'How New US Medical Schools Are Training Clinicians'

 A new wave of MD and DO programs is reshaping early clinical and community training. These schools start patient contact in the first weeks, lean on simulation and plastinated anatomy, and build curricula around local community needs. Here's a quick look at what sets them apart.

1. Filling the Gap

The AAMC (formerly known as the Association of American Medical Colleges) projects a US physician shortage of up to 86,000 by 2036. There are currently 163 MD-granting schools and 47 osteopathic colleges nationwide. Since 2019, 11 MD programs have gained preliminary or full accreditation, and since 2020, osteopathic education has added 22 new teaching campuses. Several of these new programs explicitly design their training around community and underserved-area needs, aiming to produce physicians equipped to serve the populations most likely to face care shortages.

2. Beyond Traditional Cadavers

Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine houses an Anatomy Resource Center that uses plastinated donor specimens instead of traditional cadavers. Tissue is preserved with curable polymers, creating durable, odorless specimens for long-term study. Clinical cases are built directly into anatomy lab sessions, linking anatomy content to real patient scenarios as students learn. A nearby simulation center has students work with trained actors, practice procedures, handle emergencies, and use electronic health records.

3. Early Exposure, Lower Barriers

Kaiser Permanente students begin a longitudinal clerkship in week one, spending a half day weekly with a physician preceptor, with required experience at a federally qualified health center. That early clinical access is paired with tuition coverage through the first seven classes. The school is also shifting toward needs-based aid, lowering both clinical and financial barriers to entry. The University of Georgia School of Medicine takes a similar early-access approach, teaching history-taking and basic assessment from week one, first with actors and then real patients.

4. Research as Identity

Meritus School of Osteopathic Medicine in Hagerstown, Maryland, sits within a health system with more than 120 years of community-based care. The school positions research as central to its mission of training physicians who serve that community long-term. One day a week is set aside for research, with students paired with faculty mentors from the start. Its first class enrolled 90 students in fall 2025, and the next will grow to 145.5. Care Beyond the Clinic

Roseman University College of Medicine in Las Vegas centers training on household-level factors, including housing, food security, transportation, and employment, alongside medical care. Its model relies on sustained partnerships with local organizations and the households students serve. Admissions favor Nevada ties and interest in underserved care, though staying in-state isn't required.

Bottom Line

These programs share a focus on early patient contact, simulation, and community-anchored training. These changes may shape how students arrive at clinical rotations and residency. Whether this improves long-term readiness or retention in underserved areas remains to be seen.

This article is based on a recent Medscape article titled " New US Medical Schools: These Aren’t Your Parents’ Programs" and was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.

https://www.medscape.com/s/viewarticle/how-new-us-medical-schools-are-training-clinicians-2026a10011rv