"We want to take this as much into the public eye as we can and show the public that there is very good reason to be concerned that there are not going to be young doctors coming back to Pennsylvania in the coming years," said Matthew Neal, a second-year medical student at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He is leading the campaign with his classmate James Starman. Both are entering the medical profession in order to advocate patients' rights.

Medical malpractice costs are forcing doctors to quit or leave the state, leaving the future of Pennsylvania health care in jeopardy, Neal said.

The students particularly favor a bill that will be up for voting in the Pennsylvania Senate this March if it first passes the judiciary committee.

The bill, which has already passed in Pennsylvania's House, would amend current law to include a limit on the amount of pain and suffering damages a plaintiff can be awarded in a malpractice lawsuit.

Rendell does not have any direct role in changing the malpractice laws, but the students would like his support, particularly on the issue of pain and suffering damages.

"We think that it's important for him to take a stand on this issue and to make a statement that can play a role in the debate and help shape the path that we take for creating future legislation," Starman said.

Although the governor has not supported capping non-economic damages in the past, he has enacted both short- and long-term malpractice reform, said Amy Kelchner, a spokeswoman from Rendell's office.

"[Rendell] shares the concerns that these students raised in their letter," Kelchner said.

For example, Rendell proposed a plan to help doctors pay for insurance costs during 2003 and 2004.

Because the right to sue for pain and suffering damages is written in Pennsylvania's Constitution, Rendell is unsure of the fairness of limiting those amounts, she added.

But Pennsylvania is in immediate need of change, according to Neal and Starman.

"It's dangerous when you can't get care in your community," Neal said.

Pennsylvania's inflation rate for malpractice insurance is considerably higher than the national average, and it is difficult for many doctors to get liability coverage, Starman said.

Pennsylvania medical malpractice costs are comparable to a trauma patient in immediate need of care, Neal said.

"If we have a trauma patient, we don't give them a drug that takes two weeks to act. We give them something that acts immediately to alleviate their pain or treat a symptom," Neal said. "This situation is already out of control."

Though Pennsylvania spends a significant amount of money to fund its medical schools, the state is one of the lowest ranked in the country when it comes to attracting young physicians, according to the letter sent to Rendell.

The letter goes on to question why Pennsylvania invests so much in educating doctors but fails to benefit from that investment.

"Until that changes, we're going to have to go practice elsewhere, regardless of what we want to do," Starman said.

Rendell had not yet received the students' letter as of Monday afternoon. Security systems delay the delivery of mail by a week once it is sent to his office, Kelchner said.

State Sen. Jake Corman, R-Bellefonte, also had not yet received the information.