A special commission of the Rhode Island State Senate unanimously voted to recommend opening a medical school at the University of Rhode Island on Jan. 27.
The recommendation followed a report created by the commission. Co-led by URI President Marc Parlange and Sen. Pamela J. Lauria, it was formed in 2024 to evaluate the potential of creating a public medical school, according to the report.
This will be the first public, MD-granting medical school in Rhode Island, a part of an ongoing effort to resolve the growing crisis in primary care access, according to a URI press release. The commission found that a local medical school, accompanied by in-state residencies, loan forgiveness programs and scholarships, will incentivize in-state graduate retention.
“If you go to a public medical school in a state, you’re more likely to stay in practice in the state,” Dr. Patrick Vivier, M.D., dean of health sciences, said in a December interview.
Rhode Island’s primary care shortage is consistent with a national trend of disparity between patient need and available primary care physicians, according to a study commissioned to evaluate the feasibility of a medical school by consulting firm Tripp Umbach.
The state has historically struggled to retain in-state physicians after they complete medical training, according to Vivier, a stakeholder in the commission. He believes URI is in a unique position to create strong incentives for students to choose community-based primary care.
“What we offer is the chance to transform medical education and transform health in a state that’s a manageable size, and could be a model for what the rest of the nation could do,” Vivier said.
Early program development is estimated to need $20 million in state seed funding, $30 million from the URI Foundation and $75 million in private donations, according to Tripp Umbach.
Umbach estimated an additional need of $22.5 million annual contribution from Rhode Island, as well as funding for educational incentives such as scholarships and loan forgiveness programs intended to retain in-state practicing graduates.
Many Rhode Island residents who spoke in public hearings were in favor of the medical school, citing a struggle to find and maintain a primary care physician, according to Vivier.
Some stakeholders expressed concern that existing clinical training programs may be insufficient to train more medical graduates, according to the report. Others called for policy reforms to address issues such as physician reimbursement and pay gaps between specialties.
“I’ve met people from Rhode Island and outside Rhode Island, they love it here, and I’m sure they would love to stay if they had the opportunity to do so,” fourth-year student Lohith Chatragadda, president of Doc Opp, URI’s Pre-Med Club, said.
The limited spots available in-state at The Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown University present a challenge to students who may wish to remain local, according to Chatragadda.
“It’s URI, [Providence College] and [Rhode Island College] that are all competing for five or fewer spots per year and it’s really tough to get in there, even through the regular application cycle,” Chatragadda said.
Stronger pathway programs, mentorship and outreach partnerships with the medical school would be beneficial to first and second-year students looking for resources, according to Chatragadda.
“Students who aren’t able to reach out directly or don’t know how to do that- it’s a big step for a lot of younger pre-meds, especially first-year [and] second-year,” Chatragadda said. “It’s really hard to find resources.”
The Pre-Med Club has not had any contact with URI or the commission regarding the creation of a medical school, according to Chatragadda.
