Few residencies, fellowships in AZ pushing medical school grads out of state

27 college graduates from Arizona began their journey through medical school Monday in Phoenix.

Creighton University held a white coat ceremony to welcome these future doctors. The future of our healthcare is in the hands of the 120 students, looking to forge their paths as doctors.

“I’m so excited. Also a little anxious, you know, it’s a big transition in something very new,” said Alexis Johnson, a newly-minted medical student from Phoenix.

Medicine runs deep in Johnson’s family; her dad and grandpa are both doctors. She is pursuing global health, where healthcare meets social justice.

And while that may take her abroad, her roots in Phoenix are strong too.

“Honestly, I think that’s in the forefront of my mind of staying here. It is my home,” said Johnson.

Only 30% of graduates, however, end up staying in Arizona, where the need for doctors and nurses is among the highest in the nation.

According to the dean, a big limiting factor for staying in-state is the few opportunities for post-medical school training.

“We talk to our legislature and governing bodies all the time about that need to increase residences, fellowships so that they can stay here,” said Creighton University School of Medicine Phoenix Campus Dean Dr. Randy Richardson.

“I’m very open to doing residency in Arizona. I think my biggest thing for me is just having a match,” said Johnson.

The good news is even if students go out-of-state for residency, many come back here afterward to stay. Educators say it is up to the hospitals here to create more options for students.

“There’s plenty of hospitals, it’s whether the hospitals want to have those kinds of programs in their hospitals. Some hospitals don’t. So we have to convince more hospitals really to embrace that and to start having programs,” said Richardson.

“I know that Creighton has a lot of good surgical programs and a lot of good oncology programs too, so there’s definitely a good chance that I’ll be staying here to do further training,” said Jonathan Selway, a medical student from Massachusetts.