Applications to medical schools are on the rise as the coronavirus outbreak is prompting young people to rethink health care professions.
According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, applications are up 18% nationwide from medical school across the country, compared to the same period last year.
It’s called the “Fauci Effect,” with academics attribute the wave to Dr. Anthony Fauci, who directs the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
“You see the health workers on TV and it’s clearly really taking its toll, but I think it also underscores how important they are and the impact they have,” said Rahi Patel, a University of Minnesota junior on pre-medical track, CBS told Minnesota. “I’ve always wanted to be a part of that.”
In addition to the visibility of science and medicine, other factors play a role. The quarantine has given more people the significant time it takes to complete medical school applications. The economic toll of the pandemic, which cost nearly 10 million people their jobs, is also prompting some to seek well-paid careers, deans of medical schools say.
“All of the many problems associated with the pandemic have motivated young people to make career decisions and commit to medical school,” said Dimple Patel, an associate dean of admission at the University of Minnesota Medical School. , to CBS Minnesota. (She is not related to Rahi Patel, the university junior.)
Dimple Patel said medical school applications are up 40% on the Twin Cities campus and 77% on the Duluth campus. The application essays she reads detail the pandemic and issues of health equality and social justice, she said.
At the University of California, Davis, the medical school, applications are up 40%. Several months into the application season, about 10,000 students have applied for just 130 places in the program, CBS Sacramento reported.
Nursing programs are also reporting increases. According to The Daily Progress, applications at the University of Virginia are up more than a quarter for its nursing programs.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison, like others, has had a record number of medical school applications. Dr. Mary McSweeney, assistant dean of the medical school, attributed the increase to a national sense of purpose.
“After 9/11 there was a massive increase in the number of young people entering the military. And now we see a doctor, Fauci National, and [Dr. Jeff] Pothof more local, two doctors inspiring the next generation of young people to be part of the solution, ”she told Channel 3000, a CBS affiliate in Madison.
The university’s medical school has received 6,400 applications for 176 places this year, Dr. Sweeney said.
More applicants doesn’t mean more doctors: Dr. Sweeney noted that the school cannot accommodate more students in the class. However, the added interest allows the school to really think about the motivations of those applying, Dr. Sweeney said.