Nationwide survey of medical student interest in and exposure to aerospace medicine

Aerospace Medicine is experiencing a renaissance. Commercial spaceflight is now a reality, meaning that individuals with a variety of medical conditions will be flying in space. NASA has Mars plans, and SpaceX plans to send humans to Mars within the next decade, so today’s medical students may be future physicians on these crews. Considering these developments, we evaluated interest in and exposure to Aerospace Medicine among medical students in the United States (US). A 19-question anonymous multiple-choice questionnaire was emailed to current medical students throughout the US. Information about demographics, career and research interests in aerospace medicine, opportunities available at students’ respective institutions, and possible avenues for supporting students’ interests was collected and analyzed. One thousand two hundred forty-four students (490 men, 751 women, 3 other) with a mean age of 25.8 ± 3.0 years from 60 institutions completed the questionnaire. Most respondents expressed an interest in learning about aerospace medicine during their training. A strong interest in research, as well as career opportunities, exists despite the majority of students reporting minimal access to opportunities to get involved in the field at most of the surveyed institutions. With growing interest and an expected increase in demand for physicians with a background in aerospace medicine, medical schools may be able to support students by increasing access to opportunities.