Delaware is one of only a few states in the country without its own medical or dental school.
And the other states – Alaska, Montana, Washington, Idaho and Wyoming - are in a consortium which designates affiliated schools where their residents are given preference.
Delaware’s DIMER program – started in 1969 – reserves 20 spots at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University and 5 spots at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine for Delaware natives. To hold those spots, the state pays $1 million to Jefferson and $250,000 to PCOM.
But state lawmakers are considering cutting off those funds - leaving many, including current Jefferson student Brittany Heckel, worried about the future of the program.
"I just think it would really be unfortunate if living in Delaware puts you at a disadvantage to having a medical education," Heckel said.
Heckel adds losing DIMER could limit the options of future pre-med students aspiring to attend Jefferson or PCOM - and stay local.
Dr. David Bercaw is the Chair of the Department of Family and Community Medicine at Christiana Care’s Health Systems.
He’s a Delaware native who graduated from the University of Delaware in 1977. He was pre-med the whole time, and found out about the DIMER program.
He says he may not be where he is today had it not been for the DIMER program: Of the 8-10 medical programs he applied for, Jefferson was the only one he got into.
He also teaches in the family medicine residency program at Christiana. Most of the students are from Jefferson or the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM).
"A lot of Delaware residents self select to come back to Delaware to do their clinical years of training," Bercaw said. "So they get to know how the hospital system and culture works, they meet the various attending physicians.
He’s concerned that if the program goes away, fewer Delaware natives will return to the state to practice.
Dr. Neil Jasani, Christiana’s Chief Learning Officer and VP for Medical Affairs, says the cost for Delaware to have its own medical school would far exceed the funds distributed through DIMER.
"The DIMER program allows Delaware applicants the opportunity to be noticed and seen in a sea or a pool of applicants," Jasani said.
He says Jefferson receives well over 10,000 applicants, and only 800 are interviewed: making DIMER ever more valuable to the First State.
