California Gears Up To Boost Capacity at UC Medical Schools
The University of California is laying the groundwork to open two new medical schools and add slots for additional students at existing medical schools, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
In May, the UC Board of Regents approved a plan to let UC-Merced continue the planning process to open a new medical school, and next week, regents will consider a similar proposal for UC-Riverside to work on the development plan for its proposed medical school.
Plans call for the UC-Merced school to open in 2013 with 32 medical students. The school is expected to grow to have 384 medical students and 70 doctoral students.
UC-Riverside's proposed medical school is projected to open in 2012 with 50 medical students and grow to 400 medical students, 160 graduate students and 160 medical residents.
Maria Pallavicini, dean of natural sciences at UC-Merced, said that both proposed schools would rely on clinics and existing local hospitals to train medical students, noting that the state budget shortfall raises major hurdles to developing new teaching hospitals.
UC also is working to add more slots to medical schools at existing facilities in Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco (Schevitz, San Francisco Chronicle, 7/14).