By the year 2032, the nation could see a shortage of up to nearly 122,000 physicians as a growing and aging population drives up demand.

That was one major finding of an Association of American Medical Colleges report in April, which projected a shortfall of 46,900 to 121,900 physicians, including both primary care physicians and specialists.

Kentucky is no different and exhibits some of the worst patient-doctor ratios in the country.

For University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto, part of the solution lies in the university’s regional medical school campuses, including its College of Medicine campus in Bowling Green. When aspiring doctors have the opportunity to study closer to home, “you have a much greater likelihood of remaining in that community or relocating to one nearby,” Capilouto said.

During an interview with the Bowling Green Daily News editorial board Wednesday, Capilouto discussed the progress of the University of Kentucky College of Medicine-Bowling Green campus, among several other topics.

Despite the program only being in its second year, Capilouto said he can already see the good it’s doing. Observing similar initiatives, Capilouto said, “there’s some pretty solid research around the country that that works.”

“I have a lot of confidence in that program,” he said.

The four-year medical school, designed as a partnership between UK, Western Kentucky University and The Medical Center at Bowling Green, was conceived as a tool for tackling the state’s growing physician shortage.

Kentucky patients already face difficult wait times. The Association of American Medical Colleges reported that there were 229 active physicians and 77 active primary care physicians per 100,000 people in 2016, according to a previous Daily News article.

Just last month, the UK College of Medicine-Bowling Green campus welcomed 30 students into its first year with a celebratory white coat ceremony.

By welcoming its second class, the medical school was effectively doubling its enrollment to 60 students, associate dean Dr. Todd Cheever told the Daily News at the time.

UK has seen promise from a similar program in eastern Kentucky that’s several years old, Capilouto said. Based in Morehead in partnership with the St. Claire Regional Medical Center there, students spend their first two years in Lexington before working in the rural community, he said.

“It is the case that people are more likely to stay in that community,” Capilouto said.

Even still, the approach can only be one aspect of the solution to the complicated, nationwide problem. For example, according to the AAMC, more federal support is needed for additional residency positions. It’s supported legislation for an additional 3,000 new residency positions each year over the next five years.