Lexington-based University of Kentucky College of Medicine is forming a few new partnerships that will increase its student admission slots by 30 percent, according to the Bowling Green Daily News.
Here are four things to know about the UK College of Medicine initiative.
1. The initiative will increase the medical school's class sizes by nearly one third. The UK College of Medicine currently enrolls 521 students, including the 139 students in the class of 2019. Through the program, the medical school plans to increase admission openings by 30 percent.
2. Through the initiative, the UK College of Medicine will create a satellite program and expand an existing program. The new satellite program will be based in Bowling Green, while the existing Rural Physician Leadership Program in Morehead will be expanded, according to KyForward.com.
3. The initiative will include partnerships with five local organizations and institutions. The UK College of Medicine will partner with Bowling Green-based Western Kentucky University; Bowling Green-based The Medical Center; Morehead-based St. Clair Regional Medical Center; Ashland-based King's Daughters Medical Center; and Morehead State University.
4. The primary goal of the initiative is to address Kentucky's physician shortage. A 2014 Kaiser Family Foundation study claimed there were 132 geographical areas in Kentucky in which there was a shortage of medical, dental or mental health professionals, according to the Bowling Green Daily News.
UK President Eli Capilouto, DMD, ScD, said the initiative will strive to solve this problem. "The commonwealth of Kentucky has a shortage of physicians, and especially primary care physicians, throughout the state, but particularly in rural areas," he said, according to the report. "As the university for Kentucky, we are working in close partnership with leading universities in our state and regional medical centers to directly respond to this need."