As CMU considers opening a medical school, other public universities in Michigan also plan to train more doctors.

Oakland University is opening the Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, and will accept its first class in 2010.

Oakland University Director of Media Relations Ted Montgomery said a significant shortage is predicted.

“It will be worse in Michigan than in other states,” he said.

Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine will be the first medical school in Oakland County, which is one of the state’s largest, Montgomery said.

The school will create jobs in a depressed economy and attract highly qualified faculty to the area, he said.

The medical school is also an incentive for students to stay in Michigan.

“We had students leaving left and right,” Montgomery said. “We can offer the students a meaningful education.”

Western Michigan University also is considering a medical school.

“We are partnering with two teaching hospitals in Kalamazoo and doing a feasibility study to assess building a medical school,” said Bob Miller, Associate Vice President of Community Outreach at WMU.

Wayne State University increased enrollment into its medical school and has one of the highest enrollment rates in the nation, Central Michigan University Trustee Sam Kottamasu said.

Mark Cwiek, health sciences professor and Health Administration Division director, said other universities in Michigan are enhancing their own medical programs.

He said Michigan State University already has two medical schools and is opening a large facility in Grand Rapids. Wayne State University has a very large medical school, and the University of Michigan has a long-standing program, Cwiek said.

Kottamasu said more medical schools will begin to be created throughout the nation.

In addition, he said as a result of the doctor shortage, current medical schools are increasing their enrollment.

“The number of medical students is lower than it has been in a long time,” Cwiek said.

The projected physician shortage is one of the main reasons for a medical school at Western Michigan University, Miller said.

The focus of study in the school has not yet been decided.

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E-mail the author: Lindsay Knake