Amid fears of a looming physician shortage, the number of medical school applications and enrolled students showed encouraging growth during the past year, according to newly released figures from the Association of American Medical Colleges.

More than 45,000 students applied to medical school in 2012, up 3% from last year, and first-time enrollment increased 1.5% to 19,517 students, the AAMC said in a news release. The group predicted a 30% spike in total medical school enrollment by 2016.

"Medicine continues to be a very attractive career choice for our nation's best and brightest," said Dr. Darrell Kirch, the AAMC's president and CEO, in the release. "Given the urgent need our nation has for more doctors to care for our growing and aging population, we are extremely pleased with the continued growth in size and diversity of this year's entering class of medical students."

The number of racial and ethnic minority applicants and enrollees also increased to all-time highs, the AAMC said. The number of black/African-American enrollees increased to 1,416, and the number of Hispanic/Latino students rose to 1,731, according to the release.

Despite the upward trend, Kirch said, the ability to train new physicians depends on whether Congress lifts its residency limits. Those limits, passed in 1997, capped the number of Medicare-supported residency spots.

"Medical schools are doing all they can to help alleviate the coming physician shortages by expanding enrollment," Kirch said in the release. "But we are nearing a critical deficit of residency training positions."