CBS Atlanta 46Gov. Deal's plan would add residency slots in Georgia

Georgia has fewer medical residency positions than most other states, leading some health and education leaders to propose a plan that would boost the number of slots.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the shortage of residency positions forces students to leave Georgia to complete the clinical work required to become physicians.

Doctors tend to establish their practices where they finish their residencies, which means that Georgia taxpayers are paying to train physicians for other states.

Gov. Nathan Deal has proposed providing the seed money for hospitals to add 400 residency slots to nearly 2,100 found across the state.

While educators and hospital leaders say that's a good start, Georgia would need about three times as many new positions to reach the national average.

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