meeting at FIU. "Put all the politicians away and all your friends calling from South and Central Florida and fix the problem by increasing residencies."
But other members said Florida's aging and growing population make the new schools necessary.
"When you look at what we are producing and what we need, this is a big hill, a mountain, a crisis we are facing," said member Bill McCollum.
FIU and UCF will present detailed proposals for their programs in November. Until then, board Chairwoman Carolyn Roberts said, she will speak with Gov. Jeb Bush and officials in other fast-growing states about banding together to seek federal dollars to increase residency spots.
It's estimated that each residency costs about $100,000 a year.
"This is a serious problem that cannot be solved just within the state of Florida," board member John Dasburg said.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/state/content/state/epaper/2005/07/21/a6a_medskuls_0721.html
Fla. board weighs need for more medical schools
By Kimberly Miller
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 21, 2005
MIAMI Whether two new medical schools will be added to Florida's university system was left undecided Wednesday as members of the Board of Governors debated the cost and need for the new programs and whether politics was playing a role in their creation.
Florida International University and the University of Central Florida are asking for four-year medical schools, which would increase the number of programs in the state to six, including the University of Miami's.
But a report released last year recommended that residency spots for doctors be increased before the state starts paying up to $100 million in start-up costs for each new medical school.
Florida ranks 46th in the nation in the number of residency spots available, and, possibly for that reason, fewer than half of the state's medical students stay here to practice.
Board member Zachariah P. Zachariah, a physician, opposed creating the new schools, saying the board should not yield to political pressure.
"Anytime a university wants a medical school, they create a crisis," Zachariah said during a board committee meeting at FIU. "Put all the politicians away and all your friends calling from South and Central Florida and fix the problem by increasing residencies."
But other members said Florida's aging and growing population make the new schools necessary.
"When you look at what we are producing and what we need, this is a big hill, a mountain, a crisis we are facing," said member Bill McCollum.
FIU and UCF will present detailed proposals for their programs in November. Until then, board Chairwoman Carolyn Roberts said, she will speak with Gov. Jeb Bush and officials in other fast-growing states about banding together to seek federal dollars to increase residency spots.
It's estimated that each residency costs about $100,000 a year.
"This is a serious problem that cannot be solved just within the state of Florida," board member John Dasburg said.
