Sussex doesn’t need a medical school; it needs doctors

Everyone agrees on one thing: Sussex County needs more physicians.

Our population is growing rapidly, our residents are aging, and many patients already struggle to find timely appointments with primary care providers and specialists. Improving access to healthcare must be a priority.

But the current proposal to use Rural Health Transformational Program funding to build a medical school in Sussex County misses the mark. While the idea may sound visionary, the evidence is clear: building a medical school is one of the least effective ways to increase the number of practicing physicians in a community.

The Association of American Medical Colleges publishes data on physician workforce development that tells a consistent story. Only about 38% of physicians ultimately practice in the same state where they attend medical school. By contrast, 50% to 60% remain in the state where they complete their residency training, and most residents enter the workforce immediately after graduation.

In other words, if Sussex County wants more doctors, the smartest investment is in residency programs and physician incentives, not a new medical school.

A medical school is also an extraordinarily long-term project. Even under ideal circumstances, it would likely take a decade or more before the first class of students completed medical school, residency and began practicing independently. Sussex County doesn’t have 10 or 15 years to wait for relief.

There are also practical questions that deserve serious consideration.

Medical schools require a robust academic ecosystem: professors in specialized disciplines like pathology, immunology, pharmacology and surgery, along with research infrastructure and teaching hospitals. Sussex County currently lacks the type of higher education and research environment that typically supports a medical school.

Clinical training is another challenge. Medical students require extensive hands-on experience in physician practices and hospitals. Yet many local physicians, nurse practitioners and physician associates already struggle to find enough clinical training sites for existing students and trainees. Creating a new medical school would only increase the strain on a limited pool of preceptors.

Housing is also an issue. Sussex County already faces a shortage of affordable housing for healthcare workers. Bringing hundreds of students and faculty into the area would likely exacerbate the problem.

And there is another question that should not be ignored: Who exactly would apply to a brand-new medical school in a rural area with limited academic infrastructure? The most competitive medical students have many options. Communities should be cautious about assuming a new school will automatically attract the strongest candidates.

Meanwhile, there are proven solutions that could help address Sussex County’s physician shortage far sooner.

Across the country, states have successfully used targeted financial incentives to attract physicians to underserved communities. Oklahoma offers annual stipends to medical students and monthly payments to family medicine residents who commit to practicing in rural areas. Kentucky provides up to $80,000 to primary care physicians willing to serve in underserved communities.

These programs work because they focus on the stage of training that most strongly influences where physicians settle: residency and early career practice.

Delaware already has residency programs that are beginning to graduate new physicians. Expanding those programs, supporting community-based training sites and offering stipends or loan repayment for doctors who commit to practicing in Sussex County would produce far faster results.

The Rural Health Transformational Program was created to strengthen healthcare access. If the goal is to bring more physicians to Sussex County, we should invest in strategies that are proven to work.

Building a medical school may sound transformative, but if we truly want more doctors in Sussex County, we should spend our resources where they will make the biggest difference – attracting and training physicians who will actually stay and practice here.