A growing number of medical students nationwide are putting in the extra time to earn dual degrees in public health, academic medicine and seemingly disparate fields such as law and business. They are motivated by an interest in developing the interdisciplinary skills necessary to tackle complex issues like health care reform and global health care, educators say. "Students learn other disciplines as they are learning medicine mostly so they can understand systems of health care, the root causes of health problems, how to be more effective in education and prevention, and how to manage health care," said Gabriel Garcia, associate dean of admissions at Stanford's medical school. Nationwide, dual programs in medicine and academic research, medicine and law, and medicine and business have seen their combined enrollment increase 36 percent, from 3,921 in 2002 to 5,349 in 2011, according to data released this spring by the Association of American Medical Colleges.
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