Setting a record, female students have surpassed men when it comes to enrolling in medical schools, a new report by the Association of American Medical Colleges found.
Released on Tuesday, the data shows that female students, for the first time ever, constitute 50.5 percent of total medical students in 2019.
Over the last five years, the enrollment numbers of women have witnessed a steady trend. In 2015, the women students constitute 46.9 percent of the overall enrollments in medical schools.
“The steady gains in the medical school enrollment of women are a very positive trend. We are delighted to see this progress,” said AAMC President and CEO David J. Skorton.
Overall, the total number of applicants to medical schools rose by 1.1 percent, to a record 53,371, and the number of matriculants also grew by 1.1 percent to 21,869. It is mostly attributed to the opening of 20 new medical schools in the past decade and increases in class sizes.
Among various underrepresented groups, Hispanic applicants increased by 5.1 percent to 5,858 while matriculants grew by 6.3 percent to 2,466. American Indian or Alaska Native applicants grew by 4.8 percent while the number of African American applicants rose just by 0.6 percent.
According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the proportion of African-American students at medical schools has only slightly increased from 5.6 percent in 1980 to 7.7 percent in 2016.
“The modest increases in enrollment among underrepresented groups are encouraging, but not enough,” Skorton said.
“We must do more to educate and train a more diverse physician workforce to care for a more diverse America,” he added.