The Medical College of Georgia will learn this month whether it received permission from a national accrediting agency to open a campus in Athens to help meet the state's demand for more physicians.
The Liaison Committee on Medical Education will decide whether the Medical College's School of Medicine can expand its entering class by 40 students starting in August 2010. Those students would attend the Medical College of Georgia/University of Georgia Medical Partnership Campus in Athens.
The state ranks 39th in the nation in the number of doctors per resident, according to the Georgia Board of Physician Workforce.
"We have an established need in our state, and this is a way for two outstanding institutions to work together to address and blunt the shortage of physicians," said Douglas Miller, dean of the school of medicine at the Medical College.
UGA Provost Arnett Mace said working together is the most expedient and economical way to expand the state's medical education program.
The Augusta medical school facilities are at capacity, while UGA has room within its planned health science campus.
After students are accepted to Medical College, they can say which campus they'd prefer —- Athens or Augusta, which can accommodate 190 students in each class. Miller said the college will try to grant students' requests.
Miller estimated it will cost about $12 million to operate in Athens the first year, including faculty, facilities and student services. The campus will employ about 35 faculty members from both colleges.
The Athens campus is just one part of the Medical College expansion. The college's Augusta campus is planning a new facility that would allow an extra 50 students, bringing each class there to 240 students.
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