KU School of Medicine-Salina
ISSUE SUMMARY
The shortage of physicians, particularly in the primary care specialties, is expected to continue to grow more acute in the coming years. According to a 2008 study published in the journal “Academic Medicine,” only 9 percent of physicians practice in rural areas, but 20 percent of the population lives in those areas. The demand for family physicians trained to provide the full spectrum of care is predicted to be especially high.
The University of Kansas School of Medicine has announced plans to expand the campus in Salina which it hopes to begin with a class of 8 medical students in the fall of 2011. The support of area physicians and the presence of the Smoky Hill Family Practice Residency program make a Salina campus an ideal location for this medical school expansion. The focus of the new program will be to prepare physicians for practice in rural and secondary health centers in Kansas, rather than tertiary care centers.
The medical school expansion with a Salina campus will benefit from the collaboration and support of several groups, including the University of Kansas, Kansas Wesleyan University, Kansas State University – Salina, Salina Regional Health Center, Salina Regional Health Foundation, and the Saline County Medical Society.
ADOPTED ACTION OR POLICY
The Kansas Medical Society strongly supports the expansion of the KU School of Medicine campus in Salina.
Adopted by the KMS House of Delegates on May 1, 2010.
