Keeping La-trained doctors in the state for residency proves to be a challenge on MatchDay

Keeping Louisiana-trained doctors in the state for residency proves to be a challenge on Match Day



ealthcare practitioners celebrated their attempts Friday at trying to keep homegrown doctors in Louisiana, which they said can be a tough sell when medical students are being courted by residency training programs in other states where healthcare isn't such a constant feature on the budgetary chopping block.

The number of Louisiana's medical school students staying in-state for their residency has ticked downward over the past few years and become a concern of health care and higher education leaders, as doctors are likely to stay over the long term where they receive residency training.

LSU New Orleans saw a slight increase in the number of its students choosing to leave Louisiana, with 49 percent remaining in-state for residency. It's only the difference of a few students, as 51 percent of their students chose in-state residencies last year. But the number was as high as 63 percent in 2012.

At Tulane University School of Medicine, 27 of the 205 students graduating matched for residencies in Louisiana — the same number of students that are from the state, according to Marc Kahn, senior associate dean of student affairs at Tulane School of Medicine.